Helping you achieve your personal vision based upon your individual needs, goals and risk tolerance..

Case Western Reserve Names Carver Financial to its 2019 Weatherhead 100 List

September 2019 – Carver Financial Services, Inc. was named by Case Western Reserve University to its 2019 Weatherhead 100 list. Companies recognized on this prestigious Weatherhead 100 list are honored for their percent of revenue growth over the past five years.

The rankings are based on data from the following: 12-month period of net sales from 2014 – 2018, 2014 net sales must be at least $100,000, headquartered in Ashland, Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull or Wayne County, not a franchise or subsidiary of another company between 2014 – 2018 and must be a for-profit organization. Neither Raymond James nor any of its financial advisors pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. Case Western Reserve University and Weatherhead 100 is not affiliated with Raymond James.

Randy Carver Ranked Among Barron’s 2019 Top 100 Independent Wealth Advisors

September 2019 – Randy Carver was once again included on the 2019 Barron’s list of the “Top 100 Independent Wealth Advisors” in the country. Randy has been included on this prestigious list of top wealth advisors every year since 2010.

Barron’s produced the listing of top advisors after weighing factors such as client assets under management, philanthropic work, compliance record and the overall quality of their practices. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports*. There are more than 300,000 licensed financial advisors in the United States so being named one of the top 100 independent advisors is a notable recognition.

To see the full listing click here.

*Carver Financial Services Inc. is an independent firm. Raymond James is not affiliated with Barron’s. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors have paid a fee in exchange for this recognition. This recognition is not indicative of future investment performance, is not an endorsement, and may not be representative of individual clients’ experience.

Barron’s Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors, 2019. Barron’s is a registered trademark of Dow Jones & Company, L.P. All rights reserved. The rankings are based on data provided by over 4,000 individual advisors and their firms and include qualitative and quantitative criteria. Data points that relate to quality of practice include professionals with a minimum of 7 years financial services experience, acceptable compliance records (no criminal U4 issues), client retention reports, charitable and philanthropic work, quality of practice, designations held, offering services beyond investments offered including estates and trusts, and more. Financial Advisors are quantitatively rated based on varying types of revenues produced and assets under management by the financial professional, with weightings associated for each.

Randy Carver Named to Forbes’ 2019 List of Top 250 Wealth Advisors in the U.S.

September 12, 2019 – FORBES published their 2019 list of Top 250 Wealth Advisors in the United States. This is the fourth year in a row that Randy Carver, President of Carver Financial Services Inc. and registered Principal with Raymond James Financial Services Inc., was included in this prestigious list. There were more than 30,600 nominations received, seven were recognized in Ohio, with Randy Carver being ranked #104.

Randy’s Profile – https://www.forbes.com/profile/randy-carver/#7ebea526739a

The Forbes ranking of Top Wealth Advisors, developed by SHOOK Research is based on an algorithm of qualitative criteria and quantitative data. Those advisors that are considered have a minimum of seven years of experience, and the algorithm weighs factors like revenue trends, AUM, compliance records, industry experience and those that encompass best practices in their practices and approach to working with clients. Portfolio performance is not a criteria due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. This ranking is not indicative of an advisor’s future performance, is not an endorsement, and may not be representative of individual clients’ experience. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors or RIA firms pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. Raymond James is not affiliated with Forbes or Shook Research, LLC. Data provided by SHOOKTM Research, LLC. Data as of 6/30/19. America’s Top Wealth Advisors (Forbes.com Sept. 2019).

Randy Carver and The Story of Carver Financial Services

When life knocks you down, you have two choices: stay down or get up.  —Tom Krause

I have been an entrepreneur ever since I was six years old.  

My first business involved me gathering dandelions, bunching them into bouquets and selling them door-to-door around the neighborhood. I was selling seed packets and wrapping paper at the age of eight. By ten I was making and selling jam.

Then, my world was turned upside-down at the age of twelve when I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. For the next three years, doctors worked to remove the complete lobe of my left lung, parts of my right lung, my spleen and my thymus. Later, a surgery to remove another mass paralyzed my vocal cord, leaving me with the raspy voice, that I have today.

Those three years were among the toughest of my life. The constant chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgeries took an incredible toll on me, which was only made worse by the fact that I was being treated for the wrong disease. While I had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, we discovered years later that I actually had malignant thymoma—an entirely different disease.

