Five Star award winner Michelle L. Bender, CFP®

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

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Michelle L. Bender, CFP^®

President, Senior Advisor

Potomac Financial Consultants, LLC

20251 Century Blvd., Ste. 350

Germantown, MD 20874

Office: 301-948-3900

michelle@pf-consultants.com
www.pf-consultants.com

Professional Approach

Michelle Bender has a gift for connecting with people, and it’s certainly one that sets her apart as a financial advisor. While she loves all of the details in financial planning, her greatest joy is serving as a guide for some of the most important decisions in people’s lives. You may think as the owner and president that Michelle is not as visible, spending her days managing her staff and office. But no, Michelle breaks the mold taking time to meet with clients face-to-face and hear firsthand what they envision for their future. For her, the thrill is in watching a couple realize their dreams in retirement. It’s about building confidence and taking a compassionate approach, and there is perhaps no one better equipped for this role than she.

Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Michelle had an “aha!” moment in college as an intern at an independent financial planning firm. She was hooked on helping people discover financial freedom from the get go and has been working as a financial planner ever since. She graduated from Seton Hill College (now University) with dual majors in Accounting and Human Resource Management.

When she isn’t meeting with clients, she enjoys spending time with her family. All that zest for life shows up in her personal time too; you can frequently find Michelle swimming or working out on her Peloton.

See Accomplishments

This award was issued on 9/1/20 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 01/27/2020 through 08/21/2020. 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. 2535 Washington DC-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 115 (5% of candidates) were named 2020 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2019: 1956, 122, 6%, 10/1/19, 12/31/18 - 8/9/19; 2018: 1975, 100, 5%, 10/1/18, 2/1/18 - 8/24/18; 2017: 1417, 106, 7%, 10/1/17, 2/8/17 - 8/22/17; 2016: 1665, 208, 12%, 8/1/16, 3/2/16 - 8/30/16; 2015: 1837, 227, 12%, 9/1/15, 2/14/15 - 8/10/15; 2012: 449, 97, 22%, 10/4/11, 2/14/11 - 8/10/11.

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Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC, (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisory Services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC, (Kestra AS) an affiliate of Kestra IS. Potomac Financial Consultants, LLC is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS. Investor Disclosure and Form CRS

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.