Company History
Company History

In 1992, I joined the Equitable to satisfy his desire to learn financial planning. However, the Equitable focused their business mostly on life insurance and annuity products. In 1993, I was given the opportunity to join a small financial planning firm in Pickerington, Ohio. I did not accept the position, as I did not see it as a good fit for me. About 6 months later, another financial planner in Pickerington, Ohio approached me about joining his company, as they had heard about me from the previous financial planner.
In 1994, after several discussions, I decided to leave the Equitable and join Comprehensive Planning Consultants as a Para planner. At the time, Comprehensive Planning Consultants had over 1,500 clients, which focused on selling 403B retirement products to teachers and hospital employees with a smattering of financial planning. In 1997, the owner of Comprehensive Planning Consultants passed away unexpectedly. Thus I made good on my promise to the owner to purchase the business from his widow if something should ever happen to him. In 1998, I re-opened the business as Personal Financial Advisors, Inc., and my wife Wendy joined the firm as the office manager. I left the business unchanged until 1999, when I was introduced to the concept of “Values Based Financial Planning”. This was a turning point in my career, as I embraced the concept of creating financial plans based on peoples’ values.
It was then I decided I did not want to have more than 150 clients. Also, every client would have a financial plan based on their Financial Roadmap(R). I obtained his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (tm) certification in 2002. I earned this certification after passing all the required tests in the various areas of financial planning including a comprehensive 2 day test in all the subject areas of financial planning. I transformed Personal Financial Advisors, Inc., from a commissioned based business to a fee only financial planning firm from the years 1999-2005. As a result of this metamorphosis, the number of clients of the firm went from over 1,500 to less than 30.
Having a high touch, comprehensive financial planning firm prompted me to hire Laura Wall in 2005 as an intern from the Ohio State University to help serve the clients appropriately. Upon her graduation with a degree in Family Resource Management, Laura joined Personal Financial Advisors, Inc. on a full time basis.
Today, Personal Financial Advisors, Inc. has over 85 clients with written financial plans to go along with their Financial Roadmap (R).