Justin studied finance at Minnesota State University and graduated in 2004. During his time at MNSU, he served as vice president of the finance club and captain of the Maverick baseball team. From 2004 to 2018, he worked under the umbrella of North Star Resource Group, a leading independent wealth management firm. During his career, he's gained valuable experience by working with a wide variety of clients through challenging markets. Justin earned the highly-regarded CFP® designation in 2011 and remains committed to a broad understanding of finance.
Justin lives in Southwest Minneapolis with his wife and two wonderful children, Kaitlyn & Ben. Outside the office, he's a squash-player-turned pickleball player after a couple of hip replacements. He loves to mountain bike and enjoys just about everything outdoors in his home state of Minnesota. “North Country” is a tribute to that.
We help our clients invest their money and make sense of their finances through a holistic understanding of investments, tax, estate planning, retirement planning and employee benefits.
Our simple, straight-forward approach was arrived at by navigating an environment that is anything but simple. Wall Street would have you believe that complexity is required in order to be a successful investor. The evidence suggests otherwise. We’ll help you navigate these waters and bring you the peace of mind that you have earned.
What is a modern approach? Cutting edge financial advisors have moved on from the sales-driven ways of the past. We operate on a fee-only basis and maintain a fiduciary obligation to our clients. You're not going to be sold stuff here. Our job is to help you plan your finances and invest accordingly.
Gather data, identify inefficiencies, understand goals
Form a plan and invest accordingly
Stay on track, maintain discipline and adapt to change
It’s common for clients to overestimate the ability of their advisors to predict market movements and make timely transactions based on those predictions. This is not what we do. Instead, we place emphasis on things that can be controlled – risk, expenses, taxes, and investor behavior.
Wall Street has perpetuated the myth that to be a successful investor, you need to pick the right stock, invest in the best products, choose the best manager, get in and out of the market at the right time, etc. The reality is that markets are extremely efficiently priced, and these tactics cannot be consistently relied upon. We believe a humble understanding of what you don’t know can be as important as what you do know.
Investment decisions shouldn't be based on news headlines. Your investment decisions should be informed by your financial plan and your own circumstances and time horizon.
Nearly every financial decision you make has risk, suggesting that there is potential reward with each of those decisions. We’ll be there to help.
Just about anyone can use the title “financial planner.” Only those who have fulfilled the CFP Board's rigorous requirements can call themselves a CFP® professional.
CFP® professionals are held to strict ethical standards to ensure financial planning recommendations are in your best interest. What’s more, a CFP® professional must acquire several years of experience related to delivering financial planning services to clients and pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Exam before they can call themselves a CFP® professional.
Financial planning is a dynamic process. Your financial goals may evolve over the years due to shifts in your lifestyle or circumstances such as an inheritance, career change, marriage, house purchase or a growing family. As you begin to consider how best to manage your financial future, you should feel confident knowing that with a CFP® professional, you’re working with someone committed to providing the highest standard of financial planning.
