Takeaways From 2024
 

Greetings Clients and Friends of The Center, 


On behalf of the entire Center Team, I hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday season and wish you a very Happy New Year.  


As we close out 2024, we want to take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude for entrusting us as a partner in your financial well-being. This year has been filled with significant events and milestones, and we are proud to reflect on the progress we've made alongside you. We understand that success for our clients and our firm encompasses much more than just monetary gains. Helping you achieve your financial and life goals is our ultimate measure of success, and we are grateful for the privilege of doing so since 1985. As an important stakeholder in The Center’s success, I am pleased and proud to share some of our internal highlights this past year. There are so many places to start, but one stands out:


  • Our long-time partner, Matt Chope, CFP®, has officially retired. Matt’s career spanned over 30 years, and his contributions to The Center and the clients he served were nothing short of remarkable. Just as we have helped many of you successfully retire, we applied the same diligence to ensure a smooth transition for Matt and his clients. We celebrated Matt's retirement in June with a fantastic event to acknowledge and honor his dedicated service to you and The Center. Fortunately, our extensive experience allows us to seamlessly guide both our clients and our partners into retirement.


  • Michael Brocavich, CFP®, MBA became our newest partner in 2024 – further growing our multi-generational independently owned firm.


  • As much as we obsess on creating a great environment for clients – we also prioritize the same for the Center team. It is with great pride that I share for the 8th consecutive year, The Center was recognized in Crains Best Places to Work in South East Michigan - AND we ranked #1 in the small employer category.


  • Other firm recognitions included being named the #1 mid-size place to work for financial advisors in 2024 by Investment News, inclusion as one of “Forbes Best In State Wealth Management Teams” in Michigan, and a new recognition by being named to the Financial Planning’s list of 2024 Best RIA’s to Work For.


  • While we are most proud of our team recognition – our individual planners continue to be acknowledged. Repeat recipients include Sandy Adams, CFP® on the Forbes Top Women Advisors Best in State list and Nick Defenthaler, CFP®, RICP®, and myself once again recognized as Forbes Next Gen or Best in State advisors.

 

  • Our firm continues to grow in terms of the number of clients served, assets managed and team members.

 

  • As in years past, our number of clients served continues to increase at a manageable pace thanks to introductions from our existing clients and other professionals. We are fortunate that client retention year to year remains extremely high. Thank you – it’s something we work very hard at each day and do not take it for granted.


  • As of 11/26/2024, we hold in excess of $1.8 Billion dollars on your behalf and remain aligned with your goals in that we do better when you do better.

 

Our team continues to expand and seek new opportunities:


  • In 2024 we welcomed new team members to better serve you including Nick Valente and Rachel Breuer. We also were fortunate to have two interns with us over the summer in Nick Errer and Ryan O'Neal.


  • I’m excited to share that Logan Dimitrie passed the coveted Certified Financial Planner exam and looks forward to moving into an Associate Financial Planner role in the future. Additionally, Dawn LoPiccolo completed the Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional designation.


  • Two other new roles include Marisa Dobson moving into the CSA role and Sarah McDonell stepping into a new joint CSA/Investment Department role.


A few last highlights before we turn the page to 2025 include:


  • A congrats to Josh Bitel, CFP® with the welcoming of his first child and to Raya Chope who is expecting her first child soon! Yet two more future Centerites!


  • In 2024 we held our first & successful all-team retreat! 25 Center team members plus 20 spouses or guests attended a two-night getaway in Traverse City. There were no trust falls – but lots of laughs and team bonding to say the least.


  • The Center is proud of its long-standing commitment to giving back to our profession; Bob Ingram, CFP®, Sandy Adams, CFP®, and Kelsey Arvai, MBA, CFP® are leaders within the Financial Planning Association of Michigan – highlighted by Bob as the next President. Not to be outdone, Lauren Adams, CFA®, CFP® served as the President of the CFA Society of Detroit.


  • And, last but not least, our team members are doing some great work in the community. The team contributed well over 100 hours of volunteer service and donated thousands of dollars to charity. Two highlights include participation in Walled Lake Western high school’s Pink Out Ceremony in honor of our cancer warriors Amanda Toia, Nancy Sechrist, and Gerri Harmer and the On Wings of Angels charity drive coordinated by Board member Sandy Adams, CFP®.


There are so many more achievements to share if time permitted. Suffice to say – we have a great team that cares deeply to provide world class service to you - our clients as well as in supporting our profession and community.

 

Together we accomplished a lot in 2024. As we approach 2025, we know there is much work to be done and much thought to be given to important issues like tariffs, trade wars, taxes and trillion-dollar deficits. We will work diligently to monitor your long-term plans to make the best possible decisions to help keep you on track.


Before I close, I’d like to come back to the year 1985. If my math is correct, this means in 2025 The Center celebrates its 40th anniversary! So much has changed in the last 40 years, and I think it’s important to also note what hasn’t changed. We continue to be a privately owned purpose driven professional services firm with a mission of Improving Lives Through Financial Planning Done Right. Financial planning done right and our time tested process has the power to improve lives – we have witnessed it and fortunately many of you have experienced it.


Our firm values are intact, and we continue to grow so that we can add more resources for you, our clients, as well as to provide more opportunities for our team members.

 

As we look ahead, we remain committed to providing the highest level of service and technical knowledge to support your financial aspirations. Each year, we enter a new year filled with promise and potential, and our team is excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. In 2025, we are thrilled to share a Center authored book as well as some fun activities to commemorate our 40th anniversary.

 

Once again, thank you for choosing The Center as your partner on this journey. We are honored to be part of your financial story and look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts in the years to come.


On behalf of everyone here at The Center, we wish you a joyful holiday season and a prosperous 2025!


