From left, Andy Goodell, state assemblyman; Lisa Vanstrom, Chautauqua County legislator; Kathryn Colvin, financial adviser; Tina Liuzzo, office administrator; and Katrina Fuller, field representative for Congressman Tom Reed, at the new Lakewood branch of Edward Jones Investments grand reopening at 305 E. Fairmount Ave., Wednesday. The Edward Jones office was previously located on Summit Street in Lakewood, where the first branch opened in 1994. P-J photos by Jordan W. Patterson

LAKEWOOD — After moving locations, Kathryn Colvin, financial adviser, is looking to put her own touch on the new office space of Edward Jones Investments while expanding their visibility on Fairmount Avenue in Lakewood.

Edward Jones is a St. Louis-based Fortune 500 company that provides financial services with more than 16,000 advisors overseeing seven million clients and $1 trillion worth of assets nationwide. The Lakewood branch had been located on Summit Avenue in Lakewood, since its beginning in 1994.

Colvin was hired in 2008 as the office administrator, but shortly thereafter she was promoted to financial advisor of the branch in 2009. At a grand reopening ceremony on Wednesday, Andy Goodell, state assemblyman, Lisa Vanstrom, Chautauqua County legislator, and Katrina Fuller, field representative for Congressman Tom Reed, were in attendance among clients and supporters.

Fuller also presented a certificate of congressional recognition to the Lakewood branch from Reed.

Now, Colvin and Tina Liuzzo, officer administrator, are operating in an office, located at 305 E. Fairmount Ave., that is entirely their own and not a “hand-me-down,” as Colvin described the previous office.

Colvin is a partner with Edward Jones and handles 1,700 accounts for more than 400 clients in Chautauqua County. The branch handles individual investors, retirement planning, estate planning, sales of stocks and bonds, strategic planning, life insurance and 401k planning for businesses.

“I love it all,” Colvin said.

She enjoys coming into the office to work on something different than she did from the previous day.

When Colvin began as the financial advisor she became the fifth person to hold the title in a five-year period, and also became the first female to step into the role. As for the financial advisor turnover she said, “I survived all of that.”

Colin is now in her ninth year in her position and was ready for fresh office setting.

As for the upgrade, Colvin said it was much needed.

“It’s amazing,” she said.

The new office includes more parking space, an additional office and more room for seminars. Colvin hosts 24 seminars throughout the year where she gives financial advice to those in attendance.

“We really relocated so that we had ample parking to provide for our guests and to have a bigger availability of space to entertain,” Colvin said.

Those seminars include 12 ladies lunches and 12 coffee club events, among other financial related events. The seminars primarily focus on financial literacy.

“I’m really, really passionate about helping teach people the nuances of investing and making it make sense to everyone so I find, naturally, that I end up serving a lot of widows,” Colvin said.

Colvin said men in a family are more likely to handle investments than the women are traditionally. Colvin often finds herself translating financial information to women around the area, but does not limit herself to only them and has clients of all backgrounds.

Another benefit of the relocation is the visibility exposure now that the office is located on Fairmount Avenue. The office can be reached at 763-0406 where potential investors are likely to speak with Liuzzo in the “marvelous” new office space, as she described it.