Interview with Justin Krane - Krane Financial Solutions

Please take a moment to read this before hiring Justin Krane

How long have you been doing what you do and how did you get involved in Financial Life Planning?

I have been a Financial Advisor for 15 years and have been a Certified Financial Planner ™ practitioner since 2005. To answer the second part of this question, its best that I share with you the defining moment that brought me to where I am today.

That defining moment for me was September 11th, 2001. The attack on the World Trade Center changed my life forever. I worked on the 80th floor in one of the towers as a summer intern back in 1994. Had I decided to stay in New York City and accept a job offer, I probably would not have survived the attacks. I will never forget the seeing women on the television holding their children in their arms, and posters of their missing husbands. That could have been me.

At that moment I realized that there was a void in my life. I was in Los Angeles, working as a Financial Advisor for a professional Wall Street firm. I wasn’t doing what I loved to do – consulting, advising, and coaching my clients on how to merge their money with their lives. I wasn’t helping my clients in a bigger way. I was only helping them with the investment strategy part of their financial plan.

They say when the student is ready the teacher appears. I learned about becoming a Certified Financial Planner ™ practitioner (CFP®) at a conference and decided that was the next step for me. The CFP® designation allowed me to serve my clients in more of an advisory and consulting role. I began to partner with my clients to financially plan their lives. Once I passed the exam, I was able to take advantage of my desire to be an entrepreneur and start my own financial planning firm. As a CFP®, I was required to do continuing education, and was exposed to Financial Life Planning at a seminar in 2005, and the rest they say, is history.

I’ve dedicated the rest of my career to Financial Life Planning. Financial Life Planning provides a unique platform and perspective that enables me to help my clients become empowered and take more control of their financial lives.

Who are your clients?

I work with business executives, small business owners, married couples, and have a growing specialty in working with women entrepreneurs. Based on my location in Southern California, I also work with many people within the entertainment industry including writers, producers, talent agents and talent managers.

How are you different than other financial advisors?

The key difference in working with me is that I focus on Financial Life Planning. Financial life planning is all about merging money with your life. It’s about understanding your values, what’s most important to you, and then using what you learn to make financial decisions that get you more of what you want in your life. Financial life planning gives you a framework for setting our personal life goals.

I am a Certified Financial Planner ™ professional. I work on a fee only basis. I do not work on commission and the only person that pays me is my client. I do not receive any third party kickbacks. I am a fiduciary and legally required to put my clients’ interests first.

I am an independent financial planner. I don’t work for a company. I work for myself. I utilize an “open architecture” platform which means that I am not forced to work with a limited set of products or services. I seek out the best of breed products and services for my clients based on their individual needs. For example, I can make recommendations to clients that they go virtually anywhere to get the best money market rate, pick a suitable custodian (like Charles Schwab, Fidelity, etc) where I can manage their investment portfolios with them.

I have worked within the rigid institutional guidelines of leading Wall Street brokerage firms, managed teams of investment professionals. I have also been trained by money coaches, therapists, and other financial planners on how to deliver an amazing experience for my clients. I have become an expert in Financial Life Planning, and because of this, most of my clients have achieved or are on track to achieve their unique goals.

With what type of personality do you work best and what is expected of me?

Consider what you’ll do with me to be an action learning course. I work best with individuals who are highly committed to creating a better financial life for themselves. I expect clients to give me their best effort, to be open minded, honest, positive, and follow through on their assignments. My goal as a fiduciary is to put your interests first, act with integrity, follow through, and be committed to you. While some parts of the process can be tedious at times, I seek to bring an element of fun to my work so as not to burn my clients out – promoting changes in behavior and perspective in thinking about personal finances is a marathon and not a sprint. So a level of pacing and sometimes humor is needed!

For what type of person is this relationship not going to work?

I’m selective about the clients who I work with, because I’ve learned that some clients won’t get the results they’re seeking, and I don’t want to take those clients’ money or to spend our mutual time without getting meaningful results. Personal referrals typically derive most of my new client base and I’m proud to say that I believe this is because I truly seek to work with clients with whom I know I can make a difference.

Some types of people who I will not work with are the “whiner”, the chronic skeptic. These people consistently make excuses for not getting their assignments done, and challenge every aspect of my program.

If you aren’t ready to commit to showing up and doing the work, then I respectfully request you not call me – it will just frustrate us both.

