meet: Drew Wessell, CFP®
Since launching my financial services career in 2005, I’ve been committed to delivering objective advice, exceptional service, and long-term value grounded in integrity. With nearly two decades of experience working with clients across all stages of life, I bring a broad perspective on the diverse goals, opportunities, and challenges that shape meaningful financial decisions.
I work with individuals and families who value a long-term advisory relationship and a disciplined, comprehensive approach to financial planning. My focus is on helping clients build and maintain integrated financial plans that align their resources with their priorities, values, and long-term objectives.
Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I serve clients nationwide as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and part of a fee-only, fully transparent advisory team. My work is strictly advisory, centered on Financial Planning and Investment Management. I have no brokerage affiliations, sell no financial products, and accept no commissions—allowing me to deliver advice with minimal conflicts of interest.
I help clients answer questions such as:
What steps should I take first to build a strong financial foundation?
How do I balance long-term retirement planning with near-term goals and competing priorities?
Are my goals realistic, am I on track, and how should I prioritize when trade-offs are required?
My practice is optimized to serve clients that fit the following profiles… expand to learn more:
-
Many people struggle in their 20s & early 30s to find balance. They work tirelessly in pursuit of professional success. They're starting families at the same time. They have done this with relatively limited resources, incurring debt for housing, transportation, and sometimes, life's necessities. By their late 30s & early 40s, the kids are more self-sufficient. Professional success and the attendant compensation has arrived. While there may be more work to do to accomplish their goals, these people are starting to feel that they finally have the time to focus on optimizing as opposed to just getting by. They can stop playing defense & start playing offense.
That's where a financial planner comes in. Daily needs are met and then some, debt is falling, and it's time to develop new habits to efficiently deploy rising income toward changing goals. Maybe they feel like they’re behind in planning and feel intimidated. Today is the best day to address these feelings and start improving financial hygiene and developing some new habits around money.
-
Many late-career professionals have been thinking of retirement for years, but few have done the rigorous analysis to give them comfort with the timing of actually stopping work. They've worked for decades in pursuit of professional success. They may have raised families and supported others along the way. They've done this while managing resources carefully, perhaps navigating mortgage debt, healthcare costs, and occasionally helping adult children or grandchildren. By retirement age, family dynamics have shifted significantly. Professional obligations are winding down or have ended, but there is more to accomplish in life. These individuals are finally gaining the freedom to focus on optimizing their remaining years rather than just meeting obligations.
Daily needs are more than met, but new questions arise about making savings last, managing healthcare costs, and leaving a legacy. It's time to shift from accumulating wealth to efficiently deploying assets toward changing goals. They may feel uncertain about their financial security or intimidated by the complexity of retirement planning. Today is the best day to address these concerns and refine financial approaches for this new phase of life.
-
When one receives an inheritance or starts a new job that pays more than they’re used to, they have an entirely new set of opportunities to consider.
How does one develop habits today to set themselves on a path to long-term financial success? How does one find the balance between upgrading certain aspects of their lives without spending recklessly? How to avoid the lifetime of regret from squandering an opportunity?
Beyond specific tasks to maximize financial success, there is a mindset shift that must accompany the change from an outlook of scarcity to one of abundance. It can be overwhelming, but it does not have to be.
More About Me:
Outside of the office, I like to run, fish, read, and cook for family and friends. My wife and I enjoy hiking, sailing, and spending time outdoors. I serve my community as Treasurer of the Board of Trustees at the St. Mary’s Foundation; as Chair of the Create Great Leaders Council at the Grand Rapids Chamber; and as a member of the Leadership Grand Rapids Class of 2017. I’m a proud graduate of Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Miami University, and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where I earned an MBA with concentrations in Economics, Finance & Accounting.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the CFP® certification mark, the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification mark, and the CFP® certification mark (with plaque design) logo in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.