North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 690)
Tony Van Gelder, a Certified Financial Planner and Owner of Van Gelder Financial, joined the show to talk about his career journey, becoming a financial planner, how to choose a financial planner, the value of having an advisor younger than you, how pre-retirement business owners should be planning, and more.
North Fulton Business Radio is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
It’s Van Gelder Financial’s belief that a Financial Plan is really a Life Plan. While there are the technical aspects, a properly built plan should:
- Help to articulate the “why” behind your plan
- Clearly identify your personal and financial goals and how to achieve them
- Establish clear action steps to accomplish the desired outcome
- Be written and explained in an easy-to-understand way
- Evolve into a living document; not something that gathers dust on the shelf.
They manage the investment of your assets according to your current financial situation, future goals, and risk tolerance level. In saying that, they firmly believe in the power of consistency and do not employ market timing or specific stock selection methods but encourage longer term strategies with periodic reviews and adjustments.
They will work with you to determine the optimal asset allocation based on your unique needs. As independent financial advisors they are not motivated by sales targets or commissions which means they will put your interests above anything else. Once an initial plan is crafted and underway, the investments are consistently monitored to ensure they not only meet your needs, but also adapt to the changing financial landscape.
Van Gelder supports families and individuals who want to help plan for their child’s or loved one’s college education. They can help with the decision on which investment and savings vehicle is right for your situation, maximize the tax efficiency, and then put a plan in place to help ensure the money is there when you need it. Alternatively, if you are on the other side of college and currently dealing with student loans, they help to determine your goals and then implement the right repayment strategy that considers your specific situation and circumstance.
Estate planning is not just for the super-rich, but instead something everyone should consider. It’s about ensuring that when something happens to you, the ones you care about won’t have to guess about desired outcomes. Estate Planning gives family members the freedom to grieve and the comfort of knowing they’re honoring your wishes. Having a plan for your estate means you can continue to help your loved ones reach goals you set together, even after you are gone. They help clients look after their investments including insurance policies, savings accounts, and overall goals, to create a plan designed to set yourself and family up for financial success.
Tony has always had a passion for personal finance and spent the first 10 years of his professional career within corporate finance for the medical industry. His career path gave him the opportunity to work in America, Asia, and Australia where he gained valuable experience in understanding how finance impacts various cultures and the international business community.
Tony is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) and holds Series 7 and 66 securities designations. Tony also maintains his life insurance license across various states. He graduated with a B.S. in Finance and Operations Management from Indiana University and received his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Tony, along with his wife and two sons currently live in Milton where he is now the owner and lead advisor for Van Gelder Financial.
In his spare time Tony enjoys golfing, reading, and teaching his boys the love of sports.
Questions and Topics in this Interview:
- What is your background and how did you get into Financial Planning?
- What makes you different than any other Financial Advisor?
- What do you say to people who might want to work with an Advisor who is closer to them in age/experience?
- With robo advisors, Chat GPT, and other technology advances, do you see the value of a Financial Advisor diminishing?
- What do you do outside of work? Hobbies?
North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.
Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
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