About Us & Our Partners
Michael Grodsky, AIF®
Michael helps his clients get to the true essence of their being and provides the guidance that enables them to make decisions that are prudent, practical and from the heart. No one can learn this all at once. But it’s a matter listening, opening the doors, and taking one step at a time. A matter of slowly coming into your wisdom.
Michael has earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary® professional designation, awarded by the Center for Fiduciary Studies, which is associated with University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Executive Education. He has received formal training in investment fiduciary responsibility.
He earned an A+ average at UCLA for coursework in the Personal Financial Planning extension program. Holding Series 7 and 66 securities licenses, Michael is an independent insurance broker offering life, health, long-term care and Medicare insurance.
At California State University, Fullerton he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Guitar and a Master’s in Music Theory and Composition. He loves to make noise with friends. Michael lives in Los Angeles with artist Mara Lonner and their two rescue dogs, Nancy & Henry. Most of his individual clients are artists.
Michael donates his time to residents of Skid Row Housing Trust, a nonprofit agency in Los Angeles providing permanent supportive housing for the homeless who have physical and mental health problems. He gives financial planning presentations to students at California Institute for the Arts, and is member of the board of directors of Side Street Projects (http://sidestreet.org), a 501(c)(3) non-profit artist-run organization that gives artists of all ages the ability and the means to support their creative endeavors.
Sí, Money! financial education events for artists are held at Los Angeles locations. Held in collaboration with GYST, a company providing education and tools for artist career development, (http://gyst-ink.com), these workshops and presentations promote financial literacy for artists.
His financial articles appear in http://GYST-ink.com, http://CSRWire.com, and http://simony.us. To receive his Sí, Money! newsletter, simply click here: http://tinyurl.com/bmbg4k
Michael is a member of Social Investment Forum and First Affirmative Financial Network (see “Partners” section below for more info).
To read more about Michael’s background, click here.
Partners
Independent Financial Group, LLC is a national independent broker–dealer firm with corporate headquarters in San Diego, California. They offer personalized services to independent financial professionals. Their representatives offer professional advice and investments, including mutual funds, annuities, life insurance, fee-based asset management, direct participation programs, and stocks and bonds.
IFG offers no proprietary investment products, and processes direct business accounts held through major mutual funds and insurance companies, as well as brokerage business through their clearing partner, Pershing, LLC.
First Affirmative Financial Network (http://www.firstaffirmative.com)
“A Sustainable Approach to Portfolio Management.”
Since 1988, First Affirmative has focused on quality portfolio management for socially conscious investors. Call it values-based, green, or socially responsible investing (SRI)–their sustainable approach to portfolio management integrates personal values or institutional mission into an investment strategy tailored to each investor’s situation.
Envestnet Asset Management is one of the largest providers of wealth management solutions in the financial industry. Investors are paying close attention to the environmental, social, and governance issues (known as ESG factors) that underpin the philosophy of socially responsible investing (SRI) and sustainability, such as:
- Commitment to sound environmental practices
- Products that are both “green” and safe to use
- Good employer-employee relations and employer-community relations
- Citizen-friendly policies in the region of operation
- Track record of political stability and respect for human rights
Sustainability goes beyond simple stock screening. It is a fundamental investment philosophy that incorporates strategies that seek to enhance performance while accounting for factors that raise ESG issues.
The Envestnet Sustainability Platform™ integrates the essence of sustainability into a range of targeted investment strategies. The platform integrates three major components to systematically incorporate the tenets of sustainability into the decision-making process:
- Program design and portfolio solutions developed by Veris Wealth Partners
- Research on socially responsible investing factors from KLD Research & Analytics
- Proxy voting recommendations to assist shareholders with important SRI-related decisions
FTJ FundChoice provides Aquarius Financial with sophisticated investment solutions to meet the needs of our clients. FTJ delivers a high touch mutual fund platform and Turnkey Asset Management Program. Advisors have the ability to efficiently manage their existing investment management process as a stand alone through the creation of model portfolios or in conjunction with investment strategists designed and monitored by leading institutional advisory firms.
Social(k) has partnered with ExpertPlan to provide a groundbreaking paperless retirement platform for 401(k), 403(b) and profit sharing plans. They provide over 2000 funds for companies and Aquarius Financial to choose from. Included in these funds are Socially Responsible funds, Judeo Christian funds and traditional funds; which include actively managed funds, index funds, and lifestyle funds.
Social(k) has committed to donating 8.5% of pretax gross profits to causes they believe in. Currently they make an annual donation to Heifer International for each plan, every year the plan is with Social(k). This has allowed them to be a proud member of 1% For The Planet.
Edelman Managed Asset Program.®
Edelman Financial Services has been serving consumers for more than 20 years. Following the strategy of institutional investors, EMAP is founded on the premise that solid science — backed by decades of academic research — offers the smartest approach to investing. The investments themselves are a combination of unaffiliated institutional-class shares and Exchange-Traded Funds, managed by some of the largest and most respected names in the financial world.
Professional Affiliations
The Social Investment Forum (SIF) (http://socialinvest.org) is the U.S. national nonprofit membership association for professionals, firms and organizations dedicated to promoting the practice and growth of socially responsible investing (SRI). Critical to responsible investment practice is the consideration of environmental, social and corporate governance criteria in addition to standard financial analysis. Forum members support SRI through portfolio selection analysis, shareholder advocacy and community investing.
SIF’s membership includes more than 500 social investment practitioners and institutions, including financial professionals, analysts, portfolio managers, banks, mutual funds, researchers, foundations, community development organizations, and public educators http://www.socialinvest.org/
fi360 (http://www.fi360.com)
fi360 offers a full circle approach to investment fiduciary education, practice management, and support that has established us as the go-to source of investment fiduciary insights. They offer world-class Training, Tools, and Resources that are essential for fiduciaries and those who provide services to fiduciaries to effectively and successfully manage their roles and responsibilities. fi360 provides Accredited Investment Fiduciary® training.
This information is from sources we believe to be reliable; however we cannot guarantee or represent that it is accurate or complete. Because investors’ situations and objectives vary, this information is not intended to indicate suitability for any particular investor.
