Karp Financial Strategies serves clients through empowerment

Karp Financial Strategies

Serving clients through

empowerment

BY » Renee Roberson PHOTOGRAPHY BY » Lisa Crates Jeffrey and MaryAnn Karp.

In his nearly 30 years working to help clients achieve their financial goals, Jeffrey Karp has become a believer in what is possible. His firm, Karp Financial Strategies, embraces the motto: Dream It. Plan It. Pursue It.® because he believes there is more to life than just paper wealth— there is also a “true wealth” that he defines by the people you meet and experiences you have in life. Sometimes it just takes the right person guiding you to chart out the best path to help you live your life to the fullest and ensure your needs and wishes can be fulfilled well into retirement and beyond.

As the son of a Certified Public Accountant, he grew up around a strong numbers-oriented thought process and an appreciation for the importance of financial security and money management. “My dad could add and subtract a column of numbers in his head and that is how my brother, sister, and I learned,” says Karp. “He also taught me the power and value of client relationships.”

Following advice from his high school guidance counselor, Karp put his math and analytical thought process to work studying towards becoming a metallurgical engineer. After earning his degree and initially beginning his career as a sales engineer, a life event many have experienced— unemployment, provided the opportunity to adjust career paths.

Believing that unexpected turns of events bring opportunity and understanding his strengths in what he could bring to a new career, a little luck

placed him in front of an insurance agency manager who offered him a position. What piqued Karp’s interest was the planning and results of the financial services side of the business. He felt it checked all the boxes of his skills and interests in positively impacting people’s lives, plus it had the math and analytics that appealed to him.

Here to serve

Since starting Karp Financial Strategies in 1993, his firm has grown to serve a variety of clientele, from entrepreneurs to caregivers to the newly single and retired. He feels what sets him apart from others in his field is his focus on building relationships and being a trusted resource to guide and advise on a variety of fronts. He adopted the philosophy that people don’t care what you know until they know that you care, so he doesn’t “measure the clock” when his clients call to ask him questions. He measures the impact of it being a “productive” use of time for the client.

Simply put, he believes that a person’s interest in money is almost always tied to their emotional state of mind and personal goals. In building trusting relationships, he focuses on learning what really matters to each client rather than just measuring “their balance sheet or net worth.”

This focus on building a solid relationship begins in his very first meeting with prospective clients, where he asks in-depth questions about finances, goals, and emotions surrounding money.

According to Karp, fluid communication and commitment on both sides are key elements to the longterm success of his client relationships. “I share my philosophy and look for them to share theirs,” Karp says. “I make sure we are all going to be open to listening to the possibilities and being willing to take the necessary action, as needed.” It’s really simple— do you feel like you’re on the right path now? What do you think is going to change that path? Are you ready to take charge of your financial future?”

Karp believes financial planning is much more than just numbers on a page—he encourages clients to think about the security they seek along with the true wealth they also hope to pursue in their day-to-day lives. He encourages people to shift their mindsets and way of thinking about money. Sure, it’s nice to plan for “someday,” but Karp’s core philosophy is that we should have the financial confidence to enjoy every day.

Karp Financial Strategies prides itself in being a boutique firm supported by the leading-edge tools, technology, and resources that can help bring clients the best solutions to meet their specific needs. There are a number of solutions Karp considers to help clients achieve their desired financial goals. While they include individual, estate, retirement and business financial strategies, investments, annuities and insurance, recommendations are based on money being a tool for clients to enjoy life experiences all along their journey according to their lifestyle wants and desires now, as well as into retirement and beyond.

Permission Granted®

What Karp has found to be a driving force for his passion in serving clients is empowering them to embrace their own ability to say “yes” to the life they ultimately desire. He says he began noticing a pattern in which clients either didn’t know what was possible or didn’t believe it could be possible. The common factor in either case was a matter of education combined with encouraging clients not to limit their thinking simply because of where they were financially at that present time. “That’s where the ‘plan it’ part of a financial strategy is key,” says Karp, “and then helping people give themselves permission to dream a little is key, too.” This led him to create a blog called Permission Granted®, where he writes on topics such as money and emotions, a life well lived, being a boomer, and getting back to basics around financial planning, covering everything from the stock market to life insurance.

Jeffrey Karp founded his company in 1993.

Rooted in community

With Karp Financial Strategies located in Mooresville, Karp and his wife of 30 years, MaryAnn, who also works as the firm’s client services manager, restored a 114-year-old historic home as both their residence and in-home offices. He also co-founded the Top of the Lake Rotary Club and has served on the Mooresville Historic Preservation Commission. Firmly rooted in the community, they believe in giving back to worthwhile causes whenever possible through a program called KarpKares. Each year, Karp Financial Strategies celebrates the holidays with clients and friends, and this includes selectively supporting organizations that include but are not limited to Loaves & Fishes, Make-A-Wish, Soles 4 Soles, American Cancer Society and American Heart Association.

Karp Financial Strategies

139 West McNeely Ave., Mooresville 704.658.1929 www.karpfinancial.com

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