Kastler Financial Planning was born because of what I was experiencing in the financial services sector…Years ago, I was looking for unbiased financial advice. I couldn’t find it. Questions went unanswered. Over the last 20 years, in both an informal and professional capacity, I found that many others were in the same situation. Maybe you have similar questions or concerns:
- What’s in my investment portfolio (and why)?
- Exactly what fees am I paying (and why)?
- What is in my company’s Retirement Plan and what is the ideal pension option?
- What happens with my Stock Plan or executive compensation?
- How do I turn my asset base into a retirement income strategy?
- When should I turn on Medicare and Social Security?
These real-life concerns turned into a stirring, a passion, and then a ‘calling’ that eventually became Kastler Financial Planning in 2015. Our founder (see meet Mike Kastler) prepared for years before launching his vision to help people with their detail retirement planning.
Kastler Financial Planning is on a Mission!
Our core purpose is to bring clarity to your retirement options
We put your best interest before our own – that’s called being a fiduciary
We collaborate with you to get you Retirement Ready
We provide a safe and secure Client Experience
How Kastler Financial Planning is Different
A key differentiator is we only handle a small number of select clients. We do this to provide a very personalized and professional client experience. Our aim is to be as thorough as possible in learning about you, your current financial situation, and your life aspirations. Then, we go to work on scenario analyses, recommendations, write-up, and scheduling follow-ups.
As a fiduciary, we provide financial services on a fee-only basis. We are legally bound and financially incented to put your best interest before our own. That means that you, the client, are our only source of revenue. There are no commissionable products or services that we provide. That is the big game-changer difference between Kastler Financial Planning and the rest of the financial advisory industry.
I believe everyone should have access to reasonably priced financial advice without the bias of product sales or commissions
If you’ve been fortunate to accumalate a large asset pool, you shouldn’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars PER YEAR to have someone manage it.
Related article: Why Fee-Only Financial Advisor
Our Business Model
Importantly, we have introduced our “7 C’s” in how we conduct our business differently…
Christ-centered
We are Christ-centered in all that we do and treat everyone with respect, regardless of your faith or other beliefs.
Consultancy
First and foremost we are a Financial Planning consultancy and not a sales organization. As a consultancy, we have built a strong foundation on education, meaningful industry designations, alliance with professional organizations, and use 3rd party providers when needed.
One of our key differentiators as a consultancy is that we bill you for the services received, either on a project basis, an hourly rate, or a set fee for investment management. We work with you to determine the best fee model for you, based on your needs.
Collaboration
Collaborative Financial Planning is at the forefront of everything we do. Collaborative, meaning “to work together in a joint intellectual effort.” We collaborate with you throughout the entire planning process:
- Discovery – Getting to know you and your financial situation before we begin any analytical work
- Analysis work – The software is very powerful and lets you visualize various scenarios during our “live review” sessions. There are several 1-2 minute videos showing our Financial Planning Software capabilities here.
- Live Review meetings will help open your eyes to your ideal retirement scenario!
- Written Plan – Once we jointly agree on the best financial scenario for your situation, we deliver a written Financial Plan or Retirement Plan that you can build on for years to come.
Client Principles at Kastler Financial Planning
Transparent Fees – All pricing is provided to you up-front before we ever sign a contract, see our Services Fee Schedule
Capped Investment Fee – We believe that, in general, there is no need for High Net Worth clients to pay unrestrained investment fees.
Security – We provide clients throughout the U.S. with a fully digital process that is highly secure.
Additionally, in every client engagement, we follow the 7 Principles of Financial Planning established by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.’s Code of Ethics. These principles include:
- Integrity
- Objectivity
- Competence
- Fairness
- Confidentiality
- Professionalism
- Diligence
Continuing Service
This business is all about you and we want a continuing relationship with you! We do not want to just develop your Initial Plan and then throw you back to the “asset gatherers” in the financial services industry.
We strongly encourage a Continuing service relationship with On-Going Financial Planning services to keep your Plan fresh and on-target with your goals. Things change quickly in the financial world and life events can significantly alter the projections in your Initial Plan. A quarterly check-point and detailed annual review are appropriate to ensure you are on track.
Even if you execute and monitor your Plan as a do-it-yourselfer, it’s critical to perform regular check-ups, as you do with your doctor, dentist, tax preparer, or auto mechanic.
Community of Referrals
We are the first to admit that we don’t have all the answers. But between us and our Community of Referrals, we can help you put all the financial pieces together.
Work we do not perform, but have a community referral system with other services providers such as:
- CPA’s
- Estate Planning Attorneys
- Medicare Agents
- Real Estate Agents
The idea behind the Community of Referrals is to provide you with as much personal financial resources as possible, utilizing the best skills possible. As a fiduciary, we are not allowed to take referral fees. There is no financial incentive on our end, other than making you a satisfied client for years to come.
If you need one of the above types of service, we provide you a list of 3 providers that you can interview on your own. Alternatively, we can work with your existing finance professionals.
Custodial Philosophy
You do not need to move your assets to our control for us to create a Financial Plan! As a consultancy, our business model does not rely on assets under management. We only offer it for clients that want or need it.
If you choose to do Investment Management through us or one of our money managers, we do not physically hold your assets; We use TD Ameritrade, one of the largest custodians in the industry.
Read more about our Investment Management Services
Kastler Financial Planning in our Local Community
Helping individuals is a primary passion but giving back to the community by volunteering has its many rewards too! Some community give-back activities, spanning over many years, have included helping with Habitat for Humanity, serving ice cream at community concert, retirement workshops at a local library, and teaching high schoolers on careers:
Kastler Financial Planning is also pleased to be a sponsor of the new Business Center at the Clarkston Independence District Library in Clarkston, MI. We frequently hold educational workshops, seminars and events there as well as private client meetings.
Some Key Links:
Sign up for our eNewsletter here: Newsletter
Read our Insight articles here: Insight Articles (blog)
Learn more about the Financial Services Sector
In the Industry…
Businesses must change rapidly to keep up with technology and clients’ ever-increasing expectations. We strive to be ahead of the curve through on-going education, client feedback surveys, and as members of the leading fiduciary networks such as the XY Planning Network (XYPN), a national network of independent fee-only fiduciary financial advisors, Fee-Only Network, and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). We are also active members at the Clarkston Chamber of Commerce.