As a result of the treatment and illness, I missed a lot of school—most of sixth grade, all of seventh and eighth grade, and most of ninth grade.  Despite this, I was learning constantly. The Wall Street Journal became a daily companion, teaching me about financial markets and investing. I also enjoyed watching the hit TV show M*A*S*H.  Alan Alda, the best surgeon in the unit, had the ability to deal with the worst circumstances and still have fun. This example helped to shape my personal values. We can use our experiences to be the best at something, help others overcome adversity and still not take ourselves too seriously.     

Aside from my parents, the person I credit most with getting me through that period was my surgeon, Dr. Robert Filler. He was the only person who, every time he saw me, would look me in the eye and say, “No, you are not going to die.” I’m convinced that his persistent attitude and aggressive approach to helping fight my disease are what ultimately saved me.

Through these experiences, I realized that life is short and needs to be enjoyed. Most of all, I learned that with a positive attitude and persistence, anything is possible. This was something I wanted to help others see so they could achieve their dreams and enjoy their lives.    

It was this mindset that spurred me on through the most difficult times, encouraging me to keep growing as an entrepreneur. At the age of fifteen, I started a catering business in my mom’s kitchen and then founded and ran two successful home-renovation companies. It was with these companies that I realized how building something tangible could help others and how much I personally enjoyed seeing the results of this. Ultimately, this would become the vision for Carver Financial Services Inc.      

First College, Then a Career

After enrolling at Oberlin College in Ohio, I quickly found that all that time spent reading The Wall Street Journal had paid off. To help pay my way, I would borrow money from my professors, and invest it in futures. After a while, I had become so successful with these efforts that one of my professors suggested that I should start teaching others how to invest as well. I took his advice and taught a college credit course on investing. 

In 1987, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Originally, I planned to head home and resume my home renovation businesses. I enjoyed interacting with people and loved seeing tangible results of our work as we improved people’s homes. Instead, I took a job with a regional brokerage firm and moved to Mentor, Ohio, where I immediately began knocking on thousands of doors to open a new office for them. I had acquired enough clients in just four months to open my own branch in the spring of 1987.

With a lot of hard work and dedication, my office became one of the company’s most successful within three years.

I suffered another catastrophic setback in March of 1989. I was flying a single-engine plane and was forced to crash-land. I suffered collapsed lungs, broken ribs, a cracked larynx, and a crushed nose. For almost a year, I couldn’t speak. I would write notes, which my assistant would then take and read to my clients. Again, this was a very challenging period, but the experience helped me improve my listening skills and showed me the importance of working with a team, rather than working alone.

Not yet thirty, the bouts with adversity strengthened my sense of life’s fragility and made me even more determined to help others enjoy their lives. When I started in the financial services business, I believed that we could help people achieve their dreams. 

Turning Industry Standards Upside-Down

After three years, I realized that working for a large investment firm would never come close to aligning with my aspiration of helping people build their financial future based on their hopes, dreams and personal vision. I was happy to be helping people, but at the same time, realized that there was a problem with an industry model focused simply on selling investments, not providing outstanding customized experiences. I envisioned a company focused on personal service, where the investments were merely tools to help people achieve their personal vision.

Of the many things years of entrepreneurship had taught me, one key idea was that no matter what business you’re in, the best way to differentiate yourself is through exceptional client service and making a true difference in their lives.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t what I saw most financial advisors, or firms, focusing on. To them, the financial services industry was all about selling investments and getting new clients—not providing lifelong support to the people who had invested with them. In my view, that model of financial services was broken. Financial planners should be helping people create experiences and fulfill their vision of a happy life, not pushing investments. 

I felt that the company I worked for was no different—a product-focused firm that required its advisors to only sell a limited number of offerings. I felt we should be allowed to offer our clients the best possible financial solution, regardless of what company it came from. But unfortunately, our hands were tied.  

Compounding this problem was the focus on getting new clients, rather than providing an amazing service experience for existing ones. To me, this approach was completely backward, and not only didn’t help people with what they really needed—it did not make good business sense either. I knew that working for a large investment firm would always prevent me from providing the kinds of service and experiences, that our clients deserved. So, I decided to set out on my own and build a new model focused on creating holistic experiences for our clients who we would work with for life.

 Because the type of firm that I envisioned didn’t exist, I created it. This was the beginning of Carver Financial Services Inc. in December of 1990.  

