Rick started his career in the financial industry in life insurance sales. (We refer to this time as the dark ages.) This gave him a thorough knowledge of the insurance industry but also made him realize that this was just one aspect of a person’s comprehensive financial picture and planning for insurance without considering the bigger picture was not the best idea. This led to a decision to make a change and move to work in fee-only comprehensive financial planning and investment advisory services. Rick gave up his insurance license and began working with a start up fee only financial planning firm in 1999 and obtained his Certified Financial Planner® designation in 2000. Rick remained at this firm for the next 23 years seeing the firm grow from 7 clients in 1999 to over 130 in 2022 while assuming the roles of lead advisor, partner, vice president, and chief compliance officer.
Rick was excited to have the opportunity to join Better Money Decisions in early 2023. The decision to move firms was largely driven by Better Money Decisions’ overall operational philosophy and its approach to client financial planning. Putting client’s individual needs first in all decisions while providing strong support systems and technical resources ensures long term success of clients, employees, and the firm. Rick has always felt financial planning is more of a “people” business than an analytical one.
“ Financial planning is about 20% to 30% number crunching, and the rest is human counseling. Every client comes to financial planning with their own background, experiences, and biases. Discussing money issues can bring up different emotions in different people. So, it is vital to listen to and try to understand each individual client’s perspective. ”
A major part of his planning approach is educating clients in each area of financial planning. If a client understands the methods and philosophy of the planning process, they will make better financial decisions for themselves. This gives the client lifelong tools to use for their financial life, not just a one-time solution. Rick considers one of his strengths to be the ability to convey complex financial concepts in an easily understandable manner, in simple plain English without all the industry jargon.
Rick’s home base is in Columbus Ohio with his wife, and near the grandkids. Interests include travel and exploring other regions and cultures, outdoor activities including camping and hiking, live music, and finding a good happy hour.
RICK’S WORST MONEY DECISION: Providing the financing for a real estate investment with a friend whose role was to manage the properties. Guess who got stuck with bad properties in a poor neighborhood?
RICK’S BETTER MONEY DECISION: Trusting my wife’s intuition regarding money matters.
REGISTRATION
Investment advisory services offered through Better Money Decisions, LLC, an investment advisor registered through the SEC.