Joseph Deitch

Life and career

Deitch was born in a Jewish family and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He lived in Dorchester and Mattapan, graduating in 1968 from the Boston Latin School, and then attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a BA in International Relations in 1972. He later attended Harvard Business School, graduating from the Owner/President Management program in 1989.

Following graduation from Pennsylvania, he moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands for two years, before moving back to Boston. He began his professional career in 1974 with Mass Indemnity. He then moved to New England Life in 1975, to pursue a career in financial planning, and in 1978, he founded The Cambridge Group which provides comprehensive financial planning services to affluent individuals. In 1982, Becker Research Corporation named The Cambridge Group the most prominent financial planning firm in its area.

In 1979, he formed Commonwealth Equity Services, an independent Broker-dealer. Today, the company is known as Commonwealth Financial Network. In 1988, Deitch left The Cambridge Group in order to focus exclusively on Commonwealth.

In 2006, he formed a partnership with Southworth Development CEO David Southworth, becoming chairman of Southworth Development, a golf and leisure real estate company with properties in the United States, Scotland, and the Bahamas. Each of the company’s five properties have received national and/or international acclaim

Deitch served as CEO of Commonwealth Financial Network until 2009, when he assumed the role of Chairman. Today, Commonwealth serves 1,710 investment advisors, with approximately $114 billion in assets under management as of 12/31/16, and has been ranked as the Broker/Dealer of the Year by Investment Advisor Magazine 10 times. In 2017, Commonwealth was ranked as the number 9 “Best Place to Work in IT" among small organizations by Computerworld Magazine, and has been recognized as a ”Best Place to Work” 35 times by regional publications in Boston and San Diego. J.D. Power and Associates has ranked Commonwealth “Highest in Independent Advisor Satisfaction Among Financial Investment Firms,” four times in a row.

From 2009 – 2012, Deitch co-produced 9 Broadway productions, most of which were produced through Full House Productions, with Deitch serving as principal. These shows include The Addams Family, A View from the Bridge., and Fela, many of which were nominated for, or won, several Tony awards. In 2012, Deitch won a Tony award as co-producer for The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess

Impact

In 2004, 2005, and 2006, Deitch was recognized by Investment Advisor magazine as one of the Top 25 most influential people in the financial planning industry. In 2010, the magazine named him one of the “30 most influential individuals in and around the planning profession,” In 2015, Deitch was named to Investment Advisor magazine as one of the Top 35 most influential people in the financial planning industry. Through Southworth Development, he developed the first 18-hole Geo-Certified Course in the UK, ranked #1 as the Top Eco Course, and helped push it to #38 of the top links course in the UK.

Community activities

In 2011 he founded the Deitch Leadership Institute at the Boston Latin School. The institute provides leadership training and focuses on individual growth and community improvement.

In conjunction with Commonwealth Financial Network, in 2002 Deitch created The Commonwealth Triathlon on Cape Cod which he continues to host annually. The triathlon is now in its 14th year.

Personal life

Deitch married psychologist Robbie Sue Lacritz, PsyD, in 1982. They were married until her death of ovarian cancer in December, 2006. He has one son, born in 1986.