Bucks County Magazine’s
Guide to Financial Planning
Why We Need Financial Planners
Financial planning is more complicated today than ever before which is why you need someone to advise you on how to plan for your family’s financial future and help manage your wealth | By Bill Waite
Bucks County is a great place to live, raise a family and retire. A place that we all love.
Yet, Bucks County has undergone many changes since we began publishing Bucks County Magazine 33 years ago. Bucks County grew. Our towns have spread beyond their borders and many new businesses have arrived. There has been both economic and population growth throughout the
county. We have handled the growth well through township planning commissions, the Heritage Conservancy and land trust organizations who wanted to keep the picturesque historic towns and rural countryside intact, while acknowledging that growth is inevitable. This could only be done by planning for the growth.
Analogous to this is an understanding of how im-
portant financial planning is to your financial future. With proper planning your goals can be obtained. These goals may change along the way but without planning we really can’t realize them.
I can remember when we all had piggy banks. Putting a few nickels, dimes and pennies in it over time accumulated enough for that extra money you could use on a family vacation. And it taught children how to save for something they really wanted. It showed us the benefit we could enjoy by saving up for something.
When it comes to financial planning, saving is only part of the equation. Financial planning is, in fact, more complicated today than ever before, Which is why you need someone to guide and explain to you what the best scenarios for your specific individual needs. A good advisor can help in even the most complex life planning situations.
Some already have wealth and are interested in a wealth manager to make sure they maintain their money and grow it over time. While many are just starting out and want to start an IRA or Roth. While some think
about a plan for their business, retirement, college education, life insurance, investments and taxes.
Planning for the future and making some financial goals can encompass many things including your business, liabilities, real estate, life insurance and estate planning. A financial plan is best handled by a financial advisor. A good financial advisor understands it’s about life planning using a well-balanced plan to achieve your goals. And they help you make realistic goals. Whether it’s putting aside a monthly savings or investing or balancing out your portfolio that you currently have. An advisor will work with you to determine your risk level.
A financial planner can make recommendations on retirement planning, education financing, insurance policies, investments, taxes, real estate, long term healthcare, building wealth and so much more.
Every step in the course of our lives involves financial decisions: getting married, having children, buying a house, inheriting money, retirement, education, health and life insurance and many others. The right financial advisor can keep you on the right track to make your
At WhiteCliff Wealth Management, our clients always come first. We focus on aligning financial strategies with your unique aspirations, ensuring every decision supports your lifestyle and goals. When you feel truly confident in your financial future, we know we have fulfilled our mission.
As a fiduciary, I always put your interests first! Utilizing a goals-based approach coupled with our proprietary investment models allows clients to feel secure and empowered about their financial futures. Aligning your strategies with personal aspirations, you are not just managing wealth, but also building confidence. Your complete financial picture is documented in a financial plan and reviewed annually to ensure your lifestyle remains secure, even as circumstances change. If there is anything specific you would like to discuss or elaborate on, feel free to contact me!
GUIDE TO FINANCIAL PLANNING
John’s goal is to help you protect your assets, manage your family wealth, and ultimately achieve your wealth transfer goals. He works closely with you to determine the most effective strategy for your estate planning needs.
His wealth management and retirement planning philosophies are rooted in his belief in developing a relationship with you based on his personal values of integrity and transparency. With 25 years of experience, he does his utmost to understand your deepest concerns and priorities.It’s a process through which he strives to know you, your goals and dreams. This helps him to make recommendations and design a flexible plan that is uniquely yours. What makes John different? He listens and he cares … pure and simple. He believes each person’s situation is unique. Therefore, his recommendations are never a one-size-fits-all approach to planning.
This means examining your overall financial situation, helping you set goals and assisting you with determining an asset allocation that is in-line with your goals. John will monitor your portfolio as you progress toward your goals while reviewing your financial situation simultaneously. His primary goal is to be available and accessible to you to provide insightful advice.
Ask about our Educational Workshops and our guaranteed lifetime income model.
