5 Milwaukee Financial Advisors You Need to Know (2024)

If you’re looking for a Milwaukee Financial Advisor you’ve come to the right place! 

With 20 years experience and memberships in the Financial Planning Association, and the CFA Society (investment advisors) I’ve met a lot of different financial advisors and seen a lot of different business models. Here’s my advice on how to find what you’re looking for.

How do I choose the best financial planner or advisor for me?

The first step to choosing a financial advisor is to really understand first what it is you are looking for.

• Do you need help with a specific issue, like a Roth IRA or term life insurance?I
  • If so, then most any ‘financial advisor’ could help.
  • You would want to focus on finding someone who you feel comfortable with and explains finances to you in a way that helps you understand what you’re doing, why you’re buying it, and empowers you to learn more about your money.
• Do you need a strategy to solve a particular situation in your financial life?
  • If you are looking to pay down student loans, or have company stock options, or are getting ready for retirement then you really need someone that specializes in your situation.
  • You would want to search for your situation on Google (like “retirement planning in Milwaukee”), review their website and during your interview of this particular advisor make sure to ask pointed questions about their expertise and the process they use to solve your particular financial situation.
• Are you looking for a specific type of advisor?
  • Many people are looking for a ‘fee only financial advisor’ or a ‘values-based advisor’ (especially around their Christian faith, or perhaps related to ESG investing).
  • Again, search Google for what you’re looking for (like “Christian Financial Advisor” or “retirement income planning near me”), review their website and during your interview ask them pointed questions about how they fit the characteristics you are looking for.
• Here are a few specialty website directories you could search, too:
  • Wealthtender.com with a lot of filters to find your specific type of financial advisor
  • FeeOnlyNetwork.com to find fee only financial advisors
  • KingdomAdvisor.com to find a Christian financial advisor

For more help on how to choose a financial advisor check out my guidebook, 3 Things You Should Know Before Choosing a Financial Advisor

Who are the Milwaukee Financial Advisors you need to know in 2024?

Before I reveal my list it’s important to know how I came up with it. I’ve been a financial advisor for nearly 20 years and thankfully, through my membership in places like the Financial Planning Association of Wisconsin and the CFA Society of Milwaukee I’ve gotten to meet a lot of advisors, and different types of advisors.

The following are financial advisors and firms that I’ve met throughout the years who I feel stand out for their expertise and I broke them out by their specialty. In addition, each of the advisors on the list:

• Acts as a fiduciary
• Is not registered as a stockbroker salesperson
• Has a minimum of the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation
• Focuses on the financial planning strategy vs. trying to beat the market with investments
• Has a specialty in addition to general knowledge

*Please note that this is not a testimonial, endorsement, or ranking, but just my opinion. Inferences made are not based on client’s experience or endorsement of advisory services offered through Thrivent Advisor Network, LLC or other firms.*

In alphabetical order:

Cove Financial Planning

Specializing in using socially responsible investments (SRI) to meet your financial goals.

If you’re looking for someone to work with you on an ongoing basis, to both take care of your financial planning and investment management needs then Ben Smith, with Cove Planning could be right for you.

Where Ben really shines is when you are trying to incorporate your goal of holding socially responsible investments (SRI) into your financial planning.

Cove Planning is an independent, fee-only firm that can incorporate socially responsible investing (SRI) strategies to align your investments with your long-term goals and personal values using Nobel-prize winning investment strategies.

Financial Services Group

Specializing in fee only financial advice and retirement planning.

The wealth management professionals at Financial Services Group (FSG) encourage you to “Live your Great Life Now” and their focus on balancing your current and future goals helps you get there. What makes FSG unique is their focus on ‘career asset management’ as well as their unique pricing structure. Many financial advisors are paid on how much money they manage for you and then focus only on the investment decisions.

FSG is a unique registered investment adviser in that they set their pricing based on a combination of your wealth and income. This means their focus is on helping you grow your net worth through smart financial decisions and on growing your income through advice on how best to progress your career, and even negotiate promotions and pay packages!

Hilltop Financial Advisors

Specializing in helping anyone, young and older, with student loans

Erik Kroll is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) professional with a passion towards helping people pay down their student loans. He started Hilltop Financial Advisors to help you free up time so you could do the things you love.

While focusing on helping professionals in their 20s, 30s, and 40s with their student loan repayment options and comprehensive financial planning, Erik realized that many of his clients’ parents had student loan obligations, too.

Erik started StudentLoansOver50.com to help those folks grow their wealth by paying off their student loans in a better way, retire sooner, and enjoy their golden years.

Simplicity Financial

Specializing in doctors, especially those starting out with large student loans

Simplicity Financial is a fee-only financial planning firm that works with Physicians, Fellows, and residents to develop a financial road map to achieve their financial goals.

Whether it be buying a house, paying off student loans, planning for retirement, or planning for a growing family, they work with clients to identify their financial picture and create a plan that aligns with their values through comprehensive financial planning, investment management and student loan management.

And where does Keil Financial Partners fit into the Milwaukee Financial Advisors list?

I’m so glad you asked!

Keil Financial Partners

Specializing in retirement planning for the almost retired, especially if you have stock or a pension from companies like We Energies, Harley-Davidson, Abbott/AbbVie and AT&T.

At Keil Financial Partners, our financial professionals use a 5-step retirement income plan to guide you through all the big decisions you’ll be making as you enter retirement. Oftentimes, the way you fill out your pension and Social Security form could make or break you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime – and once its signed you probably can never change it again!

If you have saved $500k+ and would like guidance on your retirement, investment, and tax planning decisions, or have questions on your pension, Social Security, 401(k) and employer stock then one of our Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) planners would be happy to get you pointed in the right direction.

I hope this guide helps you find the best financial advisor for you, whether you live in Milwaukee or anywhere else in the US.

Please use it as a starting point for your financial advisor search. Remember these three steps:

1. First decide what problem you need to solve, then
2. Decide what type of financial advisor you are looking for and finally
3. Search for those types of advisors and ask them pointed questions on how best they can serve you.

Again, here are a few directories to help you get started:

Financial Advisor Directories

• Wealthtender.com with a lot of filters to find your specific type of advisor
• FeeOnlyNetwork.com to find fee only advisors
• KingdomAdvisor.com to find a Christian financial advisor

And I very much encourage you to work with a CFP® advisor. Each CFP® professional has completed a 72 topic course of study and has agreed to the CFP Board’s standard of excellence. To verify your advisor is a CFP® professional visit Verify a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) Professional.

By Jeremy Keil, CFP®, CFA

Jeremy Keil, CFP®, CFA is a retirement focused financial planner with Keil Financial Partners , and host of the Retirement Revealed blog and podcast, as well as the Mr. Retirement YouTube channel.