Published: January 23, 2009 01:15 pm      

Financial planner offers insider help to GM employees

BROWNSBURG — As a graduate of General Motors’ engineering school, working in manufacturing operations lined up with Mike Curtiss’ background.

His appointment to manager of employee benefits after GM sold the Allison Gas Turbine Division to a private equity firm in 1993, however, was “out of the blue.”

But it’s worked out for Curtiss, who started Envisioning Financial, Inc., a full-service financial planning and investment advisory service, in 2003.

“It wasn’t anything I had necessarily prepared myself for,” Curtiss said of the career shift. “But it was a tremendous opportunity in hindsight because it enabled me to learn a different part of the business and develop a different skill-set that ultimately allowed me to do what I’m doing now. It’s something I never could’ve predicted, the way it turned out. But I’m glad it turned out that way.”

Curtiss hasn’t forgotten his GM roots, though. In fact, through Envisioning Financial he’s helped many former GM employees navigate the labyrinth that is the centurial corporation.

He worked for GM for almost 30 years, but not in a part of the company the general public normally associates with the name. Curtiss notes how the Allison Gas Turbine Division was isolated in GM’s grand scheme.

“It was nice to have that autonomy of something more exciting — jet engines — than cars and trucks, but at the same time have all the benefits and coverage of a large corporation,” he said.

Likewise, Curtiss called it an exciting time when GM sold the division in 1993. For seven years Allison Engine Company, as it was known, was independent. As manager of employee benefits, Curtiss oversaw a small staff in charge of pensions, health care, and insurance.

Eventually Rolls-Royce acquired Allison. Curtiss stayed on for a while, but decided to take advantage of a generous early retirement package after a corporate climate returned.

“I guess once you’ve tasted independence, to fall back in that is less desirable,” he said.

Curtiss used the experience to establish Envisioning Financial. He’s got a diverse clientele. But given GM’s longevity, including selling Allison and transferring its automotive components business to Delphi, it’s left many workers in the dark as to their benefits. Having worked in that area for a number of years, Curtiss knows the ins and outs.

“It became apparent — more through default than design — that I had a skill-set that could be valuable to people seeking answers,” he said. “It evolved; I can’t say I set out with that goal.”

Having worked for GM and Rolls-Royce, Curtiss gets benefits from both. Many other employees and retirees are in the same situation. And the further you go back in time, the more challenging it can be to determine what you’re owed.

“It’s really just trying to ensure people get what they’re entitled to,” Curtiss said.

And now there’s the question of whether GM will even remain solvent. The company is still warning it may run out of money despite receiving billions of tax dollars from the federal government. And Toyota surpassed GM as the world’s largest automaker in 2008, a distinction GM held for 77 years.

All that has made Curtiss a therapist as much as a financial consultant.

“There are a lot of nervous people out there,” he said.

While he thinks GM ultimately will survive, he wouldn’t be surprised if they declare bankruptcy. If that happens, substantial revisions to pensions are probable. It’s all part of a vast de-leveraging process where the economy is working through the excesses of easy credit.

Curtiss expects 2009 to be another tough year financially, but a recovery is in sight. It could be worse, he says. As much as some have decried the government’s intervention in the mess, he thinks doing nothing would’ve had far worse implications. Indeed, these are unprecedented times.

“Ten years from now, we can talk about what it was like,” Curtiss said. “Hopefully we’re happy to be having that conversation.”

Envisioning Financial is at 515 N. Green St., Suite 401, Brownsburg. For more information, call 858-2222 or visit the website at www.envisioningfinancial.com.



wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com