Lesko Financial Services’ new office helps firm better serve clients

VESTAL — Lesko Financial Services, Inc. has served the greater Binghamton region since 1948.

Since 1998, it did so from downtown offices at 58 Chenango St.

In 2022, however, the firm made a move just across the river to 400 Plaza Drive in Vestal. It still serves the greater Binghamton region but does so now from a location that’s easier for employees and customers, alike, to access — complete with parking, CEO Gregory Lesko says.

While Lesko notes he enjoyed having the office downtown, watching the area revitalize and grow, the reality is the former location wasn’t convenient. Parking was an issue and the office, located on the second floor, wasn’t easy for everyone to access, he says.

On top of that, the majority of Lesko’s local client base is west of Binghamton, making the new Vestal office much more convenient, he adds.

The move is just one way in which Lesko Financial Services strives to serve its customers.

“What has also helped us to grow is that one of our top priorities is client education,” Lesko says. Over the years, he has found that being educated on investing helps clients ride out the ups and downs of stock and bond markets much more easily.

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We go over with them the history of the markets,” he says, and also explain the whys behind their investment recommendations. Agents assess a client’s investment needs and risk tolerance.

“We don’t work with models,” Lesko says. “We try to tailor everyone’s portfolios.”

That level of service and attention to detail has helped the firm grow over the years. Lesko’s grandfather Charles Lesko, Sr., started the Lesko Agency in 1948 as an insurance agency. Lesko’s father and uncle, Michael and Charles, Jr., respectively, took over the business in 1962 and began to add investment services in the late 1960s. In 1971, they renamed the business Lesko Financial Services.

Gregory Lesko first joined the firm in 1983, but spent 14 years away from the company gaining financial and legal experience outside the Southern Tier, including practicing law in Albany. He rejoined Lesko Financial Services in 2002, becoming the third generation to operate the business.

Today, Lesko Financial Services works with clients to cover “all of life’s major financial challenges” from education to buying a home to retirement, he says.

“We’ve grown into a company that has over 7,000 household clients,” Lesko notes. 

The company serves clients in Binghamton and in 30 other states besides New York, has about $1 billion in assets under management, and employs 24 people. The insurance side currently makes up less than 10 percent of the company’s overall business.

Now that Lesko Financial Services has settled into its new Vestal location, Lesko says he’s looking for opportunities to become a bigger part of the community.

“We, as a priority, want to give back to our community,” he says. Lesko hopes the company can participate in the Town of Vestal’s bicentennial festivities in the coming months.