Craig and his wife, Ann, have three beautiful, healthy children under the age of 18. Both Craig & Ann are native Iowans.
Their kids are involved in softball, soccer, cross country, and track. The family enjoys playing board games together: Rummikub, Sorry, Life, UNO, Clue and Monopoly of course!
Besides a busy family life, Craig has been very active in the local community. He served 8 years as a Marion City Council Member and 2 years on the Marion Planning and Zoning Commission. Currently, he is a Chamber of Commerce member, chair of the Marion Public Services Board, and is on several state and local boards for the financial services profession. Additionally, he travels to Washington DC and Des Moines to meet with legislators on tax policy and regulations affecting clients.
Craig enjoys reading biographies, history, and business books. He is an avid Iowa State Cyclone fan -holding season tickets for multiple sports and watching them play on TV.
We help clients demystify their finances. Understanding personal finances can be scary, intimidating, frustrating, and time-consuming. Sometimes advisors make things worse by being scary and intimidating on purpose. It doesn't have to be that way.
At TrueWealth Stewardship, we educate on how to make better financial decisions. How do we do this? By utilizing our IDEA Process. We start by IDENTIFYING their needs. Then we DEVELOP a customized financial plan. A plan based on our client's life, not someone from the movies or a commercial. We don't and won't do a cookie-cutter analysis or straight-off-the-shelf robo plans like other companies pass off as "original thinking." You're not a penguin. You're not a sheep. You're a person. We help people who want to be our clients. And for those clients who want additional help, we work together to EXECUTE their plan and then ADAPT their plan as needs and situations change.
General Information |
Firm Start Year: | 2000 | |
No. of Employees: | 2-4 | |
Insurance License#: | 6864412 |
Name of Broker/Dealer: | LPL Financial |
Name of Custodial Firm: | LPL Financial |
States Licensed in: | IA, AZ, CO, FL, GA, IL, KS, KY, MN, MO, NE, NY, TX, VA, WI, WY |
Number of Years with Current Firm: | 23 |
Work Experience: |
Business Owner - 23 years (present) Advisor - Wells Fargo Investments - 4 years |
Work with the following types of clients: | Non-Profit Organizations, Businesses, Individual Investors |
Advisory Services Provided: | Financial Advice & Consulting, Estate Planning & Trusts, Insurance Products & Annuities, Financial Planning, Portfolio Management, Retirement Planning, 401K Rollovers, Wealth Management, Money Management, Risk Management, Education Funding and Planning, Financial Planning for Individuals, Financial Planning for Businesses, Tax Advice and Services, Investment Advice & Management |
Services |
Investment Types: | Mutual Funds, Stocks, Annuities, Insurance, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), Alternative Investments, IRAs, Bonds, Socially Responsible Investments (SRI) |
Can meet clients in the following ways: | Your Home, Our Office, Phone, Email, Your Office, Video Conference |
Qualifications & Memberships |
Insurance and Annuity Licenses: | Variable Life, Long Term Care, Variable Annuity, Life, Health, Annuity, Disability |
Financial Organization Memberships: | National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), Society of Financial Services Professionals |
Non-Financial Organization Memberships: | Chair - Marion Public Services Board Board Member - Marion Senior Living Community Board Member - Cedar Rapids National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Board Member - Cedar Rapids Society of Financial Service Professionals Board Member - Retirement Income Industry Association Education Board & Peer Reviewer for Retirement Income Journal Member - CEO Roundtable Member - Marion/Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce Local President - Iowa State University Alumni Assn for Linn & Johnson Counties Assistant Coach - U-10 Linn Mar baseball Assistant Coach - U-8 AYSO Girls soccer Former - Marion City Council Member Former - Board member of Cedar Rapids Financial Planning Assn. |
Firm Information |
Advisor's Number of Clients: | 200 |
Advisor's Number of Managed Clients: | 200 |
Advisor's Number of Planning Clients: | 150 |
Assets Managed by Advisor: | $50,000,000 |
Compensation and Fees |
Fee Structure: | Fee-Based |
Compensation Methods: | Hourly, Flat Fee, Commissions, Based on Assets |
Fee % Based on Assets: | 1 |
Additional Details on Charges: |
Fees are discussed up-front with clients. Fee estimate is provided at time planning engagement is agreed to. Annual fees for investment management are assessed on a sliding scale and may be increased or decreased depending on the services needed by the client. I will work with the client to define those needs to make the appropriate choices when implementing their investment strategy. |
