Five Star award winner Paul Burgdorf

How A Comprehensive Plan Can Help You Enjoy A Successful Retirement

Most people want to know if they will have enough money to make it through retirement. Others are confident they have more than they need and, instead, want tax planning, risk mitigation strategies, generational transfers, and charitable gifting. Regardless of your goals for investing and financial planning, rest assured that clarity and peace of mind will come from walking through the process with an expert who is watching out for you.

Building a strong investment portfolio requires extensive work upfront, and maintaining that portfolio, while making adjustments and course corrections over time, is equally important.

While there are many rudimentary planning tools available online, they don't offer a comprehensive assessment or the invaluable perspective that a financial advisor provides. In fact, the simplicity of these online tools, while attractive, can be misleading. Whether you are in retirement or just getting started in your career, a great advisor can provide real value and help you stay on track with your goals.

It is important to note that financial planning is much more than a one-time exercise because the plan becomes stale not long after it's completed. Our dynamic platform offers a vastly superior approach to planning and can be updated as your needs change, as the stock market changes, and as IRS rules change, so your plan reflects your life situation accurately at any point in time. This approach also enables your advisor to recommend beneficial adjustments along the way, leading to better outcomes.

Highlights of the MoneyGuide platform used with clients:

Custom-tailored goals that align with your priorities.
Tax minimization strategies and cash flow modeling.
Risk assessments for life insurance, disability, and long-term care.
Interactive scenario building that you can adjust without breaking anything.
Strong analytics and benchmarking, including stress testing your plan.
Social security optimization to identify when to start taking your benefits.
Plan is integrated with your investment portfolio and updated on a daily basis.
24/7 access and revisions whenever you need them as you go through the seasons of life.

By taking advantage of various financial strategies and helping you save on taxes, an experienced advisor can bring real value to their clients over the long term.

Procrastination is one of the biggest dangers to a success retirement, and can be difficult to overcome. However, taking the first step is easy. Give me a call and I'll be happy to talk with you and see how I can help.

Back to Home Page

This award was issued on 09/01/2025 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 01/01/2025 through 06/02/2025. 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. 1789 Cincinnati-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 191 (11 % 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: 1,596, 200, 13%, 9/1/24, 12/12/23 - 7/9/24; 2023: 1,649, 240, 15%, 9/1/23, 12/12/22 - 6/30/23; 2022: 1585, 230, 15%, 9/1/22, 1/3/22 - 7/1/22; 2021: 1357, 216, 16%, 9/1/21, 12/14/20 - 7/9/21; 2020: 1406, 216, 15%, 9/1/20, 12/2/19 - 6/12/20; 2019: 1371, 238, 17%, 9/1/19, 11/19/18 - 6/28/19; 2018: 1413, 239, 17%, 9/1/18, 12/20/17 - 7/19/18; 2017: 985, 288, 29%, 9/1/17, 12/21/16 - 6/29/17; 2016: 918, 368, 40%, 8/1/16, 2/10/16 - 7/25/16; 2015: 1667, 427, 26%, 9/1/15, 2/10/15 - 7/25/15; 2014: 2082, 483, 23%, 9/1/14, 2/10/14 - 7/25/14; 2013: 1367, 509, 37%, 9/1/13, 2/10/13 - 7/25/13; 2012: 1265, 477, 38%, 9/1/12, 2/10/12 - 7/25/12.

Click to access BrokerCheck

This article is for informational purposes only. Any commentary and third-party sources are believed to be reliable but Harvest Financial Advisors LLC cannot guarantee their accuracy.

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.