WHZ's Leisl L. Cording Adds Certified Divorce Financial Analyst to Her Suite of Credentials
MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA:
For more photos and information, visit our Press Room.
POMFRET CENTER and TOLLAND, CT (March 15, 2023) — Weiss, Hale & Zahansky Strategic Wealth Advisors Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor Leisl L. Cording, CFP® has added the designation of Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® to her suite of credentials, placing her among less than 50 financial professionals in the state of Connecticut to currently hold that designation.
“Earning this designation was really important to me because it’s such a critical skills set for helping people to set a path forward for themselves during and after a divorce,” Cording said. “Guiding my clients, and in particular women, through life turning points like that is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.”
Cording, who is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Practitioner, or CFP®, earned CDFA® certification from the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA™), the nation’s premier organization dedicated to the certification, education and promotion of the use of financial professionals in the divorce arena.
As a CDFA® professional, Cording has received specialized training in the field of pre-divorce financial planning and has demonstrated the knowledge and skills required to effectively help clients with divorce-related financial issues that will affect the rest of their lives. Such issues include differentiating between personal and marital property, valuing and dividing property, and dealing with issues related to retirement assets and pensions, as well as spousal and child support, tax law, and other financial issues affecting divorce.
read more below
get started on living well
Subscribe to the Fearless Flyer
Get the financial tips and insights you need to fearlessly pursue your goals, plus access to subscriber-only benefits like our Tax Resource Center and more.
Leisl's dedication to her client's needs is admirable and her work on achieving the CDFA designation will help our firm's clients and prospects manage the financial uncertainties related to divorce,” said WHZ Principal, Managing Partner and Chief Goals Strategist James Zahansky, AWMA®. “Leisl’s experience and input in that regard now allows our entire advisory team as well as our client experience and client service teams to better help clients through these situations."
Cording says that while going through divorce proceedings is undoubtedly a difficult time for clients, it’s also a critical time to ensure the proper steps are taken to plan well for the future.
“While it is a challenging topic and one that no one wants to be in the position to have to talk about, there are a lot of financial issues to sort through that ultimately will have a great impact on many different aspects of a person’s future and perhaps the future of their children as well,” Cording says.
“It’s a challenge I’ve helped many clients to work through already in my 15 years as a financial advisor and I’ve seen the impacts it can have, especially when I’m working with new clients who’ve already been through a divorce without the help and guidance of a financial professional,” she says.
“That’s what prompted me to seek this designation. The knowledge and skills I’ve gained allow me to provide people going through a divorce with a much deeper analysis of how their financial situation may change, and to create a financial plan that gets them set up to move past those challenges and the divorce itself on a solid financial path to the future. And that’s really important and empowering for people at such a vulnerable time in their lives.”
The CDFA® certification is the latest in a string of recent achievements for Cording. Earlier this month she was featured in FORTUNE magazine as one of the nation’s “Five Star Wealth Managers Under Forty.” The article was in reference to her recent selection to receive the Five Star Wealth Manager Award for the second consecutive year in 2022 (2021 being the first year she was eligible for consideration).
2022 Five Star Wealth Manager Award, created by Five Star Professional. Presented in November, 2022 based on data gathered between February, 2022 and September, 2022. 2,950 Connecticut-area advisors were considered, 290 (10%) of advisors were recognized. Advisors pay a fee to hold out marketing materials. Not indicative of advisor’s future performance. Your experience may vary. For more information, please visit www.fivestarprofessional.com.
The Five Star Award is the largest and most widely published wealth manager award program in the financial services industry. Among all Connecticut wealth managers who were eligible, Cording was one of just 290 – or 10 percent of all candidates – to receive the award, along with WHZ’s Principals/Managing Partners Laurence Hale, AAMS, CRPS® and James Zahansky AWMA®.
Cording’s accomplishments in the financial planning and wealth management space are especially impressive given her young age and the fact that only about 25 percent of wealth managers are women.
Cording was promoted to senior vice president at WHZ in February 2022, just three years after joining the firm. She has nearly 15 years of experience working with high-net-worth individuals in multiple areas of retirement, financial, and estate planning, and says she has a particular interest in helping early- and mid-career clients, particularly women, to balance and prioritize their financial goals.
WHZ was founded in Pomfret, Connecticut in 2006 as an independent fiduciary asset management and investment firm. Today the firm offers wealth management and customized financial planning services to individuals, families, business owners and executives, and not-for-profit institutions in 25 states from its offices in Pomfret and Tolland, CT.
You & Your Money Podcast
Tune in for market updates and financial tips to help you Plan Well, Invest Well and Live Well.
WHZ on YouTube
Quick Tip videos designed to empower you to reach your financial life goals.