Ohio's IRA & Retirement Income Specialist

Registered Investment Advisor Jeff Cirino CFP® Educates Investors So They Can Make Wise Decisions

Jeff Cirino CFP®, EMBA, Registered Investment Advisor, has become one of the leading financial services experts in the country by developing a proven three step process to help his clients with their investment strategy.

With over twenty years of dedicated experience in financial services, Jeff Cirino CFP®, ChFC, Registered Investment Advisor, is the founder and CEO of Alpha Planning & Financial, Inc., a leading financial services firm based in Ohio.  As an investment advisor with a unique approach, Cirino has set himself apart from the myriad of financial planners in the industry by helping people make better financial decisions by using a logical and rational process rather than using traditional sales techniques.  He helps his clients uncover and filter any misconceptions they have about the kind of investments they own, the kind of returns they can expect, and what their true cost is of their investments.  Since most investors are unsure of what questions to ask and how to quantify hidden fees, taxes, or risk issues, Cirino CFP® has developed a proven methodology to help his clients clearly understand and develop an investment strategy that will be consistent with their objectives.

Surveys of affluent Americans consistently reveal that their major frustration is that their advisors should be more proactive about future issues that might affect their financial well being.  Cirino CFP® and his firm clearly address that concern by keeping their clients informed on the latest changes to laws, regulations and economic trends that may affect their financial future.

Cirino CFP® states, “Each investment product has a place and a specific purpose where it may fit properly into someone’s retirement planning, but without a complete review of your personal situation, risk tolerance, income needs, tax situation, long-term care needs, and estate and charitable desires, no one can or should have an opinion on whether a specific product is right for you.  It is the discovery of your true desires and needs that is the first step you should take, not the choice of investment products that historically many people have made as their first step or concern.  An investor should always first discover their needs and build a plan before choosing investment products.”

Cirino CFP® has developed a very simple and easy to understand three step review process that has historically proven to be extremely beneficial to his clients.  The first step is a complete look forward review of the client’s tax return to determine their current tax situation.  In this review, Cirino CFP® helps his clients identify things like phantom income, incorrect uses of taxable and tax-deferral strategies, as well as a discovery of missed opportunities for offsetting gains and losses which could be as simple as selling a losing stock to offset a capital gain on a mutual fund the client may have missed by waiting until it was too late.

The second step is an income analysis to determine if the client is using their income sources properly and in the most tax efficient method and if they have adequate income to meet their future needs.  The analysis also examines the ever increasing cost of inflation which may be different than government quoted inflation rates as everyone’s rate is different based on what specific things they spend their money.  Cirino CFP® also looks at what potential income his client may have through the potential sale of real estate, their investments, or from the sale of a business.

The third step is a risk and cost analysis related to the client’s investments to make sure their  investment risk exposure is one with which they are comfortable and is in line with their investment allocation strategies.  Cirino CFP® finds that most people have never quantified the true cost of their investments, so he helps his clients through that process.  Unfortunately, research shows that people make poor decisions, receive low rates, or incur losses because they have more investment risk than they can tolerate.  Cirino CFP® and his firm make a great effort to help their clients fully evaluate their investment strategy so they don’t become another statistic in the complex financial services world.

Cirino’s firm is a combination of fee-based securities management and a fixed insurance practice using investment and insurance products that will most effectively optimize their client’s investment portfolio and meet their long term objectives.  For the benefit of their clients, they don’t use any loaded funds or commission based securities when working with their clients.  They also do an extensive amount of work with charities, helping their existing donors make contributions in a tax advantaged way through the use of a Charitable Remainder Trust.  As a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), Cirino CFP® is held to a Fiduciary Standard which is the highest standard in the industry requiring him to serve a client’s best interest and to make appropriate recommendations even if it doesn’t benefit him financially.   He is also a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) which requires in-depth course work and an extensive knowledge of the financial services industry as well as ongoing continuing education.

Cirino CFP® focuses his work on the pre-retirement and retirement market because he finds it challenging to help people that are nearing retirement age to accomplish their retirement goals in a short period of time.  While most financial advisors focus on accumulation of assets, Cirino CFP® is focused on preservation and harvesting strategies requiring a greater knowledge base and higher skill set since there are a myriad of factors that must be considered to mold an appropriate strategy.  Regarding his practice Cirino CFP® states, “I have a sincere desire to be a steward for the financial industry which is suffering in the public trust area.  For twenty years I have seen people come in with investment portfolios with high expenses and they have only been dealt with in the early years of their investing because of commissionable concerns from the representative who sold them the product.  That’s why a fee based practice is so much better than being commissioned based.  Being fee based, I don’t earn commissions.  I work with my clients to help them put in place a plan that is best suited to them.”

Alpha Planning and Financial is a firm that is fully committed to educating their clients first and foremost to demystify the things that are simply not explained by their current or previous advisors.  Over the past twenty years Cirino CFP® has taken great pride in developing a truth-based, non-pressure practice that meets the very high standards to which he adheres.  He comments, “It’s great to realize the vision of how people should be treated.  People are angry and dissatisfied with Wall Street and often with their current advisors because they have a tendency to short-cut things or they lean too heavily on insurance or too heavily on securities.  My practice is a true hybrid.  We are equally versed in equities as well as safe money alternatives.”

Cirino CFP® regularly conducts educational webinars for individual investors to help them understand the risks and rewards of today’s ever changing financial market.  For a number of years now he has taught adult retirement education on the campus of Cleveland State University.  Cirino CFP® says, “Our truth-based independent approach appeals greatly to the very unsatisfied wealthier clients.  Investor surveys indicate that large institutions have insufficiently informed and educated clients.  In my firm we try to reeducate clients in how to make better financial decisions.  This is done by slowly walking folks through several important concepts using third party data as well as logic and rational thinking to uncover hidden fees, costs, charges, as well as tax issues they are unaware of and no one has shown them before, like ‘phantom income tax.’  We always start with a simple three step process: First, viewing their tax issues or problems; second, conducting an investment and cost assessment; and third, a retirement income analysis.  This three step process immediately begins to empower the client with the truth and finds money falling through the cracks in their financial life and it helps our client make better decisions going forward.”

Cirino CFP® continues, “It’s worth noting that we take our time with clients.  We will meet with them as many times as needed before going forward with any future decisions, taking them through our proven process at a pace they are comfortable with.  No recommendations are given in the first two meetings because we, as well as the client, need to get all the facts before the appropriate action can be considered.”

Because of his commitment to education, Cirino CFP® regularly conducts financial education events for the public as well as his clients.  He is also the author of the Complete Guide to College Funding and is currently writing a book about planning for retirement that will be released early next year.  The new book will cover his entire retirement planning process and will show the reader how to see through the myths and misconceptions they have had when making prior financial decisions.  Because of his contribution to his industry and his outstanding business success, Cirino CFP® is being featured as one of the leading business Champions in Newsweek Magazine.  Additional information about Cirino CFP® and Alpha Planning and Financial, Inc. can be found at www.alphaplanning.org.