Contributed by: Timothy Wyman, CFP®, JD
Dear Clients & Friends of The Center:
I hope that this letter finds you enjoying the start of a New Year. Major tax reform, Federal Reserve monetary policy decisions and geopolitical uncertainty already consume headlines and should present opportunities for planning in 2018.
Our team is always analyzing. Today we are discussing the income and estate tax changes, how they might affect the economy and financial markets, as well as the planning opportunities that you may want to consider in your personal planning. We look forward to sharing our insights in the coming weeks and throughout the year. However, before fully turning the page to the New Year, we would like to share The Center’s 2017 Review with you, our stakeholders.
Team – Your Team
For a professional services practice like The Center, success starts and ends with people. The people we serve; our clients, and team members. Once again, we have added talented new team members to serve our growing clientele. These folks understand that success is earned each and every day – sometimes through major breakthroughs but mostly from doing the right thing minute after minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day, year by year by always putting our clients’ needs first. Client service is deeply woven into our culture as we work tirelessly to help you accomplish your life goals and achieve confidence and peace of mind regarding your financial affairs.
Please visit our website at www.CenterFinPlan.com for additional information on our entire team. Below is a brief summary of our new team members:
Experienced and talented financial planners Peggy Hall Davenport, CFP®, Bob Ingram and Jacki Roessler, CDFA® joined our Financial Planning Team.
The Client Service Team welcomed Andrew O’Laughlin, Abigail Fischer, and Sarah McDonell.
James Brown joined us as our new Information Technology Manager.
Internships, under the direction of Jaclyn Jackson, continue to be an important ingredient of The Center. Military veteran and then Oakland University student Kevin Kelley joined as an intern and moved to full time status after graduation. University of Michigan student DewRina Lee spent the summer with us and we just welcomed Butler University student Luke Renchik over winter break.
We said good-bye to a few team members including Clare Lilek who moved to Chicago to attend law school at Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Most recently we just welcomed a new receptionist, Andrea Tomaszewski.
These folks understand and appreciate that great service is viewed as an opportunity, and it happens everywhere at The Center regardless of title or function. We hope that you have a chance to get to know our new team members in the coming year.
Keeping You Informed:
In addition to diligently monitoring investments, we continue to keep in touch in between calls and annual review meetings via a multitude of mediums. In 2017, we shared our knowledge and technical excellence with you, our clients, as well as other professionals and the communities in which we live and serve. Our team hosted webinars (14) on a variety of financial planning and investment topics throughout the year. We once again held live events on Investment Market Outlook and Medicare planning. Our entire team continues to be avid writers so as to keep you informed on timely and timeless topics via our blog posts (look for our Tax series rolling out as I write). Lastly, some of you were able to join us for some fun at our sponsored Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings concerts, Detroit Bus Tour, and networking events with other professional firms.
In 2017, our team were sought out speakers and community leaders. Matt Trujillo, CFP®, Nick Defenthaler, CFP® and Gerri Harmer presented at the Michigan Association of CPA’s annual CE day sharing their knowledge on Solo 401k and defined benefit cash balance plans. Sandy Adams, CFP® continues to be a leader in the Elder Care Community and Wayne State University's Institute of Gerontology in addition to teaching at Schoolcraft College. Melissa Joy, CFP®, CDFA® was a presenter at the Raymond James National Conference. Matt Chope, CFP® was a moderator at a national wealth management conference. Matt Trujillo, CFP® and Sandy Adams, CFP® presented to employees at DTE Energy. Nick Defenthaler, CFP® spoke on Social Security strategies at the Wixom, Brighton, and South Lyon libraries. And, Tim Wyman, CFP®, JD shared his knowledge on financial transitions at Right Management.
Record Numbers Once Again
In 1985, our founders wanted to build and create a specialized team who could serve clients in a different, better way. The concept of financial planning was novel. Starting with a team of three, our growth has been continuous and measured over the years. Growth for us is more of an outcome than a stated goal. Our clients and professional partners continue to be our biggest advocates, a status we do not take for granted. The Center currently has 29 team members serving roughly 960 clients.
Our client assets under management continues to grow, now exceeding $1.18 billion (that’s US Dollars not Bitcoin). The Center is in a solid financial position with adequate reserves. This strong financial position allows us to reinvest in our current team and consider strategic investments in technology and human capital for the benefit of you, our clients. Perhaps most importantly, a strong financial position allows us the freedom to think long term as we have just embarked on our Vision 2030 that we expect to finalize in 2018.
Technology
Technology continues to play an increased role in our ability to provide world-class service. We also understand and appreciate that technology alone does not replace the human touch. Last year, I shared a significant change in that we began implementing a new Client Relationship Management system. While this is behind-the-scenes technology, workflows and dialogues have helped us…well, help you. We continued to commit significant time and resources on training for our team to know and provide the best service experience possible for both clients and team members.