Timothy Wyman, CFP®, JD

Managing Partner

 
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Crain's 2024 Detroit Business Best Places to Work in Southeast Michigan, developed by Best Companies Group, is based on evaluating employee surveys and the organizations benefits package. To be considered, the organization must: be a publicly or privately held business, be a for-profit, not-for-profit business or government entity, have a facility in Southeast Michigan, have at least 15 full or part-time employees working in Southeast Michigan, be in business for a minimum of one year, and pay a fee to be considered. 93 of the self-nominated applicants won the award. This ranking was released on 8/22/2024. This recognition is neither an evaluation of services offered, nor a ranking of the Center for Financial Planning associates as investment adviser representatives. The award is not representative of any one client's experience, is not an endorsement, and is not indicative of an advisor's past or future performance. Crain's Detroit Business and/or Best Companies Group are not affiliated with Raymond James.


Investment News “2024 Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors”. The Best Places to Work for Financial Advisers program is a national program managed by Best Companies Group. The survey and recognition program are dedicated to identifying and recognizing the best employers in the financial advice/wealth management industry. The final list is based on the following criteria: must be a registered investment adviser (RIA), affiliated with an independent broker-dealer (IBD), or a hybrid doing business through an RIA and must be in business for a minimum of one year and must have a minimum of 15 full-time/part-time employees. The assessment process is compiled in a two part process based on the findings of the employer benefits & policies questionnaire and the employee engagement & satisfaction survey. The results are analyzed and categorized according to 8 Core Focus Areas: Leadership and Planning, Corporate Culture and Communications, Role Satisfaction, Work Environment, Relationship with Supervisor, Training, Development and Resources, Pay and Benefits and Overall Engagement. Best Companies Group will survey up to 400 randomly selected employees in a company depending on company size. The two data sets are combined and analyzed to determine the rankings. A total of 75 employers won . The ranking is based on fiscal year 2023 and was released on 02/28/2024. The award is not representative of any one client's experience, is not an endorsement, and is not indicative of an advisor's future performance. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors pay a fee in exchange for this award. Investment News and/or Best Companies Group is not affiliated with Raymond James.


The 2024 Forbes ranking of America’s Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative criteria, mostly gained through telephone and in-person due diligence interviews, and quantitative data. This ranking is based upon the period from 3/31/2022 to 3/31/2023 and was released on 01/09/2024. Advisor teams that are considered must have one advisor with a minimum of seven years of experience, have been in existence as a team for at least one year, have at least 5 team members, and have been nominated by their firm. The algorithm weights factors like revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, industry experience and those that encompass best practices in their practices and approach to working with clients. Portfolio performance is not a criteria due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. Out of approximately 10,100 team nominations, 4,100 advisor teams received the award based on thresholds. This ranking is not indicative of an advisor's future performance, is not an endorsement, and may not be representative of individual clients' experience. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors or RIA firms pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. Raymond James is not affiliated with Forbes or Shook Research, LLC. Please see https://www.forbes.com/lists/wealth-management-teams-best-in-state for more info.


The Forbes ranking of America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-In-State, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative data, rating thousands of wealth advisors with a minimum of seven years of experience and weighing factors like revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, industry experience and best practices learned through telephone and in-person interviews. Portfolio performance is not a criteria due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. This ranking is based upon the period from 9/30/22 to 9/30/23 and was released on 02/08/2024. Research Summary (As of February, 2024) 44,028 nominations were received and approximately 1991 women won based on thresholds. This ranking is not indicative of an advisor's future performance, is not an endorsement, and may not be representative of individual clients' experience. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors or RIA firms pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. Raymond James is not affiliated with Forbes or Shook Research, LLC. Please visit https://www.forbes.com/lists/best-in-state-women-advisors/?sh=7ae191421d11 for more info.


2024 The Forbes Next-Gen Wealth Advisors Best-In-State rankings, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative criterion, mostly gained through telephone and in-person due diligence interviews, and quantitative data. Those advisors that are considered are under 40, have a minimum of four years' experience, and the algorithm weighs factors like revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, industry experience and those that encompass the highest standards of best practices. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK receive a fee in exchange for rankings. Compensation provided for using the rating. The Research Summary (as of August 2024) included: 45,996 nominations for all rankings, based on thresholds, 24,832 invited to complete online survey, 21,368 telephone interviews, 5,176 in-person interviews at advisors’ location, 1,545 virtual interviews and 4,081 individuals considered and 1,621 individuals won the Next-Gen ranking. This ranking is based upon the period from 3/31/23 to 3/31/24 and was released on 8/8/24. This ranking is not indicative of an advisor’s future performance, is not an endorsement, and may not be representative of individual clients’ experience. For more information go to https://www.forbes.com/lists/best-in-state-next-gen-advisors/?sh=166061825fc3.


Financial Planning’s 52 Best RIAs to Work For 2024 program recognizes registered investment advisory practices that provide positive workplace environments and provide excellent benefits, according to their employees. This program is open to SEC-registered RIA’s that have a facility in the United States, have been in business for a minimum of one year by May 29, 2024, and must also have at least 10 full-time or part-time employees. Best Companies evaluated each firm’s workplace policies, practices, benefit programs, philosophy systems, and demographics and surveyed financial professionals across the country about their firms' leadership, culture, pay and benefits, training, work environment, engagement, communications, and other factors. Ranking is derived from tallying up scores from the survey and evaluation from lowest to highest. Out of 100 nominees, 52 RIA’s won. The ranking is based on fiscal year 2024 and was released on 12/3/2024. The award is not representative of any one client’s experience, is not an endorsement, and is not indicative of an advisor’s future performance. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors pay a fee in exchange for this award. Financial Planning and/or Best Companies Group is not affiliated with Raymond James.

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