About Us
You worked hard to build your wealth. We hope to help you protect it.
You have worked hard to build what you have. Our job is to help you understand exactly where it stands, help you protect it thoughtfully, and try to make sure it lasts.
Financial Guidance Group was founded in 1989 by William R. Henzey, a Certified Public Accountant who recognized a gap that some people in his situation knew well: his clients needed comprehensive financial direction, and the firms available to them were offering products, not plans.
More than three decades later, that founding observation still defines how we work. We are not organized around products. We are organized around the full complexity of our clients' financial lives.
What We Believe
We believe that a financial plan is only as strong as the clarity it provides. In our experience, if you cannot see how your money is positioned to carry you through the next thirty years, you do not have a plan, you have a collection of accounts.
We believe that tax planning and investment management belong in the same room. The decisions you make about how to invest, when to draw down accounts, and how to time your Social Security filing all carry potential tax consequences. In our opinion, a planner who does not account for those consequences is leaving meaningful money on the table.
We believe you deserve a prompt response when you have a question. Financial life does not pause, and neither should your access to guidance.
And we believe that the first conversation should cost you nothing. We have seen too many people delay getting a clear picture of their finances because they were unsure what it would cost to find out where they stood. The answer is: nothing. We begin every new relationship with a comprehensive, complimentary assessment.
What Working with Us Actually Means for You
Here is what you can expect when you work with Financial Guidance Group:
You Will Know How Long Your Money Could Last
Before we discuss products or returns, we show you a thirty-year projection of your income, assets, and expenses. You see exactly how your current position is expected to hold up across the full arc of your retirement. Some people have never seen this picture. We believe you should.
No Cost to Start
Your first engagement with us is a comprehensive, complimentary assessment of your current financial position. We review your assets, your income sources, your insurance, and your tax situation before we recommend anything. This is complimentary.
You Will Hear Back, Promptly
We respond to client questions typically within one business day. This is a commitment we take seriously. When something changes in your life or your accounts, you should not have to wait a week to get a straight answer.
Complete Transparency Into Your Portfolio
Through our Generational Vault, you can see the value of all your accounts every day. You receive a written quarterly review of all investment accounts we manage, and an annual face-to-face meeting where we go through everything in detail.
Tax and Investment Strategy, Coordinated
Most investment advisors do not look at your tax return. We do. Because Bill is a CPA as well as a CFP and CFS, tax implications are part of every investment and income decision we make, not an afterthought handled by someone else.
A Network of Resources Behind Your Plan
Financial Guidance Group operates as an integrated network of advisory disciplines: investment management, tax planning, insurance, and estate and legacy planning. Every aspect of your financial picture can be addressed under one roof, by a team that communicates.
Our Credentials
Financial Guidance Group is led by William R. Henzey, whose professional credentials span the three disciplines that we believe matter most in comprehensive financial planning:
CPA
Certified Public Accountant
CFP
Certified Financial Planner
CFS
Certified Fund Specialist
These are not honorary designations. Each represents a rigorous credential with ongoing continuing education requirements. Together, they mean that the person leading your financial plan has deep expertise in tax law, investment strategy, and fund-level portfolio management, and that all three inform every recommendation we make.
Why We Believe the CPA Matters for Your Financial Plan
Many financial advisors are not CPAs. That means the tax consequences of your investment decisions, your retirement income drawdown, and your Social Security filing are typically handled by a separate tax preparer, if they are handled at all. At Financial Guidance Group, tax strategy is built into every recommendation from the beginning, because the person making those recommendations is also the person who reads your tax return.
Our Network of Services
Every aspect of your financial picture can be addressed through the Financial Guidance Group network:
- Financial Guidance Investment Advisers, Inc. provides fee-based financial planning and investment advisory services as a Registered Investment Advisor in the State of Ohio.
- Financial Guidance Tax Advisers, under the direction of William R. Henzey, CPA, provides individual and business tax planning and return filing services.
- Financial Guidance Insurance Advisers, LLC provides independent insurance review and placement across life, disability, health, long-term care, and fixed annuity products.
Because these disciplines operate in coordination, the recommendations you receive from one do not contradict or ignore the others. That integration is uncommon. It is also one of the clearest advantages we offer.
Our Team
William R. Henzey, CPA, CFP®, CFS
President and Founder
Bill began his career in 1980 as a public accountant specializing in taxes. His clients came to trust his judgment, and many of them began asking whether he could help them with the broader picture of their financial lives. In 1989, he founded Financial Guidance Group to do exactly that.
Over more than four decades of practice, Bill has built a reputation as a knowledgeable, independent adviser who tells clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. He has appeared as a financial contributor on Fox 8 In The Morning and News Channel 5 in Cleveland, and has been quoted in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio Magazine, Cleveland Magazine, and Inside Business Magazine. He has taught continuing education courses to CPAs and realtors on topics including Section 1031 tax-free exchanges.
Beyond his professional practice, Bill has served the community through his work as Chairman of the City of Olmsted Falls Parks and Recreation Board, as a member of the city's Economic Development Committee, and through years of service to St. Mary of the Falls parish and school, including its Advisory Council, Development Committee, and Endowment Fund Burse Committee.
Bill is a native Clevelander and a graduate of the University of Akron. He and his wife, Wendy, have two grown children and reside in Olmsted Falls, Ohio.
Wendy A. Henzey
Executive Assistant and Head of Administrative Support
Wendy A. Henzey brings more than 25 years of experience managing the administrative operations of professional organizations. As Executive Assistant to the professional staff and head of the Administrative Support Team, Wendy ensures that the experience of working with Financial Guidance Group is as organized and responsive as the advice itself.
Wendy shares the commitment to community that characterizes the entire firm. She served for more than a decade as assistant to the Director of Religious Education at St. Mary of the Falls in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, and led the parish school's annual fundraising gala, raising record amounts to fund new technology for the school.
Wendy is a native Clevelander and resides in Olmsted Falls, Ohio with her husband, Bill.
Begin with a Conversation
If you are managing significant assets on your own for the first time, or if you have worked with an advisor and never felt fully confident that the picture was clear, we would welcome the opportunity to talk. The first step costs nothing and obligates you to nothing.
We review your current financial position, tell you honestly what we see, and let you decide whether working with us makes sense. That is how every relationship at Financial Guidance Group begins.
Start with a Complimentary Financial Assessment
Schedule a complimentary review of your current financial position. We typically respond within one business day.
Call: 440-235-0310
Email: info@fgg.net