EXPERIENCE

Work Experience

2008 - Present - Personal Financial Consultant I Duties: Provide Financial Position services including budgeting, bill paying, and account reconciliation, medical insurance claims primarily to senior citizens. Meet with clients at regular intervals to review and sort mail, audit all financial statements, review for potential fraudulent transactions, review and discuss financial institution disclaimers and disclosures to ensure client understanding. Review expenses to determine if expenses fell within predetermined variances for budget requirements. Prepare checks for client signature, prepare bank deposits. Discuss potential impact of new laws and regulations provided by Federal Reserve, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other consumer-oriented organizations with client. Solicit speaking time with church, veterans, seniors and other community organizations and provide speeches on Consumer Fraud, Electronic Banking, Communicating with Seniors and other financial and social issues. Develop and maintain relationships with community organizations and professional services firms (lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, investment advisers). Active participant in Community Senior Citizen and veterans organizations. (2008) - Director of Financial Planning Duties: Established criteria, guidance and direction in financial planning operations for eight separate offices in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. Designed three year business plan with step-by-step process to make department profitable.  Designed Policies and Procedures and pricing guidelines for planners for use with clients. Established acceptable discounts for unit work to help planners adjust from commission-based to fee-based business. Worked independently with no guidance. Reviewed company’s current ADV forms, revised to meet changing strategies of the company.  Monitored management and operations of eight offices to ensure that government, industry and company regulations were being followed.  Provided monthly reports to senior management to indicate level of compliance, recommend policy adjustments when required. Hired, trained and monitored financial planning assistant and provided financial planning training to existing financial planners through monthly teleconferences.  Focus on ethics, quality of recommendations and compliance issues. Led in data collection and verification process, training planners and staff on review processes of account statements, tax returns, legal documents and other quantitative and qualitative information. Independently established relationships with area attorneys and CPA developing company’s advanced markets capabilities.  Developed referral network among industry professionals. 2007 - 2008 Financial Planning Specialist Duties: Directed planning activities of more than 60 financial planners in five offices.  Achieved financial planning fee revenues +$400,000.  Developed policies and procedures in Financial Planning Department. Provided regular, agency-wide training in data collection techniques, plan analysis and recommendation development.  Developed and delivered training in financial planning software and quality of advice. Trained and monitored planner activity in planning client acquisition to ensure that no deceptive practices were used. Served as initial compliance person in financial planning issues before work submitted for corporate review.  Worked together with corporate compliance to discuss new regulations and train staff in new regulations, policies and procedures. PLANNING EXPERTISE:  Developed comprehensive financial plans for 60 planners.  Led in qualitative and quantitative client data collection, led data confirmation sessions, produced balance sheets, income statements, sources and uses of cash reports, tax reports, retirement and other goal savings and distribution schedules, estate distribution reports.  Assessed client goals and provided recommendations for client review.  Developed proposed plans and wrote comprehensive reports for client delivery. Provided advanced markets consulting (business, retirement/defined benefits, real estate planning, estate planning) for ultra high net worth clients. 2005 - 2007 - Senior Case Consultant  Duties: Worked with field offices in establishing Financial Planning units based on company policies and procedures.  Performed regular visits and audits covering management practices to ensure compliance with federal, state, company and professional standards.  Reviewed and evaluated financial plans of new financial planning offices to determine accuracy and completeness of plans.  Evaluated financial planning specialists at field offices to determine their ability to develop compliant financial plans.  Key gatekeeper in certification process to allow offices to independently produce financial plans. Participated in creating policies and procedures for financial planning program throughout organizations. Wrote policies for ethics, Regulation T and other compliance issues. Collected and compiled income, expense, tax, investment and legal client data using a variety of forms and schedules. Recorded data on NaviPlan financial planning program. Audited data against source documents, reviewed materials with clients to verify accuracy, identify additional data. Provide recommendations for budget, cash flow management, savings, debt management, tax management and other personal financial planning areas. Generated comprehensive presentations utilizing graphs, charts, data tables to illustrate client's present and proposed financial condition.   