There Comes a Time When Managing Investments is No Longer Enough
Retirement planning for pre-retirees on Long Island, built around the decisions that matter most in the next chapter.
If you're reading this, you've probably spent decades building your financial life. You worked hard. You saved consistently. You made sacrifices. You raised a family, maybe on Long Island, or somewhere else. New York, Florida, California, or elsewhere. Along the way, you weathered recessions, market crashes, and uncertainty. Today, your questions are different.
- Will we have enough?
- Can we simplify our finances?
- When should we retire?
- Should we help our children now — or later?
- How do we make confident decisions when every choice seems to affect the rest of our lives?
Most financial advisors answer those questions by talking about investments. At Derryrush Wealth, we begin somewhere else.
We Believe Every Financial Decision Is Really a Life Decision.
Money is important. But money is not the destination. It is the resource that allows you to design the life you want to live. The decisions you make today influence where tomorrow leads — but they do not define it forever.
A Different Kind of Relationship
We intentionally work with a limited number of families. That allows us to know more than your account balances. We want to understand: what gives your life meaning, what keeps you awake at night, what opportunities excite you, what legacy you hope to leave, and what would make the next twenty-five years the most fulfilling years of your life. Only then do we begin discussing investments. Because investment decisions should support your life, they need not determine it.
Our Philosophy
About James Connolly
I founded Derryrush Wealth Management because I wanted to build the kind of advisory firm I would want for my own family. My undergraduate education in mathematics and economics from Columbia University, and my MBA in management and leadership from Dowling College, taught me how systems work. My decades of experience taught me something equally important: people rarely struggle because they lack information. They struggle because important decisions become clouded by uncertainty, emotion, competing priorities, and complexity. My responsibility is to bring clarity. To simplify what feels overwhelming. To help you understand not only what you can do — but why one path may better serve the life you want to create. That is a responsibility I take seriously.
Our Promise
- We work with a deliberately limited number of families. You will never be just another account. You are a relationship.
- Every decision is yours. You will never be rushed or pressured. Our role is to inform, clarify, and advise; never to push.
- You will have a trusted advisor who stays. Not a call center. Not a rotating relationship manager. One person. Accountable. Accessible. Local.
In the end, wealth isn't measured simply by what you've accumulated. It's measured by the life your wealth allows you to live.
Welcome to Derryrush Wealth.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
When should I start working with a financial advisor before retirement?
Most pre-retirees benefit from starting five to ten years before retiring, since decisions like Social Security timing, withdrawal sequencing, and pre-retirement tax planning take years to execute well. There's no single right time, but the earlier these questions are addressed, the more options remain available.
What does "fee-only fiduciary" mean?
A fee-only fiduciary is legally required to act in the client's best interest and cannot earn commissions from product sales. Derryrush Wealth Management is compensated only by its clients, never by product providers.
Is there a minimum account size to work with Derryrush Wealth?
No, Derryrush Wealth Management has no minimum asset requirement. The relationship is based on the complexity of a client's situation, not portfolio size.
How is this different from a typical retirement advisor?
Derryrush Wealth deliberately limits its practice to a capped number of families and starts every engagement with the client's life decisions, not a product recommendation. The firm has operated this way since 1999.
What does the fee structure look like?
Fees are based on the scope of work and are detailed in the firm's Form ADV and Form CRS, both linked in the site footer. Specifics are fully discussed directly during the initial consultation.