Each year, on Martin Luther King Jr Day, our Team meets for a half day retreat to review the previous year’s achievements, discuss goals for the current year, and to seek collective input from our Team on various initiatives. I share a “state of the union” address as part of the agenda. This year, I thought I would share some of the same key points with clients.
PFA had another great year and continues to grow thanks to the many referrals from clients and the good work we do. We appreciate the vote of confidence from clients and promise to do our best for everyone we meet. We are committed to maintaining our human touch in this digital world and to serving clients and prospects with kindness, integrity, and excellence.
While we maintain our human touch, we continue to adopt new technologies and processes and are always looking to learn and evolve. I learned in college that it’s not always the strongest that survives, but rather those that learn to adapt and embrace change as an opportunity to improve. That’s why education is part of our DNA. We participate in a Schwab Benchmarking Study, Schwab Strategic Planning, we attend multiple educational conferences and seek guidance from third party industry experts. It’s all about knowing where we are, how we plan to grow, and how to improve along the way. We seek thought leaders in our industry to keep us in step with the latest innovations. It’s a journey, with hard work and excitement along the way.
I looked back at our last ten years and noted some of the challenges and changes… the 2017 split with my former partner, our 2018 transition to TD Ameritrade, Covid and the move to our current Akron office in 2020, a -25% negative market in 2022, and the Schwab merger in 2023. We also had two Team members that retired, a few that moved on to other opportunities, and a few solid additions to our Team. We navigated new software, computers, and compliance changes. I am happy to say, through all these changes and challenges, we came out stronger, better, faster – yep, we adapted; always with a focus on serving our clients with excellence.
If you have not viewed our Website in a while, take a peek – here is a link. We gave deep thought to the layout and messaging to capture the essence of our firm…A Team that cares about our clients and community, provides excellent service, and cutting-edge planning with integrity. We also wanted to highlight our individual Team members, their experience, and credentials. We believe our team is one of our greatest assets, so we take good care of them so they can be there for you. We have an abundance mentality, meaning we share our success through generous pay, benefits, bonus, PTO, and other perks for our Team because we want them to stay and perform at a high level for our clients. We treat our team with respect, care, and accountability—an approach made possible by the close-knit nature of a small firm.
My role as a leader is evolving. I like to work, so I am not going anywhere, and I stay involved on a daily basis. I might not be in some meetings but know I review every set of notes and stay engaged in the prep and follow up of every client meeting. My Superpower is my 46+ years of experience and the wisdom that comes with age. My Team’s Superpowers are youth, experience, professional credentials, depth and intelligence. I plan to remain engaged, available, and visible for the benefit of my Team and clients. Don’t worry folks, the old guy is still here, and just as importantly, we’ve built the kind of team and systems to serve clients seamlessly—today and for the long term.
Blessings to us all and I look forward to seeing each and every one of you soon.
Sincerely,
Tom