Minimum Fee Charged for Managed Accounts: | $500 |
Minimum Fee Charged for Hourly Planning Accounts: | $300 |
Minimum Fee Charged for Flat Fee Accounts: | $0.00 |
Board Positions |
Organization : | Marion Public Services, Marion, IA |
Position : | Chair |
Duration : | 05/01/2014-Present |
Organization : | National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisos, Cedar Rapids Metro |
Position : | Local Board Member |
Duration : | 01/01/2016-Present |
Organization : | Society of Financial Services Professionals, Cedar Rapids Metro |
Position : | Local Board Member |
Duration : | 01/01/2016-Present |
Organization : | National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Statewide |
Position : | State Board Member |
Duration : | 01/01/2018-Present |
Organization : | Linn County Solid Waste Agency, Linn County |
Position : | Member |
Duration : | 02/01/2020-Present |
Education |
Bachelor of Science | Iowa State University
- Ames, IA 08/15/1991-05/11/1996 |
Financial Services |
Financial Advice & Consulting
We help clients match their finances to their unique needs. For those client who want their finances to better reflect their values we invite you to explore our "Empowered Wealth" program. |
Financial Planning for Individuals
Are you a busy person? Lots of our clients are. Family, church, work, volunteering, you name it! Many of them are fully capable of managing their own money. But they have partnered with us to help keep them on track or to stay on track toward their goals. |
Financial Planning for Businesses
Our business clients are busy running a company. In most cases they have employees who are counting on them for a paycheck. There isn't a lot of time or energy left most days to stay up on some of the tax implications of owning a business. We work with our clients to identify strengths and weaknesses in their personal and business planning as it directly impacts how much they pay in taxes versus how much money they keep in their pocket. |
Risk Management
We help you determine what risks you are exposed to and if you have the appropriate coverage for the risk you are willing to bear. We partner with nearly 50 top companies to help our clients manage the risk and protect their families and/or businesses should the worst happen. |
Portfolio Management
We are independent. So we are able to use products from nearly all companies who partner with independent advisors. We can work passively or actively depending on the needs of our clients. |
Retirement Planning
For most people this is the most important part of their
planning. We spend a lot of time understanding our
clients' current health situation, and where they see
challenges in the future. |
401K Rollovers
We help educate people on their options before doing anything. Its why we believe so strongly in the planning process. When you know your "why" and your "what" then decisions become much clearer. |
Annuities
Ken Fischer hates annuities. But he doesn't really know
how they work, nor does he want to. He makes a lot of
money by scaring people with outrageous statements while failing to explain how much he charges for his services. |
Insurance Planning
Do you love buying insurance? Didn't think so. Most people would rather die than deal with it. We get that. Which is why we don't work for an insurance company directly or via an affiliation. We are able to "broker" all our insurance - life, disability, and long-term care to multiple companies. That way we can offer more than one option and a variety of pricing options. |
Estate Planning & Trusts
This is an important but scary part of financial planning. We work hard to minimize the complexity and the scare tactics that some people use to explain how trusts and estates work in the real world. Not everyone should have a trust, but everyone is going to die so we all need a plan on how to handle our affairs after death. |
Tax Advice and Services
We love tax planning! While none of our staff are
enrolled agents or CPAs, we work closely with them
(whether it is your advisor or you ask to be referred to
one we know) to minimize or even eliminate future taxes. |
Education Funding and Planning
We have numerous options to provide help for your child or grandchild. We have college planning and selection services along with strategies to maximize your ability to receive financial aid. We can also educate you on the realities and myths of 529 plans. |
Investment Advice & Management
We have many strategies and have access to too many companies to mention here. The important thing is to figure out what you need and why. Then we can find a strategy that matches your needs. |
