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Curt Stowers
Curt Stowers
Certified FINANCIAL PLANNER
Curt Stowers is a Certified Financial Planner and founder and president of F5 Financial, a fee-only wealth management firm with offices in Naperville, IL, McDonough, GA, and Venice, FL, and serving clients nationwide (virtually).
Curt is a graduate from the University of Illinois, where he earned a BS, MS, and PhD in Industrial Engineering. He's a husband, father of three, an avid outdoorsman, and a follower of Christ.
Curt's goal as a financial planner is to ensure that families, corporate executives, and entrepreneurs have a comprehensive financial plan in place to reach their life goals. With 18 years of experience as a corporate executive and having owned a Subway franchise for over a decade, he knows how to provide practical, first-hand perspectives in the financial planning process.
About our company:
At F5 Financial, we take a holistic approach to financial planning, personal goals, and behavioral change. Using our F5 Process and Financial Health Cycle, we provide insight and tailored strategies that inspire and equip clients to enjoy a life of significance and financial freedom.
Our process begins with your goals and vision. We then lead the execution of your financial plan. That includes cash flow management, insurance, taxes, your work benefits, education planning, and your investment management.
F5 Financial was established to help individuals discover harmony in the most important aspects of their lives. It is our belief that a life of Freedom and Significance is founded upon a deliberate lifestyle of creating harmony and balance between the Five Fs: Faith, Friends, Family, Fitness, and Finance.
Our focus revolves around helping you achieve your life goals. We serve as a personal CFO and are available to help you when issues arise.
We challenge our clients and push them to grow as individuals, and we hold them accountable to follow through on what they know is in their best interest. Our job is to make sure you have security, simplicity, and success related to all the financial aspects of your life. We can’t imagine any other approach.
Ben Hockema
Ben Hockema
Certified Financial Planner
Illuminate Wealth Management
Ben founded Illuminate Wealth Management on January 1st, 2020. Prior to Illuminate, Ben spent over a decade at another independent RIA firm in the Chicago area, including three (3) as a shareholder. Ben’s goal in founding Illuminate was to focus on serving a smaller number of clients, providing a deeper, more personalized level of service, while continuing to adopt the rapidly changing best practices in the industry.
Ben is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Financial Planning Magazine, among others. Ben, along with his peer group he co-founded in 2012, were featured as the cover story in TD Advisor Solutions Magazine. Ben is a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and the XY Planning Network.
When not running Illuminate and serving clients, Ben spends time with his wife and two kids, cooking new recipes, as well as golfing and playing volleyball. Ben can be found learning new things and is always excited to share.
Jeff Dvorak
Jeff Dvorak
Certified Financial Planner
When I created 4D, my mission was to empower my clients through an effective education and communication style that would help them achieve success, no matter how they defined it. This industry is flooded with opinions from the media, difficult-to-understand jargon, and complex topics that were not intended for the masses to comprehend. My purpose is to help you navigate this chaos and feel comfortable making the important decisions you will face throughout your life.
After graduating with a B.S. degree in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I went on to earn the Certified Financial Planner TM (CFP®) designation. I also obtained the Certified Private Wealth Advisor (CPWA®) certification, which armed me with a deeper understanding of many complex topics that my clients can instantly benefit from. I am a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), and recently served on the Midwest Region Board of NAPFA and the Board of Trustees for the NAPFA Consumer Education Foundation.
I was born and raised in the western suburbs of Chicago and currently reside in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, with my wife Kim, twin boys Justin and Jeremy, and daughter Rylie. In my free time I enjoy traveling, cycling, jiu-jitsu, good bourbon, playing board games, and solving mechanical puzzles.
Dave Grant
Dave Grant
Certified Financial Planner
When you meet with an advisor, how do you envision the process? What if it was like this: The focus isn’t on the numbers, but on you. It takes place in a comfortable setting where you can tell your story and explore what you’d like the future to look like. You’ll be able to plan your next steps. With some guided questions, you’ll start to understand how your money will support your long-term future. There’s no judgment for past – or even future - mistakes. Through our conversations, you’ll get to decide if this is the start of a relationship with your trusted advisor. That’s what it’s like at Retirement Matters.
