Is Princeton Global Special?

That’s a question I found myself asking about 18 months ago. I had reconnected with former BlackRock colleagues, Brett and Erica, and was learning about Princeton Global. It had been many moons since we had worked together, and a lot had changed for all of us both personally and professionally.

For starters, all three of us had left BlackRock. We all had kids, all were hustling from sporting event to sporting event. I had even moved nearly across the country to Denver back in 2017. A lot had changed!

When I started talking with Brett and Erica about what they were up to, I was excited to learn they were in the midst of transforming a highly successful wealth management office into a comprehensive financial planning firm. My ears perked up for two reasons: first, I was on the hunt for a new home to launch my own planning practice; and two, they wanted help embedding comprehensive planning as a key service offering for the firm – something my nearly two decades in finance had uniquely prepared me to do.

See, I had a unique opportunity that most financial advisors don’t get to have – I got to work with hundreds of advisory practices before ever starting my own. My professional experience has two major chapters:

• Chapter 1 (2007–2020): Helping other financial advisors improve their practices.
• Chapter 2 (2020–now): Taking all of the wisdom from Chapter 1 and doing what I always deep down wanted to do — running my own comprehensive financial practice. My goal? To help good people achieve their goals and live a life that they love and enjoy.

During Chapter 1, it’s no exaggeration to tell you that I met with thousands of financial advisors and worked with hundreds of advisory practices. I saw the best, and I saw the worst. I saw the different practice models firms could use – affiliating with a large wirehouse (think Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley), or a bank, or a regional broker-dealer. But the firms where I consistently found the highest level of intellectual curiosity, a desire to continue to adapt, and a commitment to serving their clients with a white-glove approach? Those were the independent firms.

What’s an independent firm, you may be asking yourself? An independent firm manages everything on its own — from hiring and managing staff, to choosing technology, to managing a brand, to running the business. But what really sets them apart is their ability to offer clients exactly what they believe is best. There is no management department dictating which products to use and sell. There are no sales quotas coming from above. An independent firm has complete autonomy.

But why would being autonomous matter, really? Isn’t a financial plan the same, no matter where you get it? This is where the devil lies in the details. When an independent firm registers with the SEC (or with the state, if assets under management fall below the SEC threshold), the firm is held to the fiduciary standard. Fiduciary seems to be a buzzword these days, but here’s what it actually means:

1. The firm must act in the client’s best interest.
2. The firm must disclose and manage conflicts of interest.
3. The firm must provide full and fair disclosure of material facts.

All pretty good things for clients, if you ask me.

But what’s the alternative? The alternative to the fiduciary standard is the suitability standard, which says that an investment product or recommendation must only be suitable for the client — not the best option, not an evaluation of all available options. Just suitable. It can work, but it may not be the ultimate best solution for the client.

When I decided to close Chapter 1 and embark on Chapter 2 — starting my own comprehensive planning practice — I already knew I wanted to operate under the fiduciary standard. But my entire career to that point had been focused primarily on one part of the industry: investments. How could I call myself a comprehensive financial planner if I had only ever represented one slice of the industry? So I challenged myself. My first landing spot was at Northwestern Mutual, an insurance company that offers financial planning. I went there as I go to most places — to learn. And learn I did. I saw the positives and negatives of an insurance-based approach. After taking what I could from the experience, I moved on. I decided to finally go independent after two years and after earning my CFP^® (Certified Financial Planner) designation.

In 2023, I ended up at a firm called Colorado Wealth Group. I really enjoyed working there and loved the people. They do comprehensive financial planning as an independent firm, and I continued to learn a great deal while seeing firsthand the positive impact this approach had on clients every day. Ultimately, I needed to make a change for a personal reason: the role was Colorado-based, and I needed more flexibility. My parents are getting older and still live in Bucks County. My only sister isn’t far down the road in Moorestown, NJ — with her many kids, including twin baby boys! I needed the opportunity to move closer to my family and the people I love.

So that brings me back to the question I first asked myself when contemplating a move: Is Princeton Global special? This was on my mind throughout my conversations with the leadership team as we explored what a working relationship could look like. During those discussions, I saw the following:

• A team of professionals who care deeply about the wellbeing of their clients.
• A firm committed to staying on the cutting edge of holistic, comprehensive financial advice.
• A team of lifelong learners, always seeking new and better ways to serve the clients who have entrusted their livelihoods to the firm.

Their tagline — “We’re with you“ — said it all. This is a firm that believes every client engagement is unique. A firm where clients are always put first, where all questions are good questions, and where if it matters to you, it matters to us. A philosophy that goes hand in hand with my own goal of building a practice centered on helping good people achieve their goals and live a life they love and enjoy.

So, is Princeton Global special? After everything I’ve seen, I can confidently say yes — and that is exactly why I am now proud to be part of the Princeton Global team, serving the clients who have entrusted me with their financial futures.