This video from Smartmoney.com contains important advice on how to choose the right financial advisor.
How to Find a Financial Advisor by The Wall Street Journal’s SmartMoney.com
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Baron Financial Group’s Laura Mattia Discusses State Pensions and Social Security
Laura Mattia, CFP®, with the Baron Financial Group, comments on the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) in The Star Ledger’s Biz Brain column.
Posted in Financial Planning, Laura Mattia, Public Policy
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James Shagawat Comments in U.S. News & World Report
James Shagawat, Wealth Management Principal at Baron Financial Group discusses longevity insurance in the U.S. News & World Report issue, 50 Smart Money Moves for 2012
Posted in Financial Planning, James Shagawat
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Laura Mattia Helps Couple Plan for Retirement in Star-Ledger Article
The Star-Ledger asked Laura Mattia, a Certfied Financial Planner® (CFP®) from the Baron Financial Group, to help a local couple see if they are ready for retirement.
Laura determined, after a full evaluation, that the Essex County couple’s goals were achievable. Laura suggested they tweak their asset allocation to lower risk and volatility, and make satisfying their cash needs a little easier.
Posted in Financial Planning, Laura Mattia
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Baron Financial Group Offers Free Advice for Returning Vets
Baron Financial Group is offering two free hours of financial counseling for U.S. Military Personnel who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Possible financial areas that could be addressed include:
- Investment Portfolio Analysis
- Assets and Liabilities
- Education Planning
- Estate Documents
- Insurance Policies
- Tax Planning
The Baron Financial Group (BFG) is an independent Fee-Only Wealth Management firm. They are Registered Investment Advisors, offering objective personal financial advice to individuals without the burden of commissions. The firm can be contacted at their toll free number (866) 333-6659 or by emailing nicholass@baron-financial.com. For more information, visit www.baron-financial.com.
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Laura Mattia Rejuvenates Retirement
Baron Financial’s Laura Mattia taught an educational two-part course for retirees at the Ridgewood Public Library this October. The course, “Rejuvenate Your Retirement,” covered the important areas of
- Life Planning
- Financial Concerns
- Investments
- Retirement Income Sources
- Health Care Planning
- Estate Planning
Student’s received practical information along with a 143 page workbook.
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Baron Financial Group Sponsors Rock the Mountain V
Baron Financial Group was pleased to sponsor, for the fifth straight year, Rock the Mountain V, a Music and Arts Festival to benefit residents of Spectrum for Living, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping adults with developmental and/or physical disabilities.
Rock the Mountain, a showcase for up and coming and established original artists, featured the Hudson Valley’s and Tri-State area’s best original bands. Many artisans and crafters were on hand displaying and selling quality hand made goods.
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Temple Beth Sholom hosts Baron Financial symposium
“Successful Retirement: an Overview,” was presented by Laura Mattia at Temple Beth Sholom in Fair Lawn, NJ on Thursday, September 22, 2011. The symposium, designed to educate consumers on how to make informed decisions in retirement included:
- Life Planning in retirement
- Financial concerns
- Investments
- Retirement income sources
- Health care planning
- Estate planning
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Local Fair Lawn Graduate Receives Baron Financial Scholarship
Baron Financial was pleased to present 2011 Fair Lawn high school graduate Leyla Palamar with the Baron Financial Group scholarship. Ms. Palamar will be continuing her education at Montclair State University pursuing a degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Management.
Leyla’s goal is to achieve a doctorate degree in Global Affairs and work for the U.S. Embassy abroad. Baron Financial was proud to help this deserving student along the path towards acheiving her goal.
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Baron Financial scores high marks in independent client survey
Our goal is to help our clients comfortably reach their goals for retirement and for life. Critical to that process is providing a consistently high level of service that meets the needs of individual clients. Client satisfaction is so important to us that we contracted an independent consultant to conduct an audit of our client base to ensure that the service we provide is appropriate. We are very pleased to say that the results were overwhelmingly positive.