I’m a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) professional and have been providing fee-only, fiduciary financial advice to clients since 2007. I have taken advanced classes in retirement income planning to better serve retiring and retired clients. My initial focus with clients is to help them understand what they want to achieve in life, what goals to set, and how important those goals are in comparison to each other. This has proven particularly helpful with our single, female clients but is vital for everyone in the planning process. It’s then my job to bring the best investing and retirement income strategies to aid in building your ideal life and having a customized, financial plan at your fingertips.
I partner with seasoned professionals in estate planning, Social Security, Medicare, insurances and income taxes, so all areas of your financial life are optimized. If I don’t know the answer to your situation, I have knowledgeable people I can turn to. Throughout the year, I’m in frequent contact with clients to ensure their plan stays on track and provide educational content each month.
All of this is offered in a fee-only, fiduciary capacity. A fiduciary upholds a strict standard to act in your best interests, every time. You get to choose how to engage: you can pay for a one-time, comprehensive review of your situation or on a longer time horizon where we work closely together throughout the year. My client roster will always be limited, so current clients get the best service they can imagine.
I live in Cary, work in Barrington, am married to a middle school Math teacher (Highland Middle School, Libertyville) and am a father to two boys. I'm a proud member of the Board of Directors for YMCA Camp Duncan in Fox Lake, IL and have loved serving as a mentor through Kids Hope USA.
Robert Finley
Robert Finley
Certified Financial Planner & Chartered Financial Analyst
Robert grew up in Glenview, Illinois and graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, Finance major. He started his career in Wealth Management at LaSalle Bank, managing money and creating financial plans for high-net-worth individuals, business owners, foundations and endowments. In 2007, LaSalle Bank was purchased by Bank of America and the Wealth Management department was integrated with U.S. Trust. In April 2013, Robert stayed in Chicago and moved to TIAA-CREF’s Trust department as a Senior Portfolio Manager.
In addition to his professional certifications, Robert is also a member of American Mensa, the Financial Planning Association, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce and the Barrington Lions Club. He lives in Barrington, Illinois with his wife and two children.
Paul Costello
Paul Costello
Certified Public Accountant
Paul assists in CFP operations, working out of the Chicago Office. Paul is a licensed CPA and has earned his Series 99 (FINRA’s Securities Operations Certification) and Series 65 (Investment Advisers Law). Paul also earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Paul’s career started at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and his most recent position was at Deutsche Bank, where he was a Vice President in their Global Markets division. Paul enjoys taking walks and playing sports, especially with his wife Melissa, who is also from the Chicagoland area. Paul also frequently cooks, especially barbecuing, for dinners with family and friends. Paul also volunteers at St. Viator High School, where he coaches the throwers on the Track and Field team.
Charlie Horonzy
Charlie Horonzy
Certified Financial Planner & certified public accountant
I founded Focused Up Financial because finances are important, yes, but finances are a means to an end, not the end. I founded this firm to help people ultimately focus on their lives. I want to help people who are passionate about striving for more. Those who want to better themselves not only financially, but in every aspect of their lives.
I traveled a unique path to find my way to the financial planning industry. After graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Accounting Sciences, I entered the public accounting world. After a few years, I took my shot in the corporate accounting world.
Something was missing, though.
I figured out that my passion for helping people was not being fulfilled. So, with bright and starry eyes I made a bold decision to dedicate a year to service work. Was I nervous? You bet. Did I know what was going to happen? Not in the least. Am I glad I did it? No doubt in my mind. It changed the whole direction of my life!
When I returned to Chicago I knew I wanted to integrate my CPA background with helping people, which led me to financial planning. I think about that decision a lot. I feel blessed that I can meet and help so many dynamic and diverse families and individuals.
One of the greatest freedoms in the financial planning industry is being a fee-only planner. As a fee-only firm, we are only compensated by our clients. We do not accept fees for recommending products. Because of this, I take pride in offering recommendations that benefit each client’s individual goals.
In my free time, I enjoy checking out the different neighborhoods of Chicago; biking on the wonderful lakefront trail (which I hardly do enough!); and volunteering at a variety of organizations including, the Financial Planning Association, my church, and LadderUp, a not-for-profit tax assistance program.
I look forward to learning about what drives you, so together we can build on your finances and help you live your best life.