Douglas Smooke is the Managing Principal and Chief Investment Officer of Renaissance Wealth Management, where he oversees investment strategies and portfolio design for families, professionals, endowments and small business retirement plans. Doug founded Renaissance Wealth Management in 2003 with a commitment to deliver conscientious and thoughtful investment management for his clients.
In 2011 Doug noticed an emerging trend that businesses were increasingly prioritizing and integrating social responsibility in all facets of their operations. Doug analyzed the performance of these industry leaders and discovered that many of these companies delivered superior investment returns when compared to their peers. Since 2013 he has been advising investors who want to align their investments with their values, without sacrificing investment performance.
Renaissance Wealth Management specializes in tax-efficient, low-fee investments with a disciplined approach, where their clients’ best interests are paramount. Doug holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University and a Master of Arts degree from Harvard University.
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The Real Story
Doug flourished in the liberal arts environment of Duke University, where he wrote fiction with some of the great American authors of the time and edited the weekly Duke arts and entertainment magazine. He then spent 5 years trying to change the world and taught English, art history and students with learning differences in Washington, DC and Denver, while moonlighting as a high school football coach. With a public policy master’s degree in tow from Harvard and looking for his next adventure, Doug was told, “The internet will be the next big thing.” So he embarked on a whirlwind journey in corporate development for technology companies during the time of Web 1.0.
After an exhilarating ride of 8 years with startups, Doug decided to harness his financial acumen and trusted relationships and launched Renaissance Wealth Management. Now in its 19th year and with two big recessions under its belt, Doug still loves analyzing charts and data, discovering new ways to impact the world in a meaningful way and providing his clients with the thoughtful advice they need to pursue their goals.
LPL Financial is one of the nation’s leading financial services companies and a publicly traded company under ticker symbol LPLA. The firm’s mission is rooted in the belief that objective financial guidance is a fundamental need for everyone. LPL does not offer proprietary investment products or engage in investment banking activities; this means advisors affiliated with LPL are not pressured or influenced by LPL to sell its products. Thousands of financial advisors nationwide are able to rely on the firm’s tools and resources to help them provide financial guidance and recommendations to help meet their clients’ needs. For more information about LPL Financial, visit lpl.com.
Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) / Environmental Social Governance (ESG) investing has certain risks since the criteria exclude securities of certain issuers for non-financial reasons and, therefore, investors may forgo some market opportunities and the universe of investments available will be smaller. The return of an SRI/ESG strategy may be lower than if the advisor made decisions based solely on investment considerations.