I have been providing advice in the financial services industry for over a decade. For the last 10 years, I have focused on providing investment advice for pre-retirees and retirees along with their families. My expertise began as a member of a boutique RIA on Wall Street providing investment advice on individual securities. From there, I transitioned to developing, implementing and monitoring financials plans at two of the largest Investment Advisory firms in the country. Previously to starting my private practice, I had won awards for being a top performer within those companies and I was managing 200 client households totaling over 160 million in assets under management. I wanted to build a company that specializes on retirement planning. The many nuances in tax planning, estate planning and many other fields associated with retirement deserved a facelift with the most advanced financial planning software as well as a systematic approach to developing, implementing and monitoring a client's plan. Oftentimes I watched as clients had to work with outdated software that could not answer their questions or with very little detail. Other times, I watched as clients were put into cookie cutter portfolios that were not tailored to a retirees full financial picture. Many times I met people that were invested a certain way strictly because of their risk tolerance without much analysis on what rate of return they needed to fund their goals. By tailoring my services towards retirement planning, clients working with me have been able to have the unique experience of using the most cutting edge technology partnered with customized investment portfolios and detailed financial planning that evolves with them over their lives. I am a Certified Financial Planning (CFP®) Professional and have a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from Northeastern University. I am a member of NAPFA, National Association of Personal Finance and XYPN, XY Planning Network.

Once a client has onboarded with me we begin to address the highest priority financial planning items by implementing solutions discussed in our first few meetings. At first, we are probably meeting once a month for a couple months. Once all the major financial planning concerns have been addressed we move to a monitoring phase detailed below: Winter (Dec-Feb): Activity: Meeting Prep Focus: We send out a personal Tax Letter Summary to the client or the CPA/Tax Preparer. This letter outlines all the Tax Planning Tasks we undertook that Tax Year. Whether its Roth Conversions, Tax Loss Harvesting or many other items, the client or their tax preparer will get a detailed letter summarizing everything that we did so they do not miss anything when filing their taxes. Spring (Mar-May): Activity: Client Meetings Focus: During this meeting, we review and update retirement projections and review any financial planning areas that were high priority for the client. This could be things like Healthcare/Medicare changes, Social Security Optimization, General Cashflow Planning questions as well as many other topics. We then discuss any changes to their portfolio if they have hired us for investment management. For Advice-Only clients we review their overall asset allocation mix int heir outside investments including 401ks. Summer (Jun-Aug) Activity: Meeting Prep Focus: We send out an email to each client to collect & review their tax returns. If a client is interested in having their tax return reviewed, we comb through their returns for opportunities to lower their tax exposure. Fall (Sep-Nov) Activity: Client Meetings Focus: During this meeting, we run Tax projections and start to complete any Tax Planning Strategies. This could be Roth Conversions, Backdoor Roth Conversions, Business Retirement Account Funding and potentially many other areas. We then review either their Estate Plan or Insurance Coverage. In the Odd years (2025, 2027 etc.) we review a client's estate plan to ensure their beneficiaries are up to date and review their Living will or Trust to identify if there are any areas that may need updating. If a client does need updates tot their plan, we send out a letter either to client or their estate planning attorney. This ensures that when a client walks into a estate planning attorneys office, they have a letter outlining opportunities identified in their estate plan, making those visits less costly. In the Even years (2026, 2028 etc.) we review a client's Insurance coverage including Life, Disability, Auto, Property & Umbrella. We then send the client or their insurance broker a deliverable outlining either coverage gaps or areas where they are over-covered.

Business Owners get the unique experience of partnering with me to treat their business as a client. We work to lower the overall taxes & identify ways to drive value in your business. Most advisors either ignore your business or just want to help lower taxes. I go a step further. Often, a business owner's net worth is tied up in the business. I look to drive value in your business to make it as attractive as possible to potential buyers if you are eventually looking to sell or increase your valuation in a systematic approach if you are looking to pass the business on to family members. From choosing helping you choose the most appropriate business retirement solution, investing your plan in a customized portfolio and evaluating strategies to build value in your business, I provide a way to help in many facets.

Creating a Financial Plan before any investment advice is critically important. It is like planning a road trip from New York to California. You could just hop in the car and start driving west in your vehicle and you will eventually get there. Creating a Financial Plan is like installing a GPS in that care before you start driving. The GPS can tell you which roads to take to get there the fastest. If you get lost, the GPS can reroute you to your destination.

Financial success to me means that you're living out the experiences you wish to live out without worrying about running out of money.

I have spoken with General Dynamics Electric Boat employees who have recently retired who have expressed to me the most pressing issues they had. Half of them were either current or retired Navy personnel who needed help coordinating their military health insurance with their Medicare choice or health insurance choice at EB. Others had most their money in a 401k and needed help understanding if Roth Conversions make sense for them. Some had pensions and needed help determining whether it made sense to take the monthly payments or take the lump-sum payout and invest it to generate income.

I recently met with someone who was funding his 401k as much as possible before he retires. He was doing this because it was saving him taxes this year by contributing to his 401k. What was being missed was how he was looking to retire early at age 50! This meant that by putting all savings into his 401k, he was going to be hit with a 10% penalty on top of taxes by drawing from his 401k between ages 50 and 59 ½. After meeting with him, I was able to show him how to “Bridge the Gap” between age 50 and 59 ½ by looking at other investment account options like a taxable brokerage account first before funding a 401k. A simple change like that made an impact in increasing the duration of his investment portfolio.

