A retirement-specialized practice. The years before and after retirement are different from every other phase of your financial life, and they deserve a firm built specifically for them.
Where the instinct came from
Ed was raised on a cotton farm on the Arkansas River.
The farm had been in his family for generations and Ed loved the farm life. In 1977, when Ed was 18, the farm pulled its best cotton crop ever -- two bales an acre. Ed was standing at the edge of a field with his father watching several cotton-pickers roll past. His father turned and said, "You are going to have to find something else to do. We just made two bales an acre and we are going to lose money."
Interest rates were spiking to levels not seen for many decades and when the farm loan was renewed, the interest rate more than doubled. The farm never recovered as rates continued to rise for many years, devouring profits. Ed didn't learn about interest rate risk from a textbook; he learned about it watching an unforeseen force destroy everything his family had worked for over generations.
This experience is what kindled Ed's interest in markets -- what makes them tick and how to carefully approach risk in the pursuit of return.
Not aspirations. Operating principles.
Protective stewardship is the work. We protect what a client has built and structure it for the life the client intends to live.
The math has to work. Every recommendation rests on a number we can show. If we can't show it, we won't make the recommendation.
Conservative by design. While many retirement plans assume what could go right, we plan around what could go wrong.
Aligned incentives, transparent fees. Flat membership fee. Low management fee. No commissions. No hidden compensation.
Specialization over breadth. We exclusively work with pre-retirees and retirees. We turn away everyone else.
Structural choices, not marketing claims.
Retirement-exclusive. We serve only pre-retirees and retirees. The five-year window before and after the retirement date is the most consequential phase of a financial life. More on our retirement planning approach.
Quarterly, not annual. Four themed meetings per year — income, tax, investment, estate. Never more than 90 days from the next structured conversation. See the Quarterly Planning System
Individual bond ladders. Built bond-by-bond, with known coupons and known maturity dates. Not funds. Not ETFs. See investment management
Planning-First pricing. $4,800/year for planning. 48 basis points for management. No commissions, ever. A prospect evaluates the planning before moving a dollar. See financial planning
Edward P. Mahaffy. MBA, CFP®, ChFC®. Thirty-plus years of advisory experience. Founder of ClientFirst Wealth Management.
Cited in Barron's and The Wall Street Journal. NAPFA and FPA member.
Author of How to Select a Financial Advisor: The Least You Should Know. Request your free copy.
