behind the curtain

We are a registered investment advisor based in southeastern Michigan about 25 minutes from Ann Arbor (Go Blue). We have been in business since 2005. We designed our business from the ground up to offer investment advisory services in the way we would want them if we were the client. As a matter of fact, we are - every employee has accounts managed by our firm. So we invest the exact same way as our clients.

We also choose to be registered investment advisors to embrace the legal fiduciary duty required of registered investment advisors. We will always place your interests ahead of ours. We also don't want you to ever feel like an account number, so we limit the number of clients an advisor can manage to 200 clients.

We also bring a rigorous, academic-backed discipline to our investing methodology. Our founders have diverse backgrounds from engineering to business school. We believe this combination brings the best of the science behind investing with a deep understanding of the financial world.

Finally, we love what we do and we love our clients. We wake up each day excited to help our clients meet their financial goals and insure they have the money to enjoy the many other aspects of their lives.

After a distinguished (at least he likes to think so) 14 year career in the auto industry, Brian left Ford Motor Company in the summer of 2000 to chase his dreams of helping people manage their wealth with professionalism and integrity. He previously served as Managing Director for Main Street Financial Advisors, LLC and Managing Director for Symphony Financial Advisors, LLC. He also founded The 401k Studio LLC, an on-line 401k investment advisory business in 2003. Brian currently operates WealthStrategies Insurance Services and is a co-founder of SMG Financial Advisors, LLC.

Prior to his career in financial services, he was Global Engineering Manager for Commercial Vans for Ford Motor Company. He was awarded several Customer Driven Quality Awards during his time at Ford Motor Company. He holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and an MBA degree from the University of Michigan. He also holds an Accredited Asset Management Specialist designation from the College for Financial Planning.