About Us
Putting Your
Interest First.
No Exceptions.
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 Clear Financial Strategies’ services with clients’ external advisors and trusted professional partners to keep their entire advisory team aligned. He also serves as a fiduciary or co-fiduciary advisor for employer-sponsored retirement plans, guiding plan sponsors and participants toward outcomes that serve their best interests.
Allen began his career in financial services in 1986. He co-founded a brokerage and advisory firm with his father before joining one of the nation’s largest independent financial services firms, where he led the Midwest Private Client Group serving high-net-worth families and business owners.
In 2006, Allen founded Clear Financial Strategies, LLC to reduce conflicts of interest and put 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.
Allen is a multi-year Five Star Wealth Manager Award recipient. He is also the author of the forthcoming book Fiduciary Financial Responsibility: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.
Allen lives in Ponte Vedra, Florida, with his wife of nearly 25 years and their five children.
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.