The Story Behind Forward Thinking Wealth Management (Meet Dan)

It dawned on me recently—I probably shouldn’t assume you know much about me or how my practice came to be. So, here’s a quick introduction and a little of the “why” behind Forward Thinking Wealth Management. (This is about a 3-minute read.)

📚 The Formative Years

I grew up in Akron and went to St. Vincent–St. Mary High School (yes, LeBron’s alma mater). From there it was Kent State for undergrad, then Ohio State for grad school.

After finishing at OSU, I moved to Michigan. Let’s just say it wasn’t the wisest move during the Cooper years—but things improved once Tressel arrived. Go Bucks!

My early career was in local government, where I spent more than a decade working with numbers—grants, budgets, and economic development projects. It was rewarding, but to advance I had to keep relocating. That was fine when it was just my wife and me, but once we had two kids, my priorities shifted.

That’s when my numbers background led me into financial advising, and we made our way back to Ohio.

💼 Professional Path

I started at Merrill Lynch in 2006. The mortgage crisis soon hit, and within five years, I was the last one standing from my training class. That experience taught me resilience, but it also showed me what I didn’t want—working at a big bank, chasing assets to feed their bottom line.

I moved to a smaller firm, but it still didn’t feel right. I kept asking: Why should fees be based on assets instead of knowledge and service?

The answer was clear—I needed a new model. In 2016, I launched Forward Thinking Wealth Management as a flat-fee, fully virtual firm. From day one, clients could work with me from anywhere in the country. When COVID made “virtual” the norm, I was already there. Some might say it was… forward thinking 😉.

🎯 My Focus Today

What makes me different from most advisors isn’t just the flat fee. It’s the process.

I follow something I call the Wealth Clarity Process. It goes beyond numbers. We dive deep into qualitative data—your goals, stress points, and life balance. (Fun fact: the CFP® Board doesn’t actually teach qualitative data gathering, which I think is wild—so I went through extra training in it.)

Of course, there’s also a heavy emphasis on tax planning. My clients are often in the top tax bracket, and I believe strongly: It’s not what you make—it’s what you keep.

That’s why my practice has evolved to serve a very specific group: physicians seeking better life balance.

📊 The Current State of It All

Today, I work with select clients under an annual flat fee of $12,000. That covers everything: investment management, financial planning, tax strategy, and more.

For perspective: the average client size I work with is about $3 million. The “average” financial advisor would charge around $22,000 a year for that size account—just to manage investments. No financial planning. No tax planning. No Wealth Clarity Process.

I think clients deserve more.

👨‍👩‍👦 A Personal Note

On the family side, my older son is now out of college and living in Colorado. My younger son is still in school. And my wife is a nursing professor. And me? I’m trying to practice what I preach—spending as much time outdoors as possible and building my own version of a Wealth Clarity Plan.

Thanks for taking the time to learn more about me and the heart of my practice. Next week, I’ll shift back to the topics my physician clients say matter most for achieving balance—because that’s what this is really about.