Five Star award winner Neal McGrath AIF®, CRPC®, AAMS®

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

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Neal McGrath AIF^®, CRPC^®, AAMS^®

Founder, Managing Partner,

Senior Wealth Advisor

Aptus Wealth Planning

1 Bigelow Sq Fl 20

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Office: 412-904-2017

neal.mcgrath@aptuswealthplanning.com
www.aptuswealthplanning.com

Professional Approach

Neal McGrath is a Founder, Managing Partner and Senior Wealth Advisor of Aptus Wealth Planning. His focus is working with individuals to help them make informed financial decisions and live simpler, more productive lives. Neal strives to accomplish this by providing knowledgeable, objective advice and being a resource for any and all financial and investment questions.

Neal has a unique view on the opportunities available to those of us who live in the United States. Neal’s parents were first generation immigrants from the developing nation of Trinidad and Tobago and he spent many summers in his parents’ native country as a child. This helped him understand, at an early age, the imbalance that exists in the world and solidified his desire to make the most of the opportunities afforded to him in this country.

As a lifelong Pittsburgh resident, Neal lives here with his wife, Anne, and three children, Colman, Norah and Gabriel. Anne is an attorney who practices in the Pittsburgh area. They both enjoy spending time with their sons and daughter and working on their home, which was built in 1900. They also enjoy reading, traveling and exploring new restaurants.

Neal is also actively involved in the community. He has taught several retirement planning classes at local universities. Neal is on the Board of Directors for Autism Speaks and served as a committee chair for the Pittsburgh Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

Neal spent the first 15 years of his career with Ameriprise Financial, wherein, he achieved their highest distinction of Private Wealth Advisor. He then established Aptus Wealth Planning, an advisory firm held to a fiduciary standard, to focus on serving the complex needs of successful individuals, families and organizations.

Neal graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Finance. He also completed the “Executive Certificate in Financial Planning” program through Duquesne University. Neal has successfully passed the Series 7, Series 63 (held through Cetera Advisor Networks) and Series 65 (held through CWM, LLC) and his Life/Accident/Health examinations. He holds the following designations:ACCREDITED INVESTMENT FIDUCIARY® (AIF®), CHARTERED RETIREMENT PLANNING COUNSELOR® (CRPC®) and ACCREDITED ASSET MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST® (AAMS®).

Neal is a member of the Financial Services Institute (FSI) and the Pittsburgh Society of Investment Professionals (PSIP). He is also a member of the Society of Financial Awareness (SOFA) and a part of the Financial Educators Network (FEN).

See Accomplishments

This award was issued on 6/1/22 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 09/27/2021 through 03/25/2022. 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. 1779 Pittsburgh-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 252 (14% of candidates) were named 2022 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2021: 1814, 234, 13%, 6/1/21, 9/7/20 - 4/23/21; 2020: 1886, 224, 12%, 6/1/20, 9/16/19 - 4/10/20; 2019: 1667, 251, 15%, 6/1/19, 9/17/18 - 4/12/19; 2018: 1653, 227, 14%, 6/1/18, 9/28/17 - 4/17/18; 2017: 1133, 277, 24%, 6/1/17, 9/27/16 - 4/11/17; 2016: 1064, 423, 40%, 5/1/16, 10/7/15 - 4/19/16; 2015: 1494, 442, 30%, 6/1/15, 10/7/14 - 4/19/15; 2014: 1721, 458, 27%, 6/1/14, 10/7/13 - 4/19/14; 2013: 1777, 545, 31%, 6/1/13, 10/7/12 - 4/19/13; 2012: 1863, 493, 26%, 6/1/12, 10/7/11 - 4/19/12.

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Securities offered through Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through CWM, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC is under separate ownership from any other named entity.

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.