Also was pressured to buy OST stock with a "guarantee" of through the roof projections. Horrible company, daily pressures to buy more stock. After I lost 2900 dollars Tara was a ghost. She should be fired and the company black listed. read more

Just got scammed by Tarra,one of altfests investment team,bought a load of OST shares cost £15000,boy was i taken in by her lies,there's no fool like an old fool,be warned folks,stay clear,or loose the shirt off your back read more

BAD FINANCIAL PLANNING, DETROYED PORTFOLIO, UNSUITABLE INVESTMENTS, UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT 1. Destroyed portfolio with over 1/3 value lost 2. Ignore client 3. Main owner, Lew, lost temper when question as to why did he things the way he did them. That is Lew.(I don't know what a PHD in Finance from City College gets ya but not an ego that big) He does not like being questions about his decisions. If you go with this outfit, do NOT, sign over full decision making rights to this financial firm. 4. Unsuitable investments and risk for a retirement person age 5. Promises of retirement planning, puts it off, then asks for big money. There is no way to properly invest without doing cash flow analysis or coordinating with other investments 6. Alleging that he takes a cookie cut approach and does not tailor things to the risk levels and ages of his clients or wealth level 7. Neglects small clients 8. They changed their company's name from LJ Altfest. Lew and Karen are husband and wife. They have various underlyings their too. Their son worked their for a while. I hope he headed for greener pastures. On the whole, I would say stay away. Do not sign his arbitration agreement it binds you to expensive arbitration. Make sure he writes out what he is going to do for how much money, who bears the cost of trading etc. I would even venture to say you are better off with Fidelity so long as they came in at less than 1%. This guy was no better than a petty broker and had a temperament of one to boot. This is one person's opinion based on a factual client interaction I am sure Vanguard, Blackrock, Bernstein, UBS would be fine too. read more

I've worked with Lew and Karen for the past 20 years. They are recognized industry leaders who are as well respected as anyone in our industry. Besides being extremely smart they are very personable with a focus on how to help the clients. Their office is recognized year in and year out as being one of the best in the country. As someone who works with advisors throughout the country and has a very visible firm, I highly recommend L.J. Altfest for their advice, integrity, and ability to translate complicated financial planning/investments into an understandable plan of action. read more

Since 2013, my girlfriend and I have been clients of Altfest Personal Wealth Management. Although our combined accounts are smaller than those of Altfest's average clients, we have been well taken care of, never felt short-changed or neglected by our advisors, who have been very responsive to our every request. When we started with Altfest, our combined assets were somewhat below the required minimum for an advisory account, but we were accepted anyway; our assets are now well above that minimum. Our transactions and relationship with Altfest have been transparent and friendly. We intend to continue doing business with this company. read more

Lewis taught me what I needed to know in financial planning. He brought his Pace University students to the firm's Park Avenue office to give a hands-on view of what was being taught in the classroom. His deep level of knowledge and in depth writings helped break down complex financial planning theories into easier to understand conversations and case studies. He's a wealth of knowledge. read more

In the more than ten years that my family and I have known the professionals at Altfest Personal Wealth Management, we have always been impressed by their depth of knowledge and client-first approach. Their educational seminars have provided me with a deeper understanding of my financial planning needs and have helped me find my investing comfort zone. I consider myself lucky to know Karen and Lewis Altfest and to be able to seek advice from their impressive staff. I am comfortable to say that I can place my utmost trust in their well researched approach to investing. read more

In contrast to the comments by Zealous C, my wife and I have had nothing but wonderful and attentive service from the Altfest team. We've been clients for about 3 years during which our equities portfolio has grown at or above the level of the S&P500. Our account manager responds to all our concerns within one business day. We meet with him and his assistant about twice per year to review the account in detail. Often Lew joins us and provides clear, concise and sometimes provocative insight. I would also like to point out that Altfest was ranked in the top 100 independent financial advisors in the US (Barron's 2013). read more