About Us
Steve Zakelj is a fee-only, Certified Financial Planner, CFP® and the founder of Flatirons Wealth Management. Past positions include research analyst, market strategist, and trader. As a responsible fiduciary, he strives to always give you his honest opinion, grounded in sound research and strategy, with your best interests in mind. When not helping residents of the front-range community plan and build their financial futures he and his wife spend their free time hiking, skiing, fishing, gardening, and chasing their two beautiful children around the backyard with squirt guns. Steve is also an active volunteer with the "Yardbusters" program of Cultivate, a local non-profit that provides basic cleanup and yard maintenance services to seniors in order to reduce the risk of falls and accidents. He counts NAPFA, the Fee-Only Network, and XY Planning Network among his professional memberships.
Investment Philosophy
Flatirons Wealth Management believes in keeping things simple. As an independent, fee-only investment advisor we do not receive sales commissions and are not beholden to a particular investment product or company. We primarily utilize a low cost, passive investment style. However, we are not a mindless robot or computer algorithm. We believe individual investors do possess some advantages over larger institutions and thus seek to use those advantages to our client's benefit when possible.
Why Work with FWM?
We know you have choices, so why choose us?
We believe in this combination of three factors:
1) Education
The Certified Financial Planner® is the standard and most recognized designation in the industry. CFP® professionals must pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Examination, pass the CFP Board's Fitness Standards for Candidates and Professionals Eligible for Reinstatement, agree to abide by CFP Board's Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Rules of Conduct which put clients' interests first and comply with the Financial Planning Practice Standards which spell out what clients should be able to reasonably expect from the financial planning engagement. Click here for more information: www.letsmakeaplan.org/why-choose-a-cfp-professional
2) Experience
With a background in research and market strategy, we understand all the “players” in the market and their agendas. We understand the value of patience and setting aside emotion. Put simply, we’ve learned our lessons already; we don’t learn them with your money.
3) System
As a fee-only fiduciary we align our interests with yours. That means no commissions, no high pressure sales tactics, no “churning” accounts, no 20 vice-presidents that all need to be paid as well, and no trips to Mexico if you purchase a service or investment. It’s simple, really - you pay us to sit on your side of the table and make the best recommendation possible. When your investments do well, we do well. When your investments decline, we take a pay cut too.