Professional Focus and Services

My practice focuses on serving individuals, families, and retirees. Clients engage me for a full range of financial advice including cash and spending plans, planning and investing for retirement or education, retirement account rollovers, and estate planning. I provide comprehensive financial planning on a fee basis accepting no commissions.

How I Do Business
I take care to understand your needs and values thoroughly. My process begins with an interview creating a personal values statement. I am not only interested in what is important about money to you, but I also need to understand why it is important. Creating a personal values statement enables me to understand your values and align them with your financial goals. During our initial meeting, we discuss what you want, what you expect to achieve, and what you expect of me. I begin work only when we agree on the scope of work and the fees. I do not charge for the initial meeting and bill my time hourly.

As a Certified Financial Planner™ Practitioner, I completed a course of education, continuously update it, subscribe to a rigorous code of conduct, and have practiced in the field under supervision. I have been in private practice as a representative of First Affirmative Financial Network since August 2007, following a career in accounting and finance that began in 1975. First Affirmative gives me access to the best minds and products in socially responsible investing.

I am only paid by my clients, so my advice is not biased by pressure to sell. I customarily do not sell any investment or insurance products, helping you buy only what you need, without the influence of company commissions. This frees me to make recommendations based solely on our best judgment of what is appropriate for you. My fees are based on the value of assets under management, or—for planning or smaller accounts—on an hourly basis.

I believe that how we spend and invest our money makes a difference in our world, and I can help you act on your social investment goals. I try to do business only with people and companies that I trust and respect and encourage my clients to do the same. Socially responsible investing is including your values and ethics in your decision-making. There is no single ideology behind social investing. We do not have to agree on everything to do social investing together.

Investment Methods and Philosophy
My investment approach is disciplined and methodical. The first step is working with you to organize goals, constraints, policy preferences, and other issues into an investment policy statement. We use that statement as the foundation on which to build the portfolio.

I believe in allocating assets among cash, stocks, and bonds in proportions appropriate to your investment policy. Within asset classes, I diversify by industry sector, size of company, and country. I have no preference between “growth” and “value” as stock selection criteria. I favor gradual portfolio changes over rapid turnover, using techniques to manage risk such as dollar-cost averaging and laddering bond maturities.

I can offer greater value to clients by translating your goals and constraints into investment policies than by “picking stocks,” an activity that demands complete attention to the market. As a result, I prefer to build portfolios with mutual funds until there are enough assets that third-party management of individual stocks and bonds offers superior tax efficiency and lower all-in costs for my clients.

Professional Affiliations

I am an active member of the Financial Planning Association, the Social Investment Forum, and a member of the NAPFA study group.

Education and Experience

I have a wealth of experience that gives me a unique perspective on the concerns of my clients. I served as an accountant, prepared individual tax returns, performed tax planning and retiree counseling for the management and employees of P&G/Gillette and Verizon, and performed financial management for authors and consultants. I also practiced at the senior financial management level of some of New England’s premier healthcare organizations. Prior to joining First Affirmative, I held the position of Vice President in a financial planning group at a Boston based SEC Registered Investment Advisor with a seat on the Boston Stock Exchange.

I earned a bachelor of science in accountancy from Bentley University and received my diploma in financial planning from Boston University. I am a Certified Financial Planner™ Practitioner.

Community Involvement

I serve on the Finance Council for the Corpus Christi/St. Bernard Parish. I was treasurer for the Newton Schools Foundation and have been involved in the West Newton community for years.

Personal Notes

I live in West Newton with my wife, attorney Mary Clements Pajak, and our daughter, Kati, who is currently attending George Washington University. My stepson, Tristan, is making his home in central Massachusetts.

Disclaimer
Investment Advisory Representative of First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC
First Affirmative is an independent Registered Investment Advisor (SEC File #801-56587).
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