We start with a collaborative conversation to determine your goals and to see if we’re a good fit for each other. From here, we will move along at a pace that’s comfortable for you. If you’d like our thoughts on your current portfolio, you can either send us recent statements before our meeting or bring them with you. We will show you how much your investments are costing you, how diversified they are, and how we would do things differently.

The financial plan you create today is not going to be the same years down the road. As your life changes, your priorities change, your family changes or your goals change, your plan needs to evolve with it. It is for this reason, why I believe ongoing financial planning is the best way to ensure accountability & benchmarking against your peers.

Each quarter you get a billing sheet summary which shows you your total fees. If you are on a monthly subscription arrangement, you get that monthly.

We offer Tax planning, Estate Planning, Insurance Planning and Investment Management. Additional services include, Debt Paydown Strategies, Social Security Optimization, Medicare Planning all geared to the overall goal of helping you live out your best life.

Quarterly and more. We send portfolio reports every quarter to keep you informed about your holdings. Technology lets us monitor your portfolio regularly. Instead of a set schedule, we will rebalance portfolios and execute trades as needed. We may adjust portfolios to manage risk or to accommodate changes in your goals and circumstances.

The biggest mistake people make with their money is listening to mainstream media or google searches on how they should manage their money. I believe financial planning and investment management recommendations are incredibly personal endeavors that require in-depth knowledge about a person’s goals, cashflow needs and time horizon which cannot be attained through a google search or talking head on mainstream media.

For Investment management and financial planning we charge .75% - 1.25% of Assets under management. There is no upfront engagement cost. If a client begins with less than 200k in assets under management, we bill a monthly subscription price ranging from $99-$299 based on the complexity of the plan. There is no additional charge for investment management.

Definitely. We wouldn’t be doing our job if we do not. Lower costs are preferable for a better investment experience. Even when something is advertised as being “no fee,” clients will incur a cost somewhere and somehow. In general, clients pay commissions (if any) to buy or sell securities, and ongoing management fees for open end mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs). None of these commissions or fees go to In The Money Retirement Planning. Securities and funds make up the bulk of the investment products that we recommend. There are other types of investment costs that we would be happy to discuss. They include the bid-ask spread, market impact, and others.

Our typical client is either in retirement or approaching retirement. They are typically 50+ and have a spouse/partner or kids. Based in New London, CT they have invested in retirement plans through their employer or own business and want to know if they can retire. Real Estate Investments are common as well. They partner with us because they do not have the time sit down and manage every piece of their financial lives.

Our only source of compensation is what our clients pay us directly. We did this to minimize conflicts of interest. We do not accept sales-related commissions or referral fees. There are two ways to calculate our compensation. It can be a percentage of assets under management or a fixed-dollar monthly subscription pricing arrangement depending on the service we provide clients.

Forget the 60-hour work week cold calling for business. Focus on educating people and developing long-term relationships with the people you are looking to serve.

There is no minimum asset size requirement to work with us but more investment options are available to you with the more assets you have.

Yes! In the Money Retirement is a full-time fiduciary. We adhere to the definition of fiduciary under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the fiduciary guidelines under the CFP Board, and being fee-only to meet the standards set by NAPFA, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. Beware, some advisors are held to a fiduciary standard only when offering advice and not when implementing the advice (selling you products). These are known as fee-based or dually-registered advisors. If you see “securities offered through…Member SIPC, FINRA” at the bottom of an advisor’s website, it means they get paid to sell you products. This is very different from our fee-only business model.

"What the Dog Saw" by Malcolm Gladwell. Highlighted the importance of seeing the world in others' eyes. "The Wealthy Gardener" John Soforic. Helped me instill healthy attitudes towards work and money in my kids. "Black Swan" by Nassim Taleb. Gave me many useful stories and mental exercises to think about life. “Die with Zero” by Bill Perkins. Broadened my conversations with clients who were affluent but fearful about spending their money in retirement. "Principles" by Ray Dalio. Helped me write down what principles and values I have chosen to live my life by.

My big aha-moment in my financial services career was being shocked by how limited the financial planning has been at large financial firms. Simple questions, like “Should I be doing Roth conversions” were given vague answers and lengthy processes of meeting with multiple internal teams who still would not answer the question.

The biggest misconception is that as a financial planner, I am mostly pushing buttons on calculators and making spreadsheets. My job is more half therapist, half financial advisor.

I am the Quarterback or CFO for my client's financial lives. Often a client has a team or is aspiring to have a team overlooking their finances. Whether its a CPA, Estate Attorney or Insurance broker, my job as the quarterback is to ensure everyone is on the same page and everything that we are doing in coherence to the financial plan I help set forth with the client so that they may live their best lives in retirement. This allows our clients to sit back & relax knowing they have us in their corner at all times ensuring all actions taken in their financial lives has the purpose of helping them meet their goals.

I hope the industry will evolve towards lower costs to clients by integrating more technology. I believe A.I. will have a huge impact on driving down costs and making financial planning a more accessible option for most Americans.