Lauren Smith '16

Associate Vice President, Graypoint LLC – a comprehensive financial planning and wealth management firm

Hometown: Originally from Menands, NY (right next to Siena College) and currently living in Saratoga Springs

Studied while at Siena: Finance

Current Involvement:

Board Member at Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation, Volunteer for Franklin Community Center, Siena College Board of Advisors member, Siena College Center for Private Wealth Management Advisory Board

Involvement while at Siena:

Lacrosse player, Student Class Officer, Finance Club

How do you involve yourself in your community?

Volunteer and attend networking events for both Siena College and my firm Graypoint LLC. Graypoint is located in Albany, New York and very involved in the Capital Region.

Describe a typical day in your life:

A typical day for me involves building relationships and offering financial advice. I advise private, high-net worth individuals and affluent families on how to invest their portfolios and plan their finances to meet their financial goals, we typically offer a wide range of services, including portfolio management, estate and retirement planning, and tax services.

Lauren Smith and family — Lauren and her family.

How did your Siena education prepare you for the work you’re doing today?

You never really know how good or bad the education you received is/was until you BENCHMARK IT in the marketplace. I can now tell you that my Siena education was second to none. 1) I was academically prepared 2) my total Siena experience helped me to become a well-rounded individual and taught me the value of continuous training and learning. Because, as we all know, the total value of a Liberal Arts education is that it teaches you and trains you to be a learner for life.

As one of my colleagues once said...."I love hiring Siena alumni; they are professionally prepared; come with very little to no social baggage; and are well rounded enough to volunteer to chair the numerous community involvement projects that all corporations seek to become involved."

Describe your professional progression since leaving Siena.

Since leaving Siena College as a finance major in 2016, I have had the opportunity to work at three unique financial planning firms. I started my career at Ayco (a financial planning subsidiary of Goldman Sachs), where I benefited from an excellent training and worked with many successful Siena alumni. From there I moved to New York City and worked two and half years for the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) in their wealth management division. I was blessed to be mentored by experts (one being another Siena alumnus) in the investment side of the industry. In 2021, I was recruited to Graypoint LLC, a registered investment advisory firm located in Albany. I’ve been here since expanding my technical knowledge in the financial planning industry as a client advisor.

SIENA FAVORITES

Siena Professor: Richard Proctor
Class: BUDV – As a group of seniors we were able to develop a solution to a problem and then work together to best present our ideas. Very “adult life” like!
Location: Siena turf field – spent hours a day here for my four years at Siena College and wouldn’t have changed this.
Study-break Food: Candy
Residence Hall: Hennepin Hall
Class Year: Sophomore year – from an all-around perspective of knowing more than I did my freshman year in terms of where to eat, where to go on the weekends, who your friends were, what classes to take, where the fun townhouses were, etc.
Food: Limmy’s Omelets
Favorite Memory: Spending time with my lacrosse teammates and making memories together whether it was at practice, away trips, between classes or just catching up.

Advice for current Saints:

Enjoy your time at Siena and cherish the moments! Siena truly is an Education for a Lifetime and the learning field is both inside and outside the classroom.

Career advice for current students:

Always be open to networking and putting yourself out there. You can learn something from every conversation you have even if it isn’t related to the career, you think you want. Don’t be afraid to ask questions & to be curious.