The Birth of a True Team

I established Carver Financial Services, Inc. with the vision statement of, “To make people’s lives better—our clients, our team and our community,” and partnered with Investment Management & Research, which is now Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Our goal was to build a service company that used financial planning and wealth management to help people achieve their personal vision, while simplifying their lives. By partnering with a global firm, we could provide all of the services that any large investment firm could without the pressure to sell any specific product or service. 

While most financial advisors, and firms, focused only on their clients’ financial situations, we were passionate about helping people simplify their lives, seize opportunities to experience life’s greatest gifts, and continually enhance their lifestyles. The vision I had carried since childhood, to live life to the fullest AND to help others do the same, was implemented. 

Our approach proved to be a success. As our practice grew, I quickly realized I could not provide the service needed for all of our new clients by myself. It was time to grow our team.

Here again, we turned the existing model upside-down. Most financial services practices had one sales assistant for every three or four advisors, I wanted to do the opposite, hiring three or four highly skilled client concierges for every advisor. That way, our clients could get the attention they wanted, needed, and deserved from a team of concierges who could handle any and all administrative requests.

In growing our practice, it was important to have a firm that would be around for generations to come. Moreover, I envisioned a team of professionals who not only had outstanding credentials, but also the same values and vision that I did for our clients. To do that we built a team of experts who bring different skills and experience to the table to create a robust support system for an enduring practice. Furthermore, we needed to have younger members who would learn and provide intergenerational longevity to the team. While many financial services firms claim to take a team-based approach to financial planning, team members are usually incentivized based on what they do individually. Our team, on the other hand, works collaboratively and is compensated collectively.

Again, this unique approach paid off. Today we continue to add specific operational, administrative, and planning professionals to our team, and have continued to grow our advisory and support team as well.

Personal Vision Planning®

Over the years, we have developed and refined a process for leading clients to achieve their personal vision for the future, while enjoying the present. We call it Personal Vision Planning.

Personal Vision Planning is different from traditional financial planning or investment planning. We work with our clients to build a clear, personalized vision of what their retirement might look like, and then we plan out how they can get there. The planning is based on your Vision, not investments. Through this process, my team and I offer clients unbiased investment information and a wide range of financial products and services through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. While we are an independent firm, we custody our assets with Raymond James and have access to all of the resources of a multi-billion dollar global firm whose offerings include, but are not limited to: investment banking, a trust company, an FDIC insured bank and hundreds of experts on a variety of topics of importance to our clients.

This focus on personal vision and quality of life, rather than on the money itself, is very important to me. As a survivor of cancer, a plane crash, and other extreme injuries, I’ve learned first-hand how precious each moment of each day truly is. Rather than simply helping people to grow wealth, Personal Vision Planning helps our clients to live their best lives possible.

Creating Unforgettable Client Services

All of us at Carver Financial Services are passionate about helping other’s enjoy life. In addition to the Personal Vision Planning, we create memorable life experiences for our clients by hosting unusual, once-in-a-lifetime trips and events. Overseas trips, educational and aspiration presentations by national speakers who are experts in various subjects and even a car show are just some of the experiences we offer each year.   

Always Evolving

Throughout this journey, nothing has made me prouder than to watch Carver Financial Services move from being “my firm” to “our firm.” United under the shared vision of making people’s lives better, we have continued to bring in new generations of team members so that the firm, just like our clients and their families, will be here to serve you and your family for generations to come. Understanding that unforeseen things happen we have both a detailed business continuity plan and business succession plan in place so that we will always be here to serve you and future generations, no matter what challenges we face. 

Who knows what the future holds? Life is full of twists and turns. Some of them are wonderful, and others are life-threatening and awful. When we conquer difficulties, we learn that we can be or do anything, despite our circumstances. My experiences have shaped my passion to enjoy life and to be intentional about every action I take.

Our entire team is committed to helping you simplify your life, while enhancing your lifestyle as you live your future intentionally, with both a plan and a purpose. We are focused on sharing that journey with you, every step of the way. Our practice will continue to evolve while maintaining our vision of making people’s lives better. The things we do and the way we spend our time are so important and we appreciate you taking time to read this!  Please let us know whenever we can be of service—have an amazing day!   

You can reach Randy at randy.carver@raymondjames.com or 440-974–0808.

It’s not what you make that matters; it’s what