What exactly is The Krane Financial Life Planning Program ™?

The program is a 6 step program that begins with an in depth look at where you are financially today, and then we develop a gameplan on how to get more of what you want in your financial life. Here’s what the program gets you do to:

Financial Satisfaction Survey. Identify and uncover all of the contributing factors that determine the level of satisfaction you have with your financial life. It will give you clarity on specific areas on which you would like to improve – whether it is planning for retirement, developing a savings and spending program, or feeling like you’re not financially getting ahead. These are just a few examples.
Creating Your True Life Goals. We will discuss what you truly want out of your life. We’ll create tangible goals that you want to achieve, and attach real numbers to them. We will then prioritize the things you want to do or accomplish, and then develop a goal-based financial plan customized for you.
Blocking and Tackling. We will cover and address all of the inputs and tactics that go into your financial plan. Some of them include: developing a saving and spending plan that works for you, Kranestorming ™ about your potential earnings/income scenarios, recommendations of all of the types of insurance you may need. We will develop a tax, estate, and mortgage plan for you.
Education and Tradeoffs. We will develop an understanding of the potential consequences of the decisions you make. You’ll be educated about some of the tradeoffs you may have to give up in order to get what you want in your financial life.
Understanding Your Tolerance for Risk and Thoughts about Money. We will talk about how you feel about taking risk, and use a questionnaire to see how much risk you’re really willing to take. We will also discuss 5 key themes of behavioral finance – which is the study about how our thoughts and biases dictate how we make decisions about money.
Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together to Create Your Investment Plan. We will learn about different asset classes in which you can invest, and develop an asset allocation for your portfolio. We will also cover Krane Financial Solutions Investment Philosophy based on Justin Krane’s studies at the Wharton Executive Education Program.

In addition to these 6 steps of the Program, we will cover any additional issues you feel are important to getting you more of what you want in your financial life.

How will we work together and what does the program entail?

Each term of the Krane Financial Life Planning Program ™ lasts for a period of 5 months. You will get full access to me: face to face, email, and phone sessions. After the 5 months are up, we can continue to work together for another 5 month period if you like.

What is the fee to hire you for the Program?

Please call me at my office and I will discuss this with you.

If I hire you to manage my portfolio, is there a separate investment management fee?

Yes. The investment management fee is an annual fee that is billed on a quarterly basis. It is billed as percentage of assets that I manage. It is billed in advance for the upcoming quarter.

For example, if my fee was 1.50% on $100,000, the fee for that quarter would be 1.50% X $100,000 = $1,500. Then $1,500 would be divided by 4, resulting in a quarterly fee of $375.00.

Please keep in mind that custodians like Charles Schwab and Fidelity also have their own transaction fees for buying and selling securities.

How long do you work with clients?

I have worked with clients using this program since 2005. I have worked with some investment management clients for over 14 years.

Have clarity as to what you really want in your life, and how to financially plan for it
Have greater financial peace of mind
Feel more in control of your financial situation
Be on the same page as your spouse/significant other
Be on track toward reaching your goals that we identified when we first started to work together

Can I contact some of your clients to see what it’s like to work with you?

Sure, please call us and we will provide you with references upon your request.

Justin, based on everything I have heard and read about you, what are my options in working with you?

Currently, the only option to work with Justin is through the Krane Financial Life Planning Program ™ and then for investment management services, if we mutually agree. Please email us at info@kranefinancialsolutions.com to schedule a complimentary “get acquainted” meeting to see if we are a good fit for one another.

I’m not sure if I’m ready to get started, how can I learn more about you at a low cost to see if working with you is the right solution for me?

A way to sample the Krane Financial Life Planning Program ™ is to subscribe to my weekly eNewsletter. I write about financial planning, investing, money, life, and having fun! Reading my articles will give you a flavor for how I approach things, and you’ll get access to some of the tips and resources that I also provide to my paying clients. Just enter your first name and email address on this page up above.

OK, I am ready to get started, but I have a couple of additional questions for you. Can I give you a call?

Sure! You can call us at 800.506.6071 or direct at 310.989.0934. Or you can send us a message using the contact form below. We’re happy to answer any questions that you may have. I can’t wait to help you gain control of your financial life! Let’s do it!

Comments and questions are welcome.