As Curtis and David Krietzberg prepared to launch Krietzberg Wealth Management in 2005, their mother expressed her greatest concern – as her sons navigate through this new journey of building a business together, will they remain as close as they were while growing up? Some ten years later, all is fine between Curtis, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and older brother David, a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). In fact, not only are the brothers still close, but so are their children, who often spend time together on weekends.

As a former corporate loan officer, David concentrates on corporate clients, helping them with retirement, profit sharing, pension and succession plans for their companies. Curtis, a financial services industry veteran, focuses on a client’s personal wealth management. Often, business owners work with both Krietzberg partners, meeting at the crossroads where corporate concerns and personal investment portfolios merge. With transparency, objectivity and a holistic approach to comprehensive financial planning for their clients, Krietzberg Wealth Management operates on the tenet, “Build it now, live it tomorrow.”

In recent years, historically significant events have impacted investors significantly. Curtis Krietzberg identified the critical lessons from them that reinforced long-held beliefs by many in the financial industry. “After the crash of 2009 was over, investors saw that long-term asset allocation worked, and so did remaining calm during a financial crisis and not rushing to cash out portfolios,” he said. Referencing another crushing blow to the industry, the biggest lesson learned from the Bernie Madoff scandal – thought to be the largest financial fraud in U.S. history – is to require that a third party custodian reviews everything an investment firm does, so that transparency and objectivity are paramount in terms of products and services that are offered.

The Krietzberg brothers are not overly concerned with forecasts of increased volatility in today’s markets. “We anticipate volatility in all of our planning,” said Curtis, who cites the existence of volatile markets consistently throughout past decades. “I don’t think that there is ever a time when the skies are perfectly clear where financial professionals say, ‘Now is the time to jump in.’”
“Financial education for investors is key. The savvier our clients are, the better it is for the industry,” added Curtis, whose firm also works with the parents and children of their clients. “The industry is still not where I would like it to be in terms of teaching and educating, it is mainly focused on performance and fees, two important and critical issues – but there are a lot of other issues to teach people about so they can interact with their advisors.”

Based in Edison, New Jersey, current plans call for Krietzberg Wealth Management to expand their practice by adding additional talent to their team. The firm is also a part of a pilot program monitoring social media compliance. As a result, they have established an active presence on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, covering topics that help to educate clients on financial matters.

For more information visit: www.krietzbergwealth.com

Curtis and David Krietzberg are registered representatives of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. Securities and investment advisory services offered through Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp., a broker/dealer and a registered investment advisor