Business Details
31 Years
experience
Your Trusted Partner for Financial Planning Solutions
Michaels Clifford, CFP has provided comprehensive financial planning and investment management services for over 30 years. Our firm specializes in wealth accumulation, preservation, and transfer strategies tailored to individuals, families, and businesses. With a focus on personalized solutions, we combine technical expertise with practical guidance to address complex financial challenges. Our team of certified professionals adheres to strict fiduciary standards, prioritizing client interests through transparent fee-based advisory services.We maintain strategic partnerships with leading financial institutions to deliver institutional-quality resources to private clients. Our proven five-step planning process addresses longevity risk, tax efficiency, and legacy planning while maintaining rigorous compliance with regulatory requirements. Through continuous portfolio monitoring and adaptive asset allocation strategies, we help clients navigate evolving market conditions and life transitions.
Services
Investment Management
Retirement Planning
Insurance Solutions
Tax Planning
Estate Planning
401(k) Planning
Annuity Planning
Long-term Care Insurance
Wealth Transfer Strategies
Portfolio Management
Details
- Year established: 1995
Highlights and features
- We offer 30+ years of experience in comprehensive financial planning
- Our team includes Certified Financial Planners with institutional expertise
- We implement customized asset allocation strategies based on risk profiling
- Our fee-based model eliminates conflicts of interest from proprietary products
- We maintain strategic partnerships with leading custodians like Charles Schwab
Associations and certifications
- Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards
Services
Investment Management
Our investment management service creates customized portfolios matching your risk profile and financial goals. We use strategic asset allocation across multiple asset classes to balance growth potential with risk mitigation. Through continuous monitoring and rebalancing, we help maintain optimal portfolio performance across market cycles while emphasizing tax-efficient investing strategies.
Retirement Planning
Comprehensive retirement planning addresses longevity risk, income sustainability, and tax-efficient withdrawal strategies. We develop personalized plans considering Social Security optimization, required minimum distributions, and annuity solutions to create reliable income streams that cannot be outlived by retirees.
Insurance Solutions
We design insurance strategies to protect against life's uncertainties, including life insurance for income replacement, long-term care coverage for healthcare needs, and disability protection. Our approach ensures adequate safeguards while avoiding unnecessary products through careful needs assessment and policy analysis.
Tax Planning
Our tax planning integrates with overall financial strategies to minimize tax liabilities through legal deductions, credits, and tax-advantaged accounts. We coordinate with CPAs to implement strategies like Roth conversions, tax-loss harvesting, and income-splitting techniques that enhance after-tax returns.
Estate Planning
Estate planning services ensure smooth asset transfer while minimizing tax burdens. We coordinate wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations to implement your wishes while protecting assets from probate and unnecessary taxation through advanced estate planning techniques.
People
Clifford Michaels
Principal, Certified Financial Planner
With over 30 years of experience, Clifford Michaels holds the CFP designation and has taught finance at St. John's University. He has been featured in major financial publications and media outlets including Barron's and CNBC.
Questions
What financial planning services do you offer?
We provide investment management, retirement planning, insurance solutions, tax planning, estate planning, and wealth transfer strategies tailored to individual client needs.
How are your investment strategies different?
Our approach focuses on risk-averse asset allocation that seeks to protect capital during market downturns while participating in market gains through diversified portfolios.
What is your planning process?
We use a five-step process covering discovery, analysis, strategy development, implementation, and ongoing monitoring to ensure plans evolve with clients' changing needs.
Do you work with out-of-state clients?
Yes, we serve clients in eight states including New York, New Jersey, Florida, and California through virtual consultations and digital portfolio management tools.
What credentials do your advisors hold?
Our principal advisor holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation and has over 30 years of experience in institutional-quality wealth management.
How are your fees structured?
We operate a transparent fee-based model with no commissions or proprietary products, ensuring recommendations align strictly with client interests.