Summary of Results
(All scores are out of five, with five being the highest)
- Overall satisfaction with the relationship: 4.9
- Calls are returned promptly: 4.8
- Client would refer to friends, family and colleagues: 4.9
- Fully understands my goals for the future: 4.8
According to the independent firm that conducted the survey, they rarely see the following results:
- Marks as high as those we received
- Participation as high as ours
- Non-anonymous participation as high as ours
You might also be interested to know that our clients say that the two things that are most important to them in any relationship with a financial advisor are as follows:
- Having a clear plan in place to meet retirement goals
- Advisor is trustworthy
We were therefore pleased to receive such high ratings on these dimensions.
Our clients tell us it is very important to keep them up-to-date on what is happening with their portfolios and our views of the economy. In response to this need we have increased the frequency and format of our communications even further. In addition to our regular account reviews with our clients, they receive:
- A quarterly educational newsletter
- An invitation to our annual Town Hall Meeting
- Periodic commentary sent via e-mail and postal mail
- Scheduled conference calls
- Reformatted statements for better understanding
Posted in Blog post, Practice Management
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Baron Financial Group makes commitment to clients priority
In 2009, Baron’s Victor Cannillo was featured in an article in Mann on the Street’s “Street Talk,” discussing Baron Financial Group’s commitment to clients:
“A wealth management firm should be knowledgeable, responsive, competent, innovative and caring. But most of all, the firm should be required to act as a fiduciary and place the clients’ interest first all the time.”
“That commitment is to be careful, conservative and competent; to conserve principal value over the years and produce an acceptable rate of return, and to shield clients from costly mistakes.” – Victor Cannillo
This commitment remains Baron’s number one priority, as demonstrated by the results of an independent client survey. To read about the survey results, please click here
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James Shagawat comments on market volatility in The Record
After a week of turbulence in the stock market, reporter Hugh Morley from The Record asked BFG’s James Shagawat how his clients have been reacting to the volatility.
Posted in Investment Planning, James Shagawat
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Victor Cannillo offers advice to worried investors
Baron Financial Group’s Victor Cannillo comments to The Record writer Kathleen Lynn, about advising clients while waiting out the congressional debt debate.
Posted in Investment Planning, Victor Cannillo
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Baron Financial Hosts Mini Town Hall Meeting
Baron Financial, in an effort to bring our Town Hall Meeting closer to home, hosted a smaller group to a similar version of our Fair Lawn event, on Thursday, July 14, 2011. A “Lunch and Learn” (really dinner), was attended by a small intimate group of clients and friends who live in the New Brunswick area. Attendees enjoyed a delicious dinner, at the event venue, while listening to the presentation by Victor, Jim, Laura and Anthony, and our guest presenter, on alternative investments. A question and answer period followed the presentation.
Due to the success of our first Mini Town Hall Meeting, we will soon be planning our next destination. Please contact us with any destination and/or topic requests.
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Laura Mattia Answers Questions in The Wall Street Journal
Baron Financial Group’s Laura Mattia responds to a question from Suzanne Barlyn in The Wall Street Journal concerning selling a promissory note.
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401(k) Discussion in the Star Ledger
Laura Mattia, a Certified Financial Planner® with the Baron Financial Group, discusses the effects of unemployment income on retirement savings in The Star Ledger, Sunday May 29, 2011 edition.
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Benante family and friends raise money for ALS
The Benante family, along with support from Baron Financial Group, helped raise money for Lou Gehrig’s Disease research and to support those afflicted by this crippling disease, during the ALS annual fundraising walk in their Sarasota community.
The Helmut’s Hikers raised over $7,000, well over their expected goal.
Posted in Anthony Benante, Community Service
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Laura Mattia offers advice on older wills
In Karin Price Mueller’s article, “Older wills can be difficult for heirs to resolve,” in The Star Ledger, May 2, 2011, Laura Mattia offers insight in to the extra cost and time of settling older wills.
Posted in Financial Planning, Laura Mattia
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Laura Mattia discusses family issues in the April edition of NAPFA magazine
In the article by Linda Leitz, “Discussing Family Issues Is Not for the Faint of Heart,” Laura mattia speaks about the balancing act between parents and their adult children with special needs.
Posted in Financial Planning, Laura Mattia, Uncategorized
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