John graduated magna cum laude from Texas State University with a BBA in Finance May 1997. He didn’t take time to backpack through Europe. Instead, John completed an extensive 6 month training program with American Express Financial Advisors, and earned Series 7 and 63 licenses to become an appointed Financial Advisor by November 19, 1997. John Spent the next 8 years obtaining knowledge in Cash Flow systems, Insurance (Life, Health, Disability, Long Term Care), Investment Analysis, Tax Planning, Retirement Strategy, and Estate Plan implementation.

After servicing and collaborating on thousands of financial planning cases he migrated his financial planning practice to LPL Financial in fall 2005. LPL Financial is one of the largest independent broker-dealer firms in the country, that allowed an advisor the independence of providing a customized client service model. In 2018, John teamed up with long term colleagues (Andrew and Randy) to co-found Clear Sky Financial LP, a registered investment advisor (RIA) firm. Clear Sky Financial has developed business relationships with industry leading Financial Software and Technology firms to provide the tools that help clients streamline their entire financial situation and accommodate any financial goal, simplistic to the most sophisticated.

With a partnership approach, John is able to focus on portfolio development utilizing a broad range of financial instruments. Financial investments have changed tremendously over the past several years. Therefore, maintaining diversification characteristics as the economy continues to evolve globally has been a constant challenge. This is John’s passion and contribution to Clear Sky Financial and its clients.

As a practicing advisor, he understands life changing events that trigger the need to update financial situations. Servicing clients for the past 23 years, the majority of his clients are 5 years away from retirement or already retired. When John started his financial planning practice, the term “Baby Boomer” wasn’t used to describe a large section of the US population. However, they found themselves with 30-year pensions that companies were walking away from, and a technology bubble that took 3 years to fizzle out at the turn of the millennium. Then the financial markets clawed back through a moderate 5-year recovery.

When retirement was back on the table, clients found themselves with a mortgage crisis. People watched their accumulated investment accounts get cut in half in a 6-month period. The entire financial system’s integrity was threatened. All the while, John’s client’s children were educated, marriages were celebrated, and new additions to their families were welcomed. They were prepared to retire on their terms, and aging parents were cared for with legacy plans in place. With these experiences, John has found himself most aligned with helping what he calls the “Sandwich Generation”. Client’s with multiple family responsibilities – teenagers getting ready for college, transition planning for aging parents, and (last but not least) retirement for themselves. The more complex the financial situation the more value John can add. Some client’s call him their “Financial Therapist”. Sometimes it just helps to talk things through.