Wealth Management
Wealth management encompasses many different aspects of personal finance. And for clients with high net worth (over $3 million) there are many intricacies... especially tax planning and legacy planning that become increasingly important to managing wealth for current and future generations. |
Money Management
While we do help clients with their budget, for people who struggle with debt and bill paying we have partnered with a local company who is better equipped to handle those special situation. |
Wealth Management
When you have been successful, it seems like their are more complications than when you didn't have any money. Wealth management encompasses more than investing - it includes tax planning and risk management, as well as estate planning. And then there is the everyday cashflow issues of running a household. We help clients think through what they value most and build a plan that fits their personal situation. |
FAQs |
Do you have a customer satisfaction or refund policy?No. All our planning and analysis work is done on a fee-only basis. A client or potential client cannot buy anything other than my time and expertise. This reduces, if not eliminates, the potential for conflict of interest in assessing a clients financial situation. |
Why should I choose you as my financial advisor?I have been advising clients since 1996. I hold four specialized retirement credentials and actively pursue over 70 hours of continuing education each year on a variety of financial planning topics including: Retirement Accumulation Planning; Retirement Income Distribution Planning; Estate Planning; Income Tax Planning; and College Planning. |
What are your qualifications? What is your education background?While the numbers are important, YOU -the client- are most important. A personalized financial plan is useless until it is implemented. If we don't understand you, and you don't understanding the ?what? and the ?why? you won't take action. The majority of our clients want us to create the plan and help them implement the steps. |
How are you compensated? How will I pay for your services?I am fully licensed so I can be paid via flat or hourly fees, asset management fees, and/or commissions. While my commissions are mainly limited to insurance products, there are cases where investments may be purchased less expensively through commission. Fees are disclosed. Your additional questions on fees, services, etc. are welcomed. |
If you are going to manage my account, will you obtain my permission every time you buy or sell something?This is your choice. Nearly all of our clients are busy as retirees or busy as working people. They have hired us specifically to take care of the details and send regular statements regarding rebalancing, trades, etc. We do not need discretion for you to become a client. We will discuss this and other expectations prior to opening an account to make sure it is appropriate for your situation. |
Disclosures |
WiserAdvisor provides referrals to financial professionals of LPL Financial, LLC (LPL). WiserAdvisor is not a current client of LPL for brokerage or advisory services. Financial professionals of LPL pay WiserAdvisor cash compensation for these referrals, which creates the incentive for WiserAdvisor to make these referrals, resulting in a conflict of interest. LPL ADV 2A https://www.lpl.com/content/dam/lpl-www/documents/disclosures/A58.pdf Additional Detailed Disclosures |
Disclaimer |
Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC. Financial Planning offered through TrueWealth Stewardship, a Registered Investment Advisor and a separate entity from LPL Financial. |
Registered Representative:
Yes
Investment Advisor Representative:
Yes
Acknowledged fiduciary:
Yes
Compliance Disclosures in Last 5 years:
I have a clean record
Criminal Disclosures in Last 5 years:
I have a clean record
Mon. | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
Tue. | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
Wed. | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
Thu. | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
Fri. | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
Alburnett | Amana |
Anamosa | Atkins |
Cedar Rapids | Center Point |
Central City | Coggon |
Coralville | Ely |
Fairfax | Hiawatha |
Hopkinton | Lisbon |
Martelle | Mechanicsville |
Middle Amana | Monticello |
Morley | Mount Vernon |
Newhall | North Liberty |
Norway | Olin |
Palo | Quasqueton |
Rowley | Ryan |
Shellsburg | Solon |
Springville | Stanwood |
Swisher | Tiffin |
Urbana | Vinton |
Walford | Walker |
Any |
Check | Bank Transfer |
Visa | MasterCard |
American Express |
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