As a financial advisor, chances are that you spend a great deal of time advising clients on the best ways to plan for their financial futures, but it is also equally important that you plan for your own succession. After all, building a solid book of business is often the result of many years of hard work to produce results, earn trust and build relationships. Preserving your life’s work and ensuring your clients’ best interests are protected requires finding the right young professional with the perfect mix of knowledge, experience and care that can lead your clients into the next generation.
At L.M. Kohn, we have a network of representatives across the country, many of whom are looking to expand their businesses. Today, we’d like to introduce you to one of these individuals, Jeff Kuchinsky.
Jeff grew up in upstate New York, with an analytical mind and a passion for problem solving. Possessing these traits and growing up just outside of Manhattan, he naturally gravitated to Wall Street. Upon graduating with a degree in finance, he went straight to New York City to apply his skills, helping corporations improve their bottom lines through thoughtful financial planning. Being young and ambitious, he thrived in the highly competitive environment despite working endless hours and enduring long commutes. Early in his career, Jeff helped guide a private firm through the IPO process and later worked at a large Wall Street bank as it navigated the 2008 financial crisis. In his next role, he witnessed first-hand how poor leadership, excessive greed and careless financial decisions led to the eighth largest bankruptcy in United States history. Looking for experience outside of financial institutions, Jeff continued working toward his MBA at NYU while accepting a position with a prestigious New York law firm. In this new industry, Jeff introduced more robust financial planning techniques and delivered a new approach to managing the business. It was there that Jeff realized that none of the lawyers had any good advice on what to do with their finances. While he was helping the firm become more profitable, none of the partners even knew what to do with their bonuses. In addition, he began to notice that his friends and family were also getting bad advice, and that there was a massive need across his network for a trusted advisor.
Considering a career change, Jeff reached out to his mentors, including his father-in-law who referred him to his own financial advisor, Larry Kohn. Based on his conversations with Larry about the advisory business, Jeff learned that it had many of the elements he liked about corporate finance; face-to-face client interaction, working to achieve long-term goals, and being a part of a team focused on helping clients realize their financial potential. In addition, he would eliminate the negative aspects of his former career; the long commute, never-ending corporate politics and pointless meetings that distracted him from his objectives. Larry also mentioned that many financial advisors were currently in their late 50s or 60s, and that there was a great opportunity for younger advisors to enter the space.
In 2018, Jeff took a leap of faith and moved to Florida to start his own business. He obtained his regulatory licenses and immediately focused on earning his CFP® designation, representing the standard of excellence in the industry. With L.M. Kohn as his sounding board he began building his practice, JMK Financial Advisors, from the ground up.
Today, Jeff enjoys the dramatic difference of helping families and individuals accomplish their financial goals rather than large corporations. He has seen steady growth since founding JMK Wealth Advisors, all through building trust with his clients and word-of-mouth referrals. He credits his success to his honest and careful approach, applying a comprehensive analysis to his clients’ financial picture, not just advising on their investment portfolios. In addition to investment advice, this includes retirement planning, estate planning, personal financial literacy instruction, tax planning, education planning and asset protection.
“I was successful in corporate finance and knew I had the ability to leverage this experience and help families,” said Jeff. “When you can advise people how to get out of credit card debt or give them confidence that their financial plan will allow them to retire comfortably, it’s much better than helping a company meet their quarterly goals.”
To learn more about Jeff Kuchinsky and JMK Wealth Advisors, or any of the other representatives at L.M. Kohn, contact us.
