As many of you already know, I joined Intelligent Investing, LLC as a partner in May. I can’t think of any way to give a greater vote of confidence than that.
Hans Blake, founder of Intelligent Investing, is not only a CPA, but also is a CFA® charterholder. CFA® charterholders or Chartered Financial Analysts®, is the highest distinction in the investment management profession. Hans’ wife Amanda is an incredible resource herself and provides professional support that helps make the client experience seamless and satisfying.
Credentials
I’ve known Hans a number of years now, as we have spent a significant number of hours in professional seminars together having CPA backgrounds. As we visited over the years, I came to appreciate his philosophy of how money should be managed, and as my friends and family know, I can be a harsh critic.
With my CPA background, and experience as a Certified Financial Planner® we feel we have the best credentials possible to serve our clients well. We think it is important to understand the “financial alphabet soup” of credentials as there are new credentials coming to the scene every year. As a member of the American Institute of CPAs Personal Financial Planning Section, I achieved the PFS, or Personal Financial Specialist designation as well, a financial planning credential only available to those with a CPA background. Hans is also part of the South Carolina Association of CPAs.
Goal Focused
Our family has been blessed to have started financial planning early in marriage, along with a thoughtful and aggressive approach to individual investing. As someone who is extremely goal-oriented, I’m excited to work with clients and client families who seek clarity in these these areas.
Chick-fil-A® of Wealth Management
Hans worked at Chick-fil-A for four years growing up and was trained by the leadership teams at the corporate headquarters. Hans’ goal is for Intelligent Investing to be known as the “Chick-fil-A® of wealth management.” We want people to have a wonderful experience in the onboarding and ongoing relationships that make the wealth management a byproduct of our client service.
My Pleasure
Whenever you walk into a Chick-fil-A® restaurant and say, “thank you” to an employee, you will hear them reply “It’s my pleasure.”
One way that client service shines in organizations is when the workers enjoy what they are doing. I can tell you that it is a joy to be able to help others at this time of life. We work with clients of all ages, but as you can imagine, retirement transition is a passion of mine. As individuals, we work for decades to make money, and as Hans is quick to point out: “people know how to make money in so many ways, but once they have made it, they often don’t know what to do with it”. As we near retirement, we are faced with many one-time decisions, for which we have no experience, and these decisions have a huge impact on whether or not we have a successful retirement.
Fee Only Transparency
As a 100% fee-only RIA firm we bring complete transparency to our client-advisor relationships, and the client can rest assured we are on the same side of the table with them. Every commissions sales agent on the planet is pushing products at retirees, who are often not well versed in how to evaluate if these products are appropriate for them or not. As we make these one-time decisions, it is especially important to have professional and unbiased advice. When couples enter their retirement and “Golden Years”, one thing we don’t want is a “regret period” in which to reflect on mistakes made during this very important life transition.
Independent
As a firm, we are independent from outside pressures. This independence allows us to not only be unbiased in all that we do, but to be completely unconstrained in sourcing the best investments and economic research to serve each client best. Similarly, peace of mind and financial freedom are hard earned rewards for decades of work and savings. It is our goal to take the worry and anxiety out of the retirement transition period, so the client can focus on “what’s next”, not personal finances. Entering retirement with a thoughtful financial plan and the right portfolio helps a client to build a life in retirement that is every bit as rich and rewarding as when they were raising a family and working professionally.
Stay tuned to the many exciting events on the calendar for 2017, and consider joining our newsletters below, if you haven’t already!
