About Kastler Financial Planning
Mike Kastler
Owner / Financial Planner
For the first 4+ years, I operated Kastler Financial Planning under the Garrett Investment Advisors, LLC umbrella, a fee-only fiduciary firm. While there I worked with and learned from 20-30 other like-minded financial professionals, focusing on the client first and best practices in financial planning. I carried that mantle to my own RIA firm beginning in 2019. Today, my biggest joy is when I can help a client navigate their way to a meaningful retirement, what I call a Purposeful RetirementTM.
Before the financial services industry, I was in the IT services industry, serving clients with education, consulting, and customized solutions. Making the transition to financial services, I wanted to incorporate all the consultative training I had received and carry it forward into all my new client financial services engagements:
-Transparency in my fees and contracts
-Timely in my responses to you
-Teach with the heart of a teacher
-Thoughtful with every Plan creation, as though it were my own
-Thankful for the opportunity to serve you
In 2020, I obtained the designation of Retirement Income Certified Professional, RICP®, to better serve my clients with Income Planning. I'm a lifelong learner who continued my education, receiving a new license in 2023.
Outside of my professional life, I enjoy time with my family, woodworking, and recently took up fly fishing. I also enjoy Tiger baseball and am optimistic about the young team that has been in the works for the last few years. I have volunteered extensively in the early 2000s for Habitat for Humanity and also for Financial Peace University, where I gained my early passion for helping families with finances.
My wife Julie and I attend Mt. Zion church in Clarkston, MI. We both actively attend and lead various Bible studies, and we have a heart for marriages and pre-marriage. We both actively volunteer at FamilyLife® Ministries.
Before the financial services industry, I was in the IT services industry, serving clients with education, consulting, and customized solutions. Making the transition to financial services, I wanted to incorporate all the consultative training I had received and carry it forward into all my new client financial services engagements:
-Transparency in my fees and contracts
-Timely in my responses to you
-Teach with the heart of a teacher
-Thoughtful with every Plan creation, as though it were my own
-Thankful for the opportunity to serve you
In 2020, I obtained the designation of Retirement Income Certified Professional, RICP®, to better serve my clients with Income Planning. I'm a lifelong learner who continued my education, receiving a new license in 2023.
Outside of my professional life, I enjoy time with my family, woodworking, and recently took up fly fishing. I also enjoy Tiger baseball and am optimistic about the young team that has been in the works for the last few years. I have volunteered extensively in the early 2000s for Habitat for Humanity and also for Financial Peace University, where I gained my early passion for helping families with finances.
My wife Julie and I attend Mt. Zion church in Clarkston, MI. We both actively attend and lead various Bible studies, and we have a heart for marriages and pre-marriage. We both actively volunteer at FamilyLife® Ministries.
Our Inspiration
Great businesses aren’t just measured in dollars. They’re measured in the lives they touch.
- Howard Schultz, former CEO Starbucks
- Howard Schultz, former CEO Starbucks
Why Kastler
At Kastler Financial Planning (KFP), we believe that high-quality financial advice should be accessible to anyone that wants advice without commissionable product sales. As a fee-only financial planning firm, we provide unbiased, personalized financial guidance without the conflict of interest that comes from earning commissions. Our comprehensive services are provided directly to each client and the fee for each service is transparent on our website.
We are a boutique firm, meaning we are small in terms of number of clients we serve. But we go 'long' in working on each client's specific needs to develop a personalized Retirement Plan. We put these words into action by encouraging every client to adopt their Purposeful Retirement™ profile, something very unique in the financial services industry. This helps us help you toward achieving your goals.
Since 2015 we have developed and evolved our retirement planning services to meet client's needs through our 7 Pillars Retirement Planning® set of broad-based services:
1. Creating a sustainable income plan that aligns with your lifestyle and goals.
2. Designing an investment portfolio that meets your risk tolerance and long-term objectives in your retirement years.
3. Assessing your tax situation and analyzing if Roth Conversions are right for you.
4. Evaluating the risks that may exist in your retirement years and helping you mitigate those risks.
5. Discussing your Medicare vs Medicare Advantage options.
6. Discussing and analyzing your Long-Term Care funding options.
7. Reviewing your Estate Planning documents and making recommendations.
Whether you're planning for retirement, in retirement, managing investments yourself or through another adviser, we tailor a set of services to meet your unique needs.
We are a boutique firm, meaning we are small in terms of number of clients we serve. But we go 'long' in working on each client's specific needs to develop a personalized Retirement Plan. We put these words into action by encouraging every client to adopt their Purposeful Retirement™ profile, something very unique in the financial services industry. This helps us help you toward achieving your goals.
Since 2015 we have developed and evolved our retirement planning services to meet client's needs through our 7 Pillars Retirement Planning® set of broad-based services:
1. Creating a sustainable income plan that aligns with your lifestyle and goals.
2. Designing an investment portfolio that meets your risk tolerance and long-term objectives in your retirement years.
3. Assessing your tax situation and analyzing if Roth Conversions are right for you.
4. Evaluating the risks that may exist in your retirement years and helping you mitigate those risks.
5. Discussing your Medicare vs Medicare Advantage options.
6. Discussing and analyzing your Long-Term Care funding options.
7. Reviewing your Estate Planning documents and making recommendations.
Whether you're planning for retirement, in retirement, managing investments yourself or through another adviser, we tailor a set of services to meet your unique needs.
Our Battle Cry
Our belief is Planning First! will bring about the best possible solutions to help you achieve your best possible retirement
Our Mission
We are on a mission to help ease your anxieties about retirement by being your Guide, helping you achieve a your Purposeful Retirement™ with a personalized Retirement Plan, On-going support, and low-cost flat-fee portfolios.
Brief History
KFP operated under the Garrett Investment Advisors, LLC umbrella from 2015 until 2019 when Mike decided to make KFP a Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) firm. With the exception of a year+ stint in the broker-dealer world to learn the product side of the financial services industry, KFP remains a fee-only fiduciary style firm.
In 2024, Mike re-launched KFP with an emphasis on retirement planning due to unique client needs in preparing for retirement. The emphasis being on developing an Income Plan, investment portfolio, tax planning, and other services pertinent to sustaining a 30-year retirement. We repeatedly saw many friends and family struggling to find the help they needed to navigate these critical retirement issues.
In 2024, Mike re-launched KFP with an emphasis on retirement planning due to unique client needs in preparing for retirement. The emphasis being on developing an Income Plan, investment portfolio, tax planning, and other services pertinent to sustaining a 30-year retirement. We repeatedly saw many friends and family struggling to find the help they needed to navigate these critical retirement issues.
Our Fiduciary Commitment to You
We act exclusively as a fiduciary, meaning we are legally obligated to act in your best interest, not ours. The 3 highlights of our Fiduciary Video captures it all:
Fee-only: Financial advice without the pressure or bias of commissionable product sales
Fiducary: To always act in your best interest before our own
Independent: Does not represent a brokerage firm or insurance company
Fiducary: To always act in your best interest before our own
Independent: Does not represent a brokerage firm or insurance company
Schedule a Consultation
Contact Us TodayThere is no-cost and no-obligation to schedule your first 30 minutes to review your situation, discuss your goals, ask us questions, and determine if we're mutually a good fit together.
