Sean Reading, CFP • Palmyra, PA
The North Star Financial Group LLC • J.W. Cole Financial Inc.
Read full biography below

Proactive Advisor Magazine: Sean, describe your path to becoming a financial advisor.

I attended Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, where I majored in political science. After college, I was unsure of my career path. Ultimately, I followed in my father’s footsteps and took a position with Amtrak. I was a conductor for about seven years and enjoyed the customer-service aspects of working with people every day. During that time, I was in touch with the owner of a successful financial-planning firm in central Pennsylvania. He became a wonderful mentor to me and recommended that I pursue the Certified Financial Planner designation while I was working.

I have always had strong quantitative and analytical skills, as well as an interest in the financial markets and economics. The process of earning the CFP designation took about 20 months, and during that time, I realized that I wanted to pursue a career as a financial advisor. My mentor introduced me to a firm that needed help providing services to its growing client base. The owner and I both thought we would be a good fit. Having already acquired my licenses, I jumped right in—taking part in client meetings and reviews, developing financial plans, and getting immersed in money management. I am grateful for that opportunity and the experience I acquired over eight years.

In 2011, I was ready to strike out on my own, so I established The North Star Financial Group. Heather Richardson, one of the firm’s partners, joined me and has been an invaluable resource in customer service, operations management, and event marketing. She also has a strong background in college-funding planning. We are supported by two associates who help our practice run smoothly.

Our goal as a firm is to be a regional leader in helping clients reach their lifetime financial goals. We strive to provide an exceptional client experience built on long-term relationships. Our work is based on an ongoing commitment to honesty, integrity, service, trust, and family as we help guide clients toward a better financial future.

Another major goal for our firm is to be an active and valued member of the community. We support many local sports, civic, educational, church, and charitable efforts. We are particularly proud of our November “Pie Day,” when we gift holiday pies to clients and encourage them to participate in a coat drive for the Bethesda Mission. We also support a program that has distributed hundreds of backpacks to children in need in our area.

Talk about your financial-planning process.

We begin by sitting down with prospective clients to explain our process and philosophy of doing business. If they decide to move forward, we then discuss their financial, lifestyle, and retirement goals—both short and long term. We conduct a thorough review of their financial situation, including income, expenses, investments, insurance coverages, debt obligations, tax situation, and potential future sources of retirement income.

Next, we help clients broadly understand what they’ll need to reach the goals we have discussed. At a second or third meeting, we present a strategic financial plan with specific recommendations. Our objective is goals-based financial planning, and we focus on getting clients to discuss their fundamental and aspirational goals in all areas of their lives. We are not afraid of asking tough questions, and clients appreciate these frank discussions. Those who have worked with other financial advisors often tell us they’ve never had this kind of open exchange before.

Although each plan is customized to a client’s specific needs, our financial plans typically include several elements:

• Details of the client’s personal financial situation and objectives based on their goals.
• Strategies and recommendations to help achieve those goals, which may involve investment strategy, asset allocation, tax mitigation, Social Security claiming and Medicare coverages, estate planning and insurance needs, college-funding planning, and cash-flow management.
• Information on how we are compensated if the client decides to work with us.
• An implementation plan, schedule, and necessary paperwork.
• A recommended timetable for ongoing financial reviews.

Our philosophy on financial planning focuses on several key factors in terms of process: ensuring that each plan is customized to the client’s specific needs and goals, being thorough and developing comprehensive recommendations, educating clients throughout the process, and emphasizing that planning is not a one-time “set it and forget it” activity. We work with each client to continuously review their financial plan to ensure it remains relevant, compliant with current regulations, and adaptable to changing circumstances. We can also partner with tax and estate-planning professionals, so clients can have a complete team dedicated to helping them reach their goals.

“A major objective of our firm is to communicate clearly with clients about investment expectations.”

What is your broad investment philosophy?

We emphasize risk management—aiming to mitigate drawdowns for client portfolios and seeking downside protection, while striving for competitive returns.

In the early part of my career, the focus was on internally managing client portfolios using a fairly traditional approach to asset allocation, strategy, diversification, and portfolio construction. However, after the market turmoil of 2008 through 2009, I started to rethink that approach. Traditional asset-class relationships did not work as we have seen previously in the market. When I opened our firm, I started to make a transition to third-party money management, incorporating a more active approach with robust risk management.

Today, we work with several third-party managers on behalf of our clients, and we conduct a thorough due diligence process when selecting those managers. We consider several criteria. First, does their overall investment philosophy align well with ours—specifically, do they prioritize risk mitigation? Second, do they have a track record of verifiable investment results that we believe are competitive given the strategic approaches being used? Third, can we establish a personal comfort level with the firm’s management and staff? We often conduct on-site due diligence visits to build that relationship. Last, will they provide excellent service to both our firm and our clients? That covers many areas, including timely reporting and having staff available to resolve any issues that may come up.

A major objective of our firm is to communicate clearly with clients about investment expectations. Our actively managed strategic approach and strong risk management are designed to help clients meet their long-term, goals-based return objectives. We are more interested in risk-adjusted returns than “beating the market.” In strong or choppy markets, risk-managed strategies may not capture all of the market’s returns. But, in return, we expect to mitigate losses during poor market conditions. We explain concepts such as the sequence of returns and the mathematics of recovering from steep portfolio losses. We believe these factors make a strong case for a well-diversified, risk-managed portfolio that seeks to mitigate volatility over the long term.

If a current client were to refer you to a friend, how would you hope they describe their experience of working with you?

I would hope they start by saying that we were good listeners, that we worked hard to understand their needs, and that our planning process focused on helping them achieve their goals. I think clients feel we are trustworthy, responsive, down-to-earth, and approachable. We emphasize maintaining an open line of communication, and I try to make sure clients have both my office and cell numbers so they can call me anytime.

Building a personal connection with clients is also very important to us. We host many different client events, including dinners, wine tastings, special food tours, and our anniversary party. We encourage clients to invite family members or friends who might want to get to know us. In addition, we have a branded sponsorship with the magazine American Lifestyle. We distribute this to clients every other month, which has received very positive feedback.

Our dedication to community involvement is also something many clients appreciate and often become a part of. Giving back to the community provides a great deal of satisfaction and pride for the members of our firm and helps support very deserving organizations.