The Dala Group Celebrates Five Years

Gratitude

This month, we are celebrating the 5th anniversary of The Dala Group. I want to say “thank you” for your loyalty and encouragement over the years. When I left my previous employer to start The Dala Group, I had a vision of how I wanted to serve my clients and the team that I wanted to build in the future. It was a leap of faith, and I am so grateful to those who trusted me and took the leap right alongside me.

Looking Back at the Milestones and Challenges

When I look back at my personal life five years ago, my oldest daughter, Elin, was only a toddler. Now, Elin is nearing the end of first grade. Elin is incredibly smart, creative and a wonderful friend. We affectionately call her “chit-chat” because there isn’t anything else she would rather do than talk all day.

Many of you will also remember that in 2020, we welcomed our second daughter, Audrey. Audrey will be celebrating her 3rd birthday next month. She has a tender heart and loves to keep up with her big sister. She loves the outdoors, but she equally enjoys puzzles and reading books.

In addition to parenting, Linnea and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary in 2022 by taking our first vacation without children. We celebrated many occasions and milestones as a family, and I know each of you has had your own celebrations as well.

I also want to acknowledge that among the celebrations, we all endured a tremendous amount of stress and grief as we felt the weight of global, economic, and political crises. For many of our clients, it hit close to home when they experienced the loss of a loved one or a difficult medical diagnosis. I hope that you felt our support during those difficult seasons and that we were able to relieve some of the burden and reduce the anxiety that you were experiencing. We are committed to continuing this support for our clients, and part of that commitment includes adding new team members and expertise to build additional capacity.

Growth of the Firm and Our Expertise

Over the past five years, the firm has doubled the number of clients we serve and quadrupled the assets that we manage. Because of that, I have intentionally added team members to better serve and support our clients. One of our core values is that we are continually learning and looking to gain knowledge that will be useful to our clients. I am proud of the dedication and professional expertise of our team!

  • Renee Boyle has spent the past several years completing several professional licenses. Renee completed her FINRA series 65 exam, life insurance exam, health insurance exam, and most recently the Enrolled Agent (EA) exam.

  • Kristin McCoy completed her Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional Exam (FPQP) and along with that, she has taken on the role of our Operations Specialist.

  • Stacy Bromann joined us at the beginning of this year with an abundance of experience working in the banking industry. She served as a Chase Private Client Banker and a Preferred Relationship Manager at Fifth Third Bank. In addition, Stacy recently started her classes at Northwestern University to obtain the Certified Financial Planner designation.

From the beginning, we have always provided guidance in the core financial planning areas: Cash Flow, Insurance, Investments, Tax, Retirement, and Estate planning. With the addition of Renee, Kristin, and Stacy, we have been able to go deeper into these subject areas. Our team is now offering:

  • annual tax return reviews

  • advanced tax planning strategies and tax projections

  • guidance and recommendations on charitable giving

  • annual home and auto insurance reviews

  • our participation in estate planning meetings to collaborate with your attorney and help with the re-registration process following the document signing

On the investment side, we have partnered with a fixed-income firm that specializes in researching, analyzing, and purchasing individual bonds for our clients. The partnership provides our clients access to additional investment options, including brokerage CDs, treasuries, municipal bonds, and corporate bonds within Schwab’s custodial platform.

You have our commitment that we will continue adding services and expertise as needed. If there is anything more we can do for you, please don’t hesitate to mention it.

Celebrate

On our 5th anniversary, I want to extend my sincerest thank you! Most of our growth over the past five years has come from your referrals of friends and family. I am humbled by the trust you place in us when referring the people closest to you. We will continue to do everything that we can to provide outstanding service.

This commentary reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of The Dala Group, LLC employees providing such comments. It should not be regarded as a description of advisory services provided by The Dala Group, LLC or performance returns of any The Dala Group, LLC client. The views reflected in the commentary are subject to change at any time without notice. Nothing in this commentary constitutes investment advice, performance data, or any recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. Any mention of a particular security and related performance data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The Dala Group, LLC manages its clients’ accounts using various investment techniques and strategies, which are not necessarily discussed in the commentary. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Mike Heatwole

Mike Heatwole is a Certified Financial Planner™. He is the founder and CEO of The Dala Group. Mike graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s in Structural Engineering. His interest in financial planning began as a table leader for Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, and shortly after, he changed careers to became a financial planner. He organically built The Dala Group, a wealth management firm, focusing on helping families achieve their lifestyle and legacy goals.

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