3810 Township Line Road • Collegeville,PA 19426 610-287-4869 | sean@stonehengeadvisorgroup.com
dream come true. They create a strategy designed specifically for you. And they work with you to keep you on the right path in the good and bad times of life.
Wealth management is protecting your wealth. Sounds simple. However, it requires an expert wealth manager who usually handles investment management, financial planning, estate planning, retirement planning, accounting and life insurance. Their job is to grow and protect the wealth you accumulated or a large sum of inheritance you received. They are skilled in managing portfolios and reducing tax impact while building wealth.
This process involves you and the financial planner in developing a plan. The Financial Planning Association defines a plan as “The output of a collaborative process between client and advisor that helps maximize a client’s potential for meeting their individual life goals. The plan provides financial advice that integrates relevant elements of the client’s personal and financial circumstances.”
Maybe start with how in our early years we often think of retirement as being a long way off, so we don’t really put a plan together. We tend to think about immediate needs
for our family like housing, education, life insurance and healthcare. These are all elements of a financial plan, but retirement tends to be pushed aside. As the saying goes—”Tme flies.” So, a good financial advisor can keep you on track, so you don’t neglect any aspects of your future financial security.
It’s always good to do your homework when choosing a financial planner. Decide what services you need. A retirement plan, investment strategy, life insurance, tax planning, estate planning, wealth management or other services.
Put a list of questions that you would like answered on paper before talking to financial planner. They could include asking about their experience, the costs, the advisor’s areas of specialization, the services they offer and the areas that you need the most help.
Building wealth is something you can do over time. It takes a lot of planning, investing and saving. And, once you build wealth, good wealth management allows you to build on it, manage your risk, and plan for the future.
Bill Waite is the publisher of Bucks County Magazine.
John Crowley MBA, FRC - CEO Licensed in 17 states
Our advisors have served pharmaceutical and life science executives from a multitude of companies, including Merck, Organon, BMS, Pfizer, Biogen, CSL Behring, Dalichi Sankyo, LabCorp, and Medtronic.
We're an independent, fee-only firm serving clients nationwide. Our team is comprised of a diverse group of professionals including Certified Financial Planner™ practitioners, a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist, a Chartered Financial Analyst, a Chartered Life Underwriter, Attorneys and a Paralegal. We're proud to combine the flexibility and fiduciary duty of being an independent firm with the in-depth, proprietary research and support of Summit Financial LLC, a SEC Registered Investment Advisor, to bring you the best of personalized service and knowledgeable insights.
We carefully study, analyze and comprehensively plan for your unique financial needs. We offer unbiased, independent and uncompromised advice today, tomorrow and throughout retirement.
Jason Weckerly is the owner and lead advisor of Montgomery Wealth Management, LLC. He is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), holds an MBA in Finance from La Salle University, and a BA from Temple University. Before beginning Montgomery Wealth, hew worked in Malvern, PA as a Series 7 licensed securities broker at Vanguard, serving clients in various roles at the world’s 2nd largest financial institution by AUM. He moved on to Fidelity, where he had the privilege of managing a book of just under 300 clients. Jason began Montgomery Wealth to form deeper relationships with clients and offer his clients more options through an open architecture suite. He wanted to remove any “sales” from his process, and instead, serve his local community with thorough financial planning, effective strategies for growth, true tax planning, and an often overlooked asset – transparency.
Retirement Income Planning • Tax Efficiency through Deferral and Elimination
Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits • Fundamental Analysis (Equities)
Suitability of Tax Vehicles for Long Term Savings • Estate Planning
Small to Medium Size Business Structure and Management • Economic Forecasting
Protection Vehicles • Bonds and Money Market Funds
Jason considers himself both an educator and collaborator. He teaches his clients not to be afraid of jargon by breaking down complexities to their simplest elements. Jason also considers it necessary to give back to his local community. He is an active sponsor of Montgomery Township Baseball and Softball Assoc. where his daughter Ellie (8) and son Nate (10)are involved. He has also worked with Big Brothersand Big Sisters of Bucks County, and the local IRSVITA program.
