J. Brian Kennedy, CPA, CFP®

Brian is the managing member of Safe Harbor Financial Planning and is a practicing CPA with the accounting firm of J.B. Kennedy & Associates, LLC, CPAs. in Statesboro, Ga.

As a CPA and Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) with over 25 years of experience, Brian is uniquely qualified to guide clients through a complete financial circle of tax compliance & planning, portfolio & investment management, estate & gift taxation, and complex retirement account rules. No one area of finance is an island by itself. It takes an advisor with a wide breadth of knowledge to make the best financial decision.

Safe Harbor Financial was founded out of frustration from witnessing many of the firm’s CPA clients suffer from the inherit conflict of interest that often exists in much of the financial services industry today.

Fiduciary Standard of Care

In contrast to a traditional broker/dealer relationship, we are a Registered Investment Advisor firm. As an RIA, we maintain a Fiduciary Standard of Care when we work with clients. The highest standard of care under the law. The same standard you have come to expect from other professional disciplines, such as doctors, attorneys, and accountants. The traditional broker/dealer relationship falls under a standard of care called the “suitability” standard. In short, we are required by law to act in your best interests.

Fee Only Arrangement

Always know what you’re paying for and how much. Or as well know pastor and author, Andy Stanley puts it, “Always be know’in, where your money be-a-going”. The more traditional approach to advisor compensation within the financial services industry is usually centered around commissions and sales and ultimately, hinges on selling a “product”. This means the product becomes the center-piece, not you; and this arrangement can sometimes lead to a conflict of interest for the advisor. As a Fee-Only firm, we don’t sell anything for a commission or transaction fee. You pay 100% of our fees, therefore, we work for you. We don’t push, pull, or promote any product.  The amount you pay for advice is on the table, not hidden under the table.

Knowledge

Simply put, not all advisors are created equally. As CPAs and CFPs we bring a wide breadth of knowledge to the table to help individuals, families, and businesses tackle complicated financial issues. And our investment philosophy is backed by decades of academic research by Nobel Prize winning thinkers.

Partners

We don’t go-it alone! We are a part of a growing, loosely tied network of wealth advisors located across the country that share a common investment philosophy and are commitment to their clients, all falling under the umbrella of a super backoffice support team called Wealth Management, LLC. Wealth Management helps us in the background with many of the more “unexciting” chores, freeing us up to simply provide the best experience possible for our clients. Other companies whom we consider parters include TD Ameritrade Institutional, Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), Vanguard Funds, iShares, and Retirement Plan Consultants, LLC.