Five Star award winner Greg Zandlo, CFP®

'Financial Planning: The Benefit of a Lifetime'(TM)

Whether you know it or not, you have practiced some form of financial planning.

From the time you received an allowance, you have made choices on how to save

money, spend money or both.

As an adult, spending choices have become more complex, but such choices still

revert back to basic financial planning. A certain amount of money comes in, a

certain amount goes out. How successful you are depends on where the money

“goes out”.

By definition, financial planning is a dynamic process, featuring the coordination

and integration of five distinct disciplines: Risk Management (Insurance), Investments,

Income Taxes, Retirement/Employee Benefits and Estate Planning.

Your financial plan must address each discipline in order to analyze the past, present

and future direction of your financial situation. Failure to do so will undermine the

effectiveness of your plan. However, a financial plan does no good unless it is

implemented. Sometimes, “paralysis by analysis” does more harm than good.

Therefore, Take Action !!!

At this point, you have a chance on how to implement your plan. The financial services

industry employs insurance agents, stockbrokers, financial advisers, etc. How can you

receive proper guidance ? Ask your trusted advisors for referrals or options on how to

implement your plan. Credentialed professionals, such as Certified Financial Planner™

(CFP) or Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), may also provide additional knowledge

and expertise in your financial plan implementation. In every case, demand objectivity !!!

Whomever you choose, they work for YOU, not the other way around.

Finally, your financial plan should be monitored, at least annually, to assure the goals you

have established are being attained. The purpose is to examine how your financial plan is

performing, plus allow for any life-changing events that may have occurred, Should such

an event happen (Birth, Death, Job Change, etc.) immediately review your financial plan,

keeping yourself in control at all times. In control, that is the moral of financial planning.

'The Benefit of a Lifetime™

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This award was issued on 11/01/2024 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 03/13/2024 through 10/29/2024. Fee paid for use of marketing materials. Self-completed questionnaire was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria. 4789 Twin Cities-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 624 (13 % of candidates) were named 2025 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2024: 4,280, 637, 15%, 12/1/23, 3/13/23 - 9/29/23; 2023: 4,080, 633, 16%, 12/1/22, 3/14/22 - 10/18/22; 2022: 4544, 622, 14%, 12/1/21, 3/29/21 - 10/8/21; 2021: 4004, 630, 16%, 12/1/20, 3/30/20 - 10/23/20; 2020: 3606, 589, 16%, 12/1/19, 3/1/19 - 10/25/19; 2019: 3504, 671, 19%, 12/1/18, 3/23/18 - 10/23/18; 2018: 2622, 591, 23%, 12/1/17, 2/23/17 - 10/13/17; 2017: 2304, 836, 36%, 11/1/16, 2/25/16 - 10/14/16; 2016: 2083, 854, 41%, 11/1/15, 4/17/15 - 10/14/15; 2015: 2673, 825, 31%, 12/1/14, 4/17/14 - 10/14/14; 2014: 1931, 844, 44%, 12/1/13, 4/17/13 - 10/14/13; 2013: 2151, 863, 40%, 12/1/12, 4/17/12 - 10/14/12; 2012: 1256, 624, 50%, 11/1/11, 4/17/11 - 10/14/11.

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Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. The award is based on 10 objective criteria. Eligibility criteria - required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser (RIA) or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Actively licensed as a RIA or as a principal of a registered investment adviser firm for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (As defined by FSP, the wealth manager has not; A. Been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; B. Had more than a total of three settled or pending complaints filed against them and/or a total of five settled, pending, dismissed or denied complaints with any regulatory authority or FSP's consumer complaint process. Unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through FSP's consumer complaint process; feedback may not be representative of any one client's experience; C. Individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint; D. Filed for personal bankruptcy within the past 11 years; E. Been terminated from a financial services firm within the past 11 years; F. Been convicted of a felony); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation criteria - considered: 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations. FSP does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. The award is not indicative of the wealth manager's future performance. Wealth managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their clients' assets. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by FSP or this publication. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by FSP in the future. Visit www.fivestarprofessional.com.