By Anna Olcese
With more than 40 years in the financial and accounting profession, Jody Davis knows a thing or two about money management. As both a certified public accountant (CPA) and a certified financial planner (CFP™) professional, he has worked with hundreds of clients to develop savings and investment plans that help them reach their business and life goals.
Throughout his career, Davis has worked primarily as a CPA. However in 1997, due to a change made by the AICPA, he decided to expand into the financial services and wealth management arena and founded what today is Davis-Monk Financial Group.
This entity works with individuals and businesses to establish financial direction and future goals. Davis believes in forming lasting relationships with its clients— with a belief that it is critical to really know them, learn what their goals are and help determine what they need to do to accomplish their goals. Davis then works with his partner, Greg Grooms, who constructs an implementation plan that will help guide them to the realization of these goals.
The inability to retire is a common problem. Davis advises clients to save and have a long-term financial plan that is flexible and makes allowances for unpredictable circumstances. Flexibility and diversification* are essential. There is no reason to take risk that is not warranted. Design a plan that has the greatest probability of success.
Two groups that Davis works with extensively are business owners and divorcing couples.
Davis said that business owners are so focused on the immediate needs of the company that they do not develop an exit or succession strategy. Do they sell out, merge with someone, allow someone internal to the organization to buy them out, or work until they drop? Without planning, none may be an option.
Couples facing divorce, on the other hand, often have made a joint retirement plan that needs to be revised once they split. Having mediated more than 600 divorces, Davis has seen where dividing of a couple’s financial worth may lead both parties to have to rethink their retirement plans. Working as a Financial Neutral in Collaborative Divorce cases, he helps the divorcing couple review where they are now and may be five or 10 years after the divorce, and then assists them in developing a plan to help them get to where they now want to be.
“I love watching people grow and succeed,” Davis said. And that’s exactly what he helps them do: develop plans that will help them grow and advance to a better tomorrow.
*Diversification does not assure or guarantee better performance and cannot eliminate the risk of investment losses.
Securities offered through 1st Global Capital Corp., Member FINRA,SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through 1st Global Advisors, Inc.