In 2017, we have made another major technology commitment with expectations to roll out mid-2018. Tamarac’s Advisor View will provide greater reporting capabilities as well as online dashboards and vaults. The goal is to more effectively communicate with you about your investments and financial picture. For those in the tech industry – I trust that you can appreciate it when I say more to come. :)
Awards & Recognition
In 2017, we were fortunate to receive a variety of Awards & Recognition. Once again, we received the Crain’s Detroit Cool Places to Work recognition – showing up at #7 this year. Awards such as this allow us to recruit, and even be recruited by, extremely talented new team members that increase our capabilities to serve you. The practice also received recognition on the Financial Times FT 300 List* as a top national Registered Investment Advisor as well as the Best and Brightest Health & Wellness award, among others.
Two of our financial planners received special recognition in 2017. Nick Defenthaler received mention in the Forbes – Top NexGen Advisors list** and planner/partner Melissa Joy was selected as a Top Wealth Adviser Mom Award recipient***.
Lastly, Director of Investment, Angela Palacios accepted a team award from Investment News as part of their Practice Management/Technology Award in recognition of our commitment to time proven systems and processes.
Summary
It is an exciting time to be a part of The Center. We thank you, our clients, professional partners and friends, for your continued confidence and trust. It is something we work hard at everyday – it’s what we love to do. As we enter our 33rd year, The Center is on solid footing. We continue to operate in a disciplined manner striving to provide outstanding client service and managing a growing company. To that end, we look forward to working with you in the year to come.
Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year.
Timothy Wyman, CF®, JD
Managing Partner
Timothy Wyman, CFP®, JD is the Managing Partner and Financial Planner at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® and is a contributor to national media and publications such as Forbes and The Wall Street Journal and has appeared on Good Morning America Weekend Edition and WDIV Channel 4. A leader in his profession, Tim served on the National Board of Directors for the 28,000 member Financial Planning Association™ (FPA®), mentored many CFP® practitioners and is a frequent speaker to organizations and businesses on various financial planning topics.
*Financial Times Top 300 Registered Investment Advisors - 2017
The Financial Times FT 300 Registered Investment Advisors 2017 award had about 41.1% of the 730 advisor applicants being recognized as a Registered Investment Advisor. The FT used the database of RIAs who are registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and selected those practices reporting to the SEC that had $300 million or more in assets under management, and no more than 75% of the AUM with institutional clients. Additionally, the firm must be independent (not the RIA arm of a broker dealer for example). Qualifying RIA firms filled out an online application and questionnaire that gave more information about their practices. That information was augmented with their own research on the candidates, including data from regulatory filings. The FT generated an internal score for each applicant based on six broad factors: advisor assets under management, AUM growth rate, the firm's years in operation, advisors' industry certifications (CFA, etc.), compliance record, and online accessibility. AUM and asset growth comprise roughly 80 percent to 90 percent of each RIA's score. Additionally, to provide a diversity of advisors, the FT placed a cap on the number of RIA's from any one state that's roughly correlated to the distribution of millionaires across the U.S. The ranking may not be representative of any one client's experience, is not an endorsement, and is not indicative of the advisor's future performance. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors or RIA firms pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. The FT is not affiliated with Raymond James.
**Forbes list of "America's Top Next Generation Wealth Advisors / Top Millennial Advisors “Data provided by SHOOKTM Research, LLCD ata as of 3/31/17.
SHOOK Research considered advisors born in 1980 or later with a minimum 4 years relevant experience. Advisors have built their own practices and lead their teams; joined teams and are viewed as future leadership; or a combination of both. Ranking algorithm is based on qualitative measures derived from telephone and in-person interviews and surveys: service models, investing process, client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations, etc.; and quantitative criteria, such as assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criteria because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC. Neither SHOOK nor Forbes receives compensation from the advisors or their firms in exchange for placement on a ranking. Raymond James is not affiliated with Forbes or Shook Research, LLC. This ranking is not indicative of advisor's future performance, is not an endorsement, and may not be representative of individual clients' experience.
***Working Mother and Shook Research's 2017 Top Wealth Adviser Moms
Data provided by SHOOKTM Research, LLC as of July 2017. The Working Mother and SHOOK research ranking is based on an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative data. SHOOK Research considered wealth advisers who are mothers with at least one child living at home and under the age of 18 with a minimum 5 years of industry experience. Ranking algorithm is based on qualitative measures derived from telephone and in-person interviews and surveys: service models, investing process, client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations, etc.; and quantitative criteria, such as assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisers rarely have audited performance reports. Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research LLC. Neither SHOOK nor Working Mother receives compensation from the advisers or their firms in exchange for placement on a ranking. Raymond James is not affiliated with Working Mother or Shook Research, LLC. This ranking is not indicative of advisor's future performance, is not an endorsement, and may not be representative of individual clients' experience. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors or RIA firms pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. For more information see www.SHOOKresearch.com.