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 serves as a financial quarterback for his clients, coordinating the seamless integration of Clear Financial Strategies’ services with clients’ external advisors and trusted professional partners. In this role, he acts as a dedicated financial advocate, helping clients navigate complex financial decisions while ensuring alignment among all members of their advisory team. Allen also serves as a fiduciary or co-fiduciary ERISA advisor for employer-sponsored retirement plans, providing guidance designed to support the best interests of plan sponsors and participants.
Allen began his career in financial services in 1986 as a stockbroker. He later co-founded a brokerage and investment advisory firm with his father, successfully growing and eventually selling the businesses. Following the sale, Allen joined one of the nation’s largest independent financial services firms, where he played a key role in expanding the Chicago region from 12 advisors to more than 400. He subsequently led the firm’s Midwest Private Client Group, delivering advanced planning strategies to high-net-worth families and successful business owners.
In 2006, Allen founded Clear Financial Strategies, LLC with a commitment to reducing conflicts of interest and embracing fiduciary best practices that place clients’ needs first. Today, Clear Financial Strategies provides investment advisory services through Redhawk Wealth Advisors, an SEC-registered investment advisory firm. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training and should not be construed as an endorsement or approval of the firm by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Throughout his career, Allen has been recognized as a multi-year recipient of the Five Star Wealth Manager Award in the Chicago market and was among the first recipients recognized in the Jacksonville, Florida market. The award recognizes wealth management professionals who satisfy rigorous eligibility and evaluation criteria.
Allen is also the author of the forthcoming book, Fiduciary Financial Responsibility: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, which examines the principles of fiduciary responsibility and helps individuals, business owners, and retirement plan sponsors make more informed financial decisions.
Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Blair College after pursuing studies in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Southern Illinois University. He holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) and Professional Plan Consultant (PPC®) designations. He also completed the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) educational program to better serve business owners and collaborate with exit planning professionals. While he no longer maintains the designation, the training continues to enhance his business transition planning expertise.
A Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International, Allen has a longstanding commitment to community service. He has served on the board of the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association, supporting individuals with physical and developmental disabilities, and on the Economic Development Council for the Village of Lakewood, Illinois.
Allen and his wife, married for nearly 25 years, are the proud parents of five children. As a family, they enjoy travel, learning about different cultures, and spending time together. Outside of his professional and family commitments, Allen enjoys exotic automobiles, fine wine, golf, and time at the beach. In 2023, he relocated with his family to Ponte Vedra, Florida.
Our Process
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 most appropriate products to implement the plan at the least cost. This does not mean the cheapest, it means there is significant value for 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.
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.