About Us

Putting Your
Interest First.
No Exceptions.

We are a team of experienced financial professionals committed to providing the highest level of comprehensive service and trusted advice to our select client base. We are driven by a commitment to integrity, transparency and innovation in all we do. As fee-only fiduciary advisors, we put our clients’ best interests first, at all times and in all situations.

We have extensive experience helping clients navigate the complexities of executive benefits, implement custom employer-sponsored retirement plans and health care benefits, save and invest for future generations of family members, and maximize the value of their businesses. As an independent, fiduciary advisory firm, we have no corporate mandates, sales quotas or investment limitations. Instead, we are free to provide truly custom advice specifically designed to meet your needs, with any potential conflicts of interest fully disclosed.

What does all this mean to you? Put simply, we’re committed to achieving your goals because we succeed when you succeed.

What makes an AIF® different from the other advisors?

Fiduciary Duty:

An AIF® is legally and ethically bound to act in the best interests of their clients at all times. This contrasts with non-fiduciary advisors who might not be held to the same standard.

Specialized Training: AIF® designees undergo extensive training on fiduciary standards, investment strategies, and best practices. This specialized education ensures they are well-equipped to manage and advise on complex financial matters.
Ethical Standards: AIF® professionals adhere to a strict code of ethics and standards of conduct, ensuring transparency, integrity, and accountability in their client interactions.
Continuous Education: To maintain their designation, AIF® professionals must engage in ongoing education, staying current with the latest developments in financial management and fiduciary practices.
Comprehensive Approach: An AIF® takes a holistic view of financial planning, focusing not just on investments, but on the overall financial well-being of their clients. This includes retirement planning, estate planning, and risk management.
Enhanced Due Diligence: AIF® designees apply a thorough due diligence process when evaluating investment options, ensuring that all recommendations are in the best interest of the client.

By choosing an Accredited Investment Fiduciary®, you benefit from a higher standard of care and a commitment to achieving your financial goals with integrity and expertise.

Meet Our Founder

Allen Bronton, AIF®, CEPA®, LUTCF

Managing Member

Allen serves as a financial quarterback to clients by helping to ensure the successful collaboration of the firm’s services with outside advisors and trusted partners. By doing so, he acts as each client’s personal financial advocate. Allen also serves in a fiduciary or co-fiduciary capacity as an ERISA advisor to employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Allen founded the firm in 2006 as Wealth Preservers, LLC. In 2011, Clear Financial Strategies took over the Registered Investment Advisory business and Wealth Preservers continued as an insurance agency for the exclusive benefit of Clear Financial Strategies. Prior to founding the firm, Allen served as an advanced markets lead advisor for one of America’s largest independent financial services firms. He also served as president and chief operating officer of Crown Investments, Ltd., a firm that he co-founded with his father.

Allen Studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Southern Illinois University and received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Blair College. He has obtained the Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) and the Certified Exit Planning Advisor® (CEPA®) designations.

Allen serves as a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow. He is a past board member of the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association and the Village of Lakewood, Illinois, Economic Development Counsel.

Allen and his wife of nearly 20 years have five children together and enjoy traveling as a family, exposing their children to cultures and traditions outside the USA for greater understanding. Allen’s interests outside of work and family include exotic cars, wine, golf and saltwater beaches. Allen relocated the business and his family to NW St. Johns County, FL in 2023.

Our Process

Getting to Know
Each Other

The advisor needs to ask pertinent questions to learn about the prospective client.

What does their family look like (if any)? What are they trying to accomplish? What are their issues?, etc. The prospective client also needs to ask probing questions regarding the advisor such as experience, certifications, client and regulatory issues, etc. No financial relationship can truly form without complete trust of both parties.

Gathering
Data

Once trust and rapport have been established both sides can work together as a team.

Sometimes the relationship never makes it to step 2 and that is good as well. Both the client and advisor have to have confidence in the other. Now the discovery process takes place where the advisor is gathering necessary documents and being introduced to the other advisors on the client’s team.

Analyzing and Evaluating

In this step we are using various software and database systems in order to understand not just how each component works but how each component works or doesn’t with the others.

In this stage it is not uncommon for the advisor to request permission to engage their other advisors such as CPA, Attorney’s, Insurance Agents, etc.

Develop and Present

Now we reach the point where we re-engage the client to present a plan that we believe will solve their problems and give the a clear path toward their personal and financial goals.

In this stage it is not unusual to make some changes to the plan because, a reasonable solution cannot be found, and we need further input from the client.

Implementation

Once the client is satisfied with the planning path, implementation of the plan takes place. Clear Financial Strategies, LLC is a strict fee-only RIA and does not permit compensation outside of the client’s fee, so we look for the best products to implement the plan at the least cost. This does not mean the cheapest, it means the best at the least cost.

For example, if financial solution A is more expensive than financial solution B but A has a better net return and potentially even lower risk, we may opt for what looks like, at first blush, the more expensive solution. Since we are fee-only, the more the client makes the more we make as your fiduciary, so we are always looking after your best interest because it is also ours.

Monitoring and Adjusting

While all steps are important, step 6 is the most important in our view. Without this crucial step you are simply driving using only your rearview mirror.

About Us

Putting Your Interest First. No Exceptions.

Meet Our Founder

Our Process

Putting Your
Interest First.
No Exceptions.