Here's the important stuff:
When I initially work with clients, my aim is to say as little as possible. I want you to share your story, and I will probe with questions as needed. I want you to feel that you have a safe space to share the experiences you've had in life and with money, whether they are good or bad. I want to give you the freedom to explore what life will look like, knowing that I will be able to do the relevant analysis to tell you if it will be possible.
But most of all, I want to work with clients who trust our relationship and understand that they shape what it looks like, not the other way around.
Now here's the technical stuff......
My name is Dave Grant. I am a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) professional, a NAPFA Registered Financial Advisor and have been providing fee-only, fiduciary financial advice to clients since 2007. To better serve retiring and retired clients, I have taken advanced classes in retirement income planning. Having worked in fee-only firms of various sizes before starting my own firm in 2013, I have advised clients ranging from young professionals, oil executives to happily retired, blue-collar families. My specialities include working with Illinois teachers and executives facing retirement needing to turn their multiple assets into a stream of retirement income.
I am an advocate for providing financial advice using a fee-only model, which means I only get paid by my clients - not through product commissions or other means. I believe that everybody who needs financial advice should be able to receive it, not doubt the quality of advice they receive or be in doubt regarding the amount they are paying.
I am an internationally known planner specializing in how younger financial planners can excel in their career. In 2020, I "retired" as a decade-long columnist for Financial Planning magazine where I wrote a column for younger financial planners.
I live in Cary, work in Barrington, am married to a middle school Math teacher (Highland Middle School, Libertyville) and am a father to two boys. I'm a proud member of the Board of Directors for YMCA Camp Duncan in Fox Lake, IL and have loved serving as a mentor through Kids Hope USA. As a dual-citizen of the USA and UK, I am a chocolate connoisseur and think more milk in chocolate makes it taste better. I was devastated when Kraft bought Cadbury.