We hope this finds you and your family doing well and enjoying your summer.
Here at Stone Pine, the slightly slower pace of summer provides us with the opportunity to think about ways we can improve upon the service and advice we deliver to clients. In doing so, we also reflect upon the progress and growth our firm has achieved over the past years.
Today, we thought we would share with you some insights into Stone Pine’s journey over the past decade.
Kevin and I both started working at financial planning firms back in 2003, and we still have many clients with us today that date back to the early 2000s. In 2013, we decided to start our own Registered Investment Advisory firm and by May 2015, Kevin and I founded Stone Pine Financial Partners.
The original intent of Stone Pine was to serve as an independent advisory firm aligned with the needs of our clients, providing clear and customized advice while leveraging the resources of some of the largest and most respected financial institutions. We can tell you that today this intent and firm structure still holds true, and we firmly believe it’s the best way to deliver advice and results to clients.
Shortly after forming Stone Pine in 2015, we identified an unmet need in the marketplace for retirees. We discovered that people transitioning to retirement were overwhelmed by the number of decisions they needed to make and underwhelmed with their options for getting advice. We decided to dive in and become the go-to experts on the transition to retirement and to develop a simple structure and system for providing this advice.
Today we’re recognized as one of the leading firms that helps people confidently retire. We advise our clients on developing a retiree-specific investment portfolio, implementing strategies to reduce taxes, and coordinating other important decisions like Social Security, healthcare and housing options.
In addition to advising our clients, we also educate the public on the principles of Retiree Finance through the classes we teach at Main Line School Night, Wallingford Swarthmore Community Classes, and Mt. Airy Learning Tree and through the guide we have written 7 Steps for a Secure Retirement.
Our expertise in retirement finance has been the driver behind the significant growth of our firm.
In 2015, we had approximately 40 clients who joined us from our previous firms as we started Stone Pine. Today we have over 150 clients. In 2015, we managed approximately $25 million in assets for our clients and today we are managing over $180 million.
As our client base has grown, so has our team. Today we are a four-person team which includes Myriah (joined in 2018) and Skylar (joined in 2022). As you already know, we have two of the smartest, friendliest, and most capable staff members in the industry and we could not feel more fortunate to have them onboard. Given the growth of our firm, we are also looking to add a 5th member to our team in 2025.
As we look to the future, our #1 priority is, and will always be, our existing clients. We are constantly challenging ourselves to find ways in which to refine the advice and service that we deliver to you. We stay abreast of the latest financial research, evaluate new software and technology, and stay current on the latest innovations in finance and the markets. We do all of this to ensure we are delivering the best advice and the most value. We are also cognizant of ensuring we continue to have the capacity to deliver advice to our clients in a manner in which we would personally want to receive this type of help. We remain the “small firm” where you can simply pick up the phone and call us if you have a question or concern, and someone you know will be on the other end of the line ready to assist.
We can confidently tell you that the state of Stone Pine is strong and the future looks bright.
Our growth and success story is our client story. We are eternally grateful to you, our existing clients, for the faith, confidence and trust you have bestowed on us. You have provided us with the joy and fulfillment of sharing in your financial success. And your success has convinced us to educate more people and confidently expand our firm.
We hope you have some time this summer to reflect upon your own successes and progress. Thank you again for the privilege of allowing us to be a part of yours.
As always, please let us know if there are ways in which we can improve the service and advice we provide to you. Your feedback is invaluable to our business.
Sincerely,
Andy, Kevin and your Stone Pine Team
