Hi. I'm Tony Pampel, the founder of True Life Financial Planning. I've been helping clients in the insurance, investment and financial services industries for over a decade. Throughout that time, I've dedicated myself to becoming the best financial planner I can through rigorous study and improvement. I have come to realize that becoming a better advisor to my clients means more than just a higher level of technical proficiency. It means becoming a true guide to helping you determine what would really make a meaningful life, and then walking that path with you as you work to fulfill your dreams. That epiphany was the birth place of True Life Financial Planning.
My love affair with the financial planning profession started when I was very young. As I went through my teenage years, I was exposed heavily to personal finance as I watched my family work its way back from some earlier financial missteps. It was only while completing my undergraduate studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, that I realized the information I had gained over the last few years wasn't common knowledge. I soon found myself helping friends with everything from accounting homework to their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) paperwork. I came out of that program with two invaluable blessings: the knowledge that I wanted to help people make responsible financial decisions, and more importantly my wife, Maude, who is now the loving mother of our three children, Emmie, Sam, and Ben.
It wasn't a perfectly straight path from there to where I am today, but it was one that I wouldn't change. It took me into places that galvanized my beliefs about what financial planning should NOT be, every bit as much as what it should. It showed me that being the best financial advisor I can be means helping clients discover and live their own True Life.
I'd love to talk with you about finding your True Life plan. Click Here to schedule a 30-minute, virtual meeting with me, and let's get started.
I've spent over a decade in this industry, serving as a financial advisor to families and business owners for seven of those years. The last two years before founding True Life Financial Planning were spent as the Director of Financial Planning in a local firm, and helped construct and deliver over 70 plans each year.
I am. I received my certification in March, 2011. I believe that the CFP® certification should serve as a bare minimum to entry for individuals who are truly dedicated to serving as comprehensive financial planners.
Before you dig into the list of my other designations, let me say something about why I have a few. I believe that, in order to provide the utmost quality to clients, a financial advisor must be continually learning throughout their career. My designations are more than a collection of letters after my name. They're evidence of my ongoing commitment to becoming a better advisor for my clients.
CPWA® - Certified Private Wealth Advisor - High-net-worth individuals have unique needs that can’t be properly addressed by an advisor with a basic financial planning background. The Certified Private Wealth Advisor® (CPWA®) certification program is an advanced credential created specifically for wealth managers who work with these clients, focusing on life cycle of wealth: accumulation, preservation, and distribution. Candidates who earn the certification learn to identify and analyze challenges high-net-worth individuals face, and understand how to develop specific strategies to minimize taxes, monetize and protect assets, maximize growth, and transfer wealth.
CFS® - The Certified Fund Speciliast® program is a 135-hour, graduate level course covering exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, real estate investment trusts (REITS), tax concerns, risk and portfolio analysis, and portfolio allocation based on Modern Portfolio Theory. This designation helps me guide clients to the investment portfolio that is the best fit for their needs.
CLTC - The "Certified in Long-Term Care" (CLTC) designation was created in 1999. It focuses on the discipline of extended care planning. It provides professionals the critical tools necessary to discuss the subject of longevity and its consequences on their client's family and finances. Students learn how to mitigate these consequences by developing a plan to protect their clients and their families. With clients living longer lives every year, the largest financial threat for many is the cost of long-term medical care. While I do not sell any long-term care products, helping clients customize a contingency plan is part-and-parcel of comprehensive planning.
MBA - I completed an MBA in entrepreneurial finance from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2008. I come from an entire family of entrepreneurs, and I have always had a special place in my heart for working with business owners. While it's true that no one knows your business better than you do, my combination of academic knowledge and a background in real life experience have been helping business owners take their ideas to the next level for years.
Before moving to Dallas with my wife, I spent my entire life on the water. My formative years were spent playing in the surf in Gulf Shores, Alabama where I grew up. I've been sailing, surfing and scuba diving since before I can remember. Part of my own True Life plan is to construct a business that allows me to enjoy those things again, and to help my children experience the same joys that I have. My logo is representative of the guidance that I can provide you. You’re the captain; let me help navigate. The logo and site design are both intentional reminders of why I built this business in the first place: to help clients find their authentic self, to help them live their own True Life.