Developed plans and consulted with financial position issues such as debt modification, resolution of erroneous billing items, lease versus buy projections for autos and other minor purchases. Provided on-going advice and guidance to clients who experienced billing disputes, stolen credit and debit cards, and other consumer protection situations. 2001 - 2002 - Senior Financial Planner  Duties: Directed activities of 5 planners, oversaw planning for more than 250 clients with $1-10 million with minimal supervision of Operations Director.  Collected client financial data through expense statements and review of financial statements using a variety of schedules and forms. Compiled and organized expense data by category, designed working assumptions for inflation, investment returns and risk, developed proforma statements Reviewed potential areas for budget reductions. Worked with clients to implement budgets with monthly analysis, annual reviews and adjustments. Provided analysis and recommendations in asset allocation, trust design, tax strategies.  Worked with lawyers to develop appropriate estate planning documents for clients. Developed Excel-based asset allocation, financial and estate planning software Provided regular advice on Consumer Financial Protection issues helping clients review product opportunities by providing information and analysis enabling clients to make knowledgeable decisions.  Assisted clients resolve electronic transfer and billing statement errors.  Audited client regular expenses to ensure against fraudulent activities and ensure they were maintaining budget guidelines. 1999 - 2000 - Associate Wealth Design Director Duties: Directed team of financial analysts developing comprehensive estate plans for ultra high net worth clientele. Collected, compiled and reported financial data utilizing Excel spreadsheets. Analyzed and revised client budgets to manage timed expenses, eliminating waste. Developed proforma statements for current and recommended budget and investment data using charts, graphs and other illustrations. Assisted with the development of Comprehensive Estate Planning software, using Excel, integrating five to ten separate estate planning strategies into one Excel program. Presented training segments on Tax Strategies Using Derivatives within software training programs, presented to from 20 to 40 students two times. 1996 - 1997 - Vice President of Options and Futures Mexico City, Mexico Duties: Developed derivatives trading department for Mexico City bank. Researched, compiled and summarized operating budget, prepared charts, graphs and other illustrations to present operations business plan to senior management. Forecasted revenue and expense trends, monitored revenues and expenses to maintain targeted projections. Presented technical data to public and senior bank management. Evaluated investments using fundamental and technical analysis, provided buy/sell recommendations to bank customers; actively traded customer and house accounts in futures, options and equities. 1989 - 1996 - Futures Trading Specialist Duties: Developed procedures for monitoring and analyzing Large-Trader futures positions. Conducted and supervised audits of Clearing Corps, Futures Exchanges and FCMs. Audits were both general (annual exchange and brokerage firm audits), or tactical, as a part of a specific investigation.  The process included i) review of previous filings/investigation results, ii) interviews with key department and/or company officials to determine adequacy of systems and methods used to ensure compliance with rules set forth under the Commodity Futures Act, iii) review of account applications for accuracy and completeness, iv) review of client financial interests and aggregation procedures of financial institution. V)  Audits included review of corporate and client financial data as well as trading positions and hedged offsets including purchase and sales contracts.   Written reports were provided consisting of a description of the type of audit/examination being performed; detailed report of relevant data, data analysis, and recommendations for corrective/enforcement actions. On-going verbal and written communications with Compliance Offices, Senior Board and other senior management to advise of new CFTC procedures, to review data submitted to CFTC for completeness and accuracy, to understand purpose of activities in regulated markets. Resolved all procedural and reporting problems within Market Information Group. Assisted Commercial Traders in engineering and implementing hedge strategies. Managed 14 professional and clerical employees. Developed PC-based, Large-Trader programs automating trader information updates.

Military Education

US Army   Information Specialist.  Honor Graduate of Defense Information School (military journalism and public affairs training).  Newspaper writer/editor in Washington DC, Korea, Ft. Meade, MD.  Honorable Discharge Northwestern University, Chicago, IL Degree: Master of Management (MBA equivalent)  Major: Finance, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL Degree: Bachelor of Arts Major: Anthropology.  The American College Bryn Mawr, PA Chartered Financial Consultant Program 2007, Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Financial Adviser (ChFC) professional designations; Certified Adviser for Senior Living Program 2010, (CASL) professional designation.