Community Involvement

Bleakley, Schwartz, Cooney & Finney is committed to our community and to the community service interests of our clients. As a firm we have specific charitable organizations that we have partnered with. We also participate alongside our clients to support their charitable interests. We feel strongly about our responsibility as leaders in our industry and community.

Bleakley, Schwartz, Cooney & Finney is hosting the 17^thAnnual Golf & Tennis Classic on Monday, June 4 at the Mountain Ridge Country Club. Mountain Ridge Country Club is located in West Caldwell, and has been rated one of the “Top 10 Private Courses” by Golf Weekly and one of the “Top 100 Classic Courses” by Golf Digest.

Benefitting New Jersey SEEDS, this is the 15^thconsecutive year that the event will be chaired by Partner Andy Schwartz, who also serves on the Board of Trustees for New Jersey SEEDS. One of the organization’s annual events, it has raised more than $1.65 million for SEEDS over the past 14 years. Last year’s event alone brought in $160,000 to the organization.

Sponsorship opportunities, as well as golf and tennis registration, are now available on the New Jersey SEEDS website, www.njseeds.org/2012golfandtennis. Raffle tickets are also available for purchase. This year’s prizes include an iPad 2, a Nikon Projection Camera and a Calloway Razr Driver.

New Jersey SEEDS is a nonprofit organization that changes the lives of motivated, high-achieving students from low-income families by transforming their educational opportunities. Please visit www.njseeds.org for additional details.

Bleakley, Schwartz, Cooney & Finney Brings Stock Market to Students at Rowan University 

Jack D. Cooney, Jr., Scott Schwartz, & Andy Schwartz of Bleakley, Schwartz, Cooney & Finney, pictured here with Rowan University students at the opening of the new Trading Room

In the new Trading Room at Rowan University, undergraduate and graduate students in the Rohrer College of Business test their acumen buying and selling stocks with real money — $100,000 that comes from the William G. Rohrer Charitable Foundation.
 
Bleakley, Schwartz, Cooney & Finney partners Jack D. Cooney, Jr., Andy Schwartz, Scott Schwartz, and J. Reed Finney sponsored the trading room.  The endeavor was also sponsored by Eric Olson, The Olson Financial Group, Summit; Kevin Hassan, The Hassan Group, Philadelphia; Andrew Braun, The Mid Atlantic Financial Group, Mt. Laurel; and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, based in Milwaukee, which matched the individuals’ gifts. 
 

Jack, Scott, and Andy (pictured) participated on Sept. 26 in the “bell ringing” — the official unveiling — of the Rowan University Trading Room. “We thought this would be a wonderful opportunity for the school. It’s great for Rowan to be able to expose their students to this, and it’s a great way for us to possibly cultivate some associates. We see the school as our sweet spot. We’re interested in smart kids who really know how to work,” Andy said.
 
“The trading room will provide the students with more of a real-life experience. So much of college is theoretical. This is an opportunity to see the real world, watch the markets real time,” Scott said. Andy and Scott are both Rowan alumni.
 
Cooney agreed.  “I am supporting this because I feel that if we can bring real-life situations into the classroom, students are better prepared to make decisions about careers in the financial industry,” he said. “They will have greater awareness of the market and of the impact on their future clients.”
  
“Establishing a trading room was one of the priorities for the Rohrer College of Business,” said Dr. Niranjan Pati, dean. “Through Andy and Scott Schwartz and the Northwestern family our students will be able to explore hands-on opportunities that very well may impact their learning experiences and their futures.”
 
Northwestern Mutual is a leading American life insurance company and the nation’s largest direct provider of individual life insurance. Numerous leading investment industry publications have ranked Northwestern Mutual among the Top 10 independent broker-dealers, as measured by total revenues.
 

Bleakley, Schwartz, Cooney & Finney Donates Funds to Local School to Aid in Flood Relief

Bleakley, Schwartz, Cooney & Finney donated funds to the Fairfield School District to aid in flood recovery. The firm’s donation enabled the Stevenson School to replace their piano that had been damaged in the flooding after Hurricane Irene.

Bleakley, Schwartz, Cooney & Finney’s donation was matched by Northwestern Mutual. The piano will be used to enhance the chorus and instrumental programs for the 400 students in grades pre-K through 3 that attend the Fairfield elementary school. 

Jack D. Cooney, Jr., Managing Director of the firm says “Financial success and community involvement go hand in hand. Making solid investments in the future of our local community is one of our firm’s chief values.”  

Bleakley, Schwartz, Cooney & Finney provides wealth management and financial planning services.  The firm has been part of part of the local community for more than 30 years.

The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company – Milwaukee, WI (Northwestern Mutual) has helped clients achieve financial security for more than 150 years. Northwestern Mutual and its subsidiaries offer a holistic approach to financial security solutions including: life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability insurance, annuities, investment products, and advisory products and services. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Service, LLC, broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company, limited purpose federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company; and Russell Investments. Further information can be found at http://www.northwesternmutual.com. 

$160K Raised for New Jersey SEEDS at the 16th Annual Golf & Tennis Classic

Wade Morgan (SEEDS ’05, Delbarton ’11, Stanford ’14) spoke at the event about how NJ SEEDS has impacted his education and life.

 Bleakley, Schwartz, Cooney & Finney has been a proud supporter of NJ SEEDS for the past 14 years.  NJ SEEDS is a privately funded, state-wide nonprofit organization committed to developing future leaders through education.  NJ SEEDS works with competitive, primarily independent secondary schools to provide opportunities for highly motivated, academically qualified, but economically disadvantaged students.

Each year, Bleakley, Schwartz, Cooney & Finney hosts the annual New Jersey SEEDS Golf Outing to benefit the mission of New Jersey SEEDS. This event is held at some of the most prestigious golf courses in the state. This past June, the event raised over $160,000.  “We’re enormously grateful to our event chair Andy Schwartz and his partners at Bleakley, Schwartz, Cooney & Finney for their commitment to our students,” said SEEDS President Ronni Denes. “Their generosity through the years has helped us raise nearly $2 million to provide a top tier education to high-achieving, low-income students in New Jersey.” 

Major sponsors of the event included Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, Coach and Greenberg-Traurig.  More than 150 guests attended the event, which included both live and silent auctions.  For the first time in many years, in addition to golf, the outing included a round-robin tennis tournament, chaired by SEEDS trustee Abby O’Neill and attended by many area residents.

Founded in 1992, SEEDS was recognized with the Neighborhood Builder Award by Bank of America in 2010 and has won awards from Jersey Cares, Mutual of America and Oprah’s Angel Network.  For the past four years, SEEDS has received four-stars -- the highest possible rating -- from Charity Navigator. 

For more information about New Jersey SEEDS and their work in the community, please visit their website: http://www.njseeds.org/