For more than a decade, Kevin Richards has helped clients develop the roadmap to their retirement dreams. Kevin’s process begins with client education. By addressing financial concerns and creating sound strategies, Kevin creates a personalized investment plan that can help get his clients where they want to go.
Kevin began his career as a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones. From there he began working with Veterans to secure a better life for them in retirement. Kevin combines his vast knowledge of the complex issues surrounding Social Security, estate planning, taxes, and safe investing with his deep desire to help people transition successfully from active earning to retirement income. His goal is to create a plan that will not sacrifice lifestyle, or expose his clients to too much risk.
Kevin Richards also regularly appears on Los Angeles television stations including KCAL 9 News and KTLA’s “Money Smart” segment to give financial advice. Away from the office, Kevin spends his free time surfing with his daughter, boating, deep-sea fishing, and otherwise enjoying the sunshine, sea and the soft sand of Laguna Beach.
Tell us about your background?
Where are you from and how did you grow up? I grew up in a small town in northern Florida called St. Augustine. It was a very southern town on the coast where you did not have to lock your doors and our neighbors would often just come by unannounced to say hi or have dinner together. Hence, I was always seemingly around very friendly people where everyone helped each other…I feel that this played a big part in why I enjoy helping people improve their lives by protecting and growing their assets.
How is your firm different from the rest?
KNR Consulting Group and Wealth Management Inc. is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisory firm, which means that we are legally required to act in the best interest of our clients in all situations. As fiduciaries, FINRA. requires us to pass a number of licensing exams that demonstrate our competence in financial securities. But more than that, we are held to a higher standard of care than other advisors. While other advisors are only required to sell products that are best-suited to your risk profile, we are required to find the products that are best suited to you, our client. And because we are not tied to any one product, we don’t suffer from conflict of interest.
Simply put, we give you the peace of mind that your retirement is in good hands so that you can sleep well at night.
What is the importance of having a good team?
No one person knows everything…hence, we feel that a strong team of knowledgeable, dedicated and hard working individuals each with their own strengths, is the best formula for being able to serve our clients in the best way we can.
Do you need to be a huge company to have a big team?
Not at all. We wanted to create more of a family feel here where our clients know all of our staff by name and we in turn know many of our client’s families by name. We put on several client appreciation events per year, such as wine tastings with live music, so that our clients get a chance to meet each other and we all are just able to get together and have some fun.
Who is on your team?
I have two other financial advisors on my team, each with their own speciality as well as a CPA and 3 support staff.
How did you find your passion for finance?
I started my work career out of college in the filed on non-profit work. My role was to work with corporations and high net worth philanthropic individuals so as to raise money in order to open and run literacy centers all throughout the United States. In doing this, I gained a strong understanding of the various aspects of finance, of personal wealth management and the various investment options that unfortunately are not commonly known about by most people. This drove me to want to share this knowledge with as many people as I can while at the same time being able to raise my own family and have a career that afforded me the ability to be there for my daughter as she grew up.
What are the biggest mistakes people make in their finances?
The biggest is not getting all the facts about the investment world from non-biased sources…examples are risk levels, hidden fees, guarantees, accurate future expectations and an understanding of all of their investment options, not just what the sales rep they may be working with is able to offer. A true fiduciary does not offer just what their boss or corporation tells them to offer…but instead works as the client’s teammate to get all the facts about all the investment options that are available to them.
What is the best way to plan for your child’s college fund?
This is a question that needs to be answered on an individual basis as it depends on many facts. But in short, I am not a fan of the commonly promoted 529 College Savings plans due to their risk and the restrictions most of them place on the plan itself. There are more flexible and safe and tax beneficial plans out there which we can go over in a different article.
What types of clients do you work with?
Primarily we work with individuals who are in or near retirement. That being said, we do work with many young professionals or business owners that need to understand all of their options to lower their taxes while at the same time how to protect and grow their assets so that they can have the life they wish to have.
What would be your ultimate project?
To change our education system so that the basics of investing and growing assets is taught at a much earlier age… such as in high school…so that more people get a better understanding of the importance of saving, and how it can alter their lives for the greater good provided they start it at a young age.
Do you have any meditation, mindset practices?
I am an avid outdoorsmen. I love all kinds of outdoor sports such as golf, tennis, surfing, sailing and hiking. I find that these activities provide me with an outlet for stress and a means of staying healthy and strong which always give me more energy to do what I do!
How do you stay balanced and grounded?
Through reading self help and positive books that other positive and successful people have written that have helped millions of people to keep a positive and grateful attitude in life. I came from very humble beginnings in a lower middle income family where I had to work from the earliest age possible at the age of 15 and continued on working so as to pay my way through college. This has given me a greater appreciation for a dollar earned, hence I do not take anything for granted and am very grateful for the many amazing people and things that I have in my life.
Where can we find you?
By going to my website of www.KNRWealth.com or call our office number of 949-218-3900.
