How should I finance the new house or car? What's the best way to save for college? Will I have enough money to live comfortably in retirement?
We live in a complex world, and sometimes we need outside help to make sensible decisions that will help us meet our financial goals.
To make it easier to get advice, more than a dozen certified financial planners have volunteered to answer your questions Wednesday in an event sponsored by the Daily Herald.
To participate in the free event, call (800) 430-4237 between 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Volunteers from the Financial Planning Association of Illinois will take your questions.
Among the planners who will participate are:
- Dorothy Bossung leads Deloitte & Touche's Investment Advisory Service in the Midwest market. She has 26 years of investment and financial consulting experience with high net worth individuals, corporate retirement plans and non-profit organizations.
- Jeffrey G. Cribbs has practiced financial planning in the Oak Park/River Forest community for 17 years.
- William E. Dever Jr. has been a financial planning adviser for Oak Brook-based JMG Financial Group since 1986. He also manages his client's investments for JMG, which manages assets in excess of $800 million.
- Patrick L. Doland is the president of Northbrook-based financial planning firm Reason Financial Advisors. He has been in the financial services industry since 1972.
- Don Duncan provides portfolio management and financial analysis for clients of D3, Design Develop Deploy Financial Counselors, which he has owned since 1997. For 11 years, he managed an investment department of the Northern Trust.
- Terrance R. Gaertner is principal of Chicago Financial Advisors, an investment adviser firm specializing in retirement and estate planning. He has discussed investment strategies on radio and cable and network television and served on the board of directors for the Chicago chapter of the International Association for Financial Planning.
- Edward W. Gjertsen II of Winnetka specializes in financial planning and money management. He is a vice president of Mack Investment Securities, where he has worked since 1993.
- Thomas L. Howard, a retired minister, has worked for Merrill Lynch, Citicorp Investment and now State Financial Bank's Wealth Advisory Group. He specializes in tax-advantaged investing, retirement income planning and lower risk investment strategies.
- Roger Kadisak founded investment management company Kadisak Financial Services in 1995. He had more than 20 years of corporate experience before starting the Naperville company.
- David M. Kover has counseled clients on financial planning, including business, estate and retirement planning, for more than 16 years.
- Mark La Spisa of Hoffman Estates co-founded Vermillion Financial Advisors in 1988. He specializes in assisting clients older than 50 with net worth in excess of $1 million.
- Kevin M. Meehan of Arlington Heights has provided financial planning and pension and profit sharing services for individuals and businesses for nearly two decades. He is the president of CDHM Financial Advisors.
- James R. Platania has helped clients with retirement planning for 15 years. In 1993, he was an invited speaker at the Personal Economic Summit in Washington, where he addressed legislators, educators and the media on how Americans should save for the future.
- Agnes A. Roach, Gurnee, founded AA Roach Financial Planning in 1985. She was president of the Chicago chapter of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners and founded the University of Chicago Women's Business Group.
- Sean Sebold specializes in wealth management for business leaders and owners as president of Sebold Capital Management, Naperville. Before forming his own company, Sebold was a consultant to Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in its global practice group.
Planners won't promote particular firms or products but will provide general advice. People needing more specific, detailed assistance can contact the FPA's Grayslake office for referral to a financial planner.
The phone number is (800) 430-4237. The Web site is fpaillinois.org.
This article originally appeared in the October 5, 2004 issue of the Daily Herald.