Only 19 percent of those surveyed by Mintel in 2017 rated themselves as confident about their financial literacy. Many of the rest are confused by all the conflicting “advice” out there, especially in social media, about how to manage money and build wealth. Meanwhile, research by CreditCard.com found that 62 percent of respondents they surveyed lose sleep over the stress of money worries.

Those realities are what drove Kirk G. Collins, CFP^®, ChFC^®, to co-create Collins and Guilford Wealth Advisors, LLC.
“Our mission at Collins and Guilford is to educate,” said Collins.

With offices in Indiana and Ohio, the education process at Collins and Guilford, begins with explaining to anyone seeking financial advice to “shop around.” The local insurance agent selling annuities might not have the ability to offer comprehensive investment expertise. What is the fee structure? How about the personal chemistry?

“Usually, after doing their ‘due diligence,’ clients will wind up choosing us,” reports Collins. “Our edge is that we are independent, no parent company imposing sales quotas, no shareholders with their demands, and no pushing proprietary products. Therefore, even before the Trump administration’s emphasis on fiduciary accountability – impartial conduct standards – prospective and current clients recognized that we put them first.”

How Collins and Guilford ensures their advisors acts in the clients’ interests and not their own self-interest, is by taking the time to understand their unique financial situation and objectives. Then they present clients with options in as simple a manner as possible. No financial jargon. Only the must-knows, such as the sectors to invest in and the fee structures from those 100-page prospectuses. And, no overloading information and recommendations in any single meeting.

Regarding the latter, Collins notes, “The 50-year-old needing to contribute more to a 401k and IRA probably won’t be able to absorb anything about long-term care insurance and details of Social Security during the initial consultation. That’s why we focus only on what’s most important to wealth creation and preservation at that time.”

Collins wants to give everyone access to building wealth. That’s why the firm has no minimum dollar-amount investment requirement.

In college, as part of the pre-dental school curriculum, Collins took business courses. There he was introduced to the power of compound interest, or using money to earn money. He was hooked. He changed majors.

After Collins began working as a financial advisor he recognized how much he still had to learn. That’s why he took on the grueling task of studying to be a Certified Financial Planner®.
“That was one of my key achievements,” he said.

Since Collins is 32 years old and his partner Matthew Guilford is 26, they have many Millennial clients. But, from the get-go, the team focuses on funding retirement. Other services provided include creating budgets, estate planning, and creating strategies that seek to manage taxes while maximizing the return on investment.

For more information, go to collinsandguilford.com

Kirk Collins and Matthew Guilford are registered representatives with and securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC