Lyndsay Fogarty
Dennis Michels is a Certified Financial Planner™with Moors & Cabot Investments. Moors & Cabot is a privately owned firm founded in 1890 to manage the assets of wealthy families and currently manages over $5 billion in clients’ assets. The fact that Moors & Cabot is privately owned and sells no proprietary products is important because it means Michels can approach every engagement from a purely consultative viewpoint.
Michels is an experienced advisor who was inspired to enter the profession after a series of unexpected deaths in his family left his loved ones financially devastated with no knowledge of how to manage their assets.
As he helped his family deal with these significant life changes, he recognized the value of sound financial advice. This led him to earn his CFP™ certification in 1991 so he could help his loved ones recover their financial security. To earn this certification he had to demonstrate expertise in multiple areas of financial planning including investments, tax planning, retirement planning, estate planning and insurance. To retain this certification he must meet continuing education, ethics and work criteria. Since then he has brought this same desire to his clients by providing unbiased advice and always endeavoring to place the interests of his clients ahead of his own.
“My life experiences have taught me that everyone has loved ones to protect and a financial future to plan for, yet very few people have taken the steps to address these issues. I help people take those steps,” Michels says.
Successful Strategies
With a solid foundation in such a historic company, Michels is dedicated to offering only the best unbiased, highly personalized, in depth service to his clients. That’s why he limits the number of clients he takes under his wing. “I strive to be meaningful to the few instead of meaningless to the masses,” he says.
Getting to know his clients personally and in depth helps Michels paint a clear picture of where they need to go and how to arrive there. This helps Michels tailor a financial and investment plan to each specific need and creates a sense of partnership between both parties. “Making the effort, through careful discussions, to learn in detail the dreams and goals of my clients has allowed me to create a plan that exactly matches their goals,” he says.
His investment philosophy for all his clients is simple: Try to keep losses small and let profits accumulate. He does this by offering a specialized method of protecting client portfolios from large losses by using a tactic that seeks to locks in gains in a rising market while automatically closing out an investment if it reaches a specific, pre-set price target in a down market. This tactic saved his clients from the devastating losses many others suffered in 2001 and 2008. In addition to these asset saving techniques Michels also offers clients the ability to “guarantee” part of their portfolios by employing high quality annuities that can provide a guaranteed lifetime income*. Furthermore, through Moors & Cabot, Michels has access to an entire universe of tax deferred and tax free investments.
Forward Thinking, Forward Movement
When it comes to managing successful investment portfolios, active monitoring and continuous multi-discipline research are the keys. Michels maintains subscriptions to services and websites in a number of areas where he is able to pull specific data relating to what could turn out to be the next promising investment strategy. For example, the Architecture Billing Index can forecast future construction trends. Similarly, staying up-to-date with the MIT Technology Review and Silicon Valley leaders might reveal the next new successful technological breakthrough. These data points help identify coming trends rather than past occurrences.
“Many people chase returns instead of anticipating them. They chase what is already “hot.” That’s like driving your car looking in the rear view mirror. You’ re bound to crash,” Michels says.
By constantly researching new ideas, Michels strives to help his clients to stay ahead of the game when it comes to their investments and, ultimately, growing lifetime wealth. At the same time, he meets with clients each quarter to review the financial and investment plan and its successes. Just like the plan, the meeting agenda is customized specifically for each client. In addition to all of this, Michels’ clients receive a “Client Bill of Rights” which clearly defines how Michels strives to provide outstanding client service.
Giving Back to Others
Michels spends his days managing the wealth of his clients, providing a level of financial stability in the midst of their hectic lives. Outside his office doors, Michels gains spiritual wealth on a personal level by giving back to those less fortunate. Photographs of the smiling faces of the Third World children whose lives he has enriched through his philanthropic efforts are displayed proudly in his office.
And as founding board member of Mercy Drive Ministries, he works to bring education, job training and hope to children and their families in the Mercy Drive corridor of Orlando. Through his church he has participated in mission work to bring food, medical services and the Gospel to those in need in Central America. Just as Michels was called to financial planning through a series of emotional life events, he feels a personal calling to be a good steward in life by positively affecting lives on a global scale.
“Winston Churchill said, ‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.’ I believe that,” Michels says. “We only have a certain amount of time on this earth. We need to use it not just to enrich ourselves but to enrich those less fortunate.”
His investment in his clients, and the world as a whole, provides the personal touch that results in pleased and appreciative clients. Call Dennis Michels, CFP™ today to take the first step in realizing your financial dreams.
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