There is a “WHY” behind what I do as a financial planner. Growing up in NYC, my parents had a home in Jamaica Estates- Queens and we had a summer home in Sag Harbor, Long Island. My father returned from WW2 to his position as an accountant at the Long Island Carpet Cleaning Company with the intention of purchasing the business. My mother was a stay at home mom raising my older brother and me. While enjoying time at our summer home in Sag Harbor my father experienced a sudden heart attack and died leaving my mother, brother and me (age 7) without a financial plan. Within a period of one to two years my mother had to sell our 2 homes and move the family into a small apartment. My goal is to help ensure my clients that they will never experience what I did as a young boy after my father passed away.
My role as an advisor to my clients is to first educate them so they can make informed choices. I do this by engaging our clients with our 6 step Process: Step 1- Organize; Step 2- Prioritize; Step 3- Analyze; Step 4- Design their strategy/plan; Step 5- Implement their plan; and Step 6- Monitor their plan. A common mistake or misunderstanding by many is to think that investments and their rates of returns equates to having a financial plan; it does not. When we customize a strategy for a client, our plan has three specific goals in mind- 1. To address income for one’s lifetime; 2. Address one’s propensity for risk; and 3. address inflation.
I entered the financial services industry in 1990 after my family sold our business, a manufacturing electronic components for telecommunication systems. After gaining experience both as a stockbroker and insurance agent working for large corporations I left corporate America to establish my own financial planning firm. The rationale behind leaving large fortune 100 companies was simple- I work for my clients, not the company. Large corporations have great advertisements with millions of dollars for marketing budgets. Their advertisements are wonderful but in reality large companies have their agendas, which are production goals for the end of the month, quarter and end of the year. It is impossible to serve two masters; the company and the client. For me there is only one client- the individual, couple or business seeking my professional advice and guidance. With nearly 30 years of experience it has been my honor to help guide clients on their financial journey. My greatest value is my client’s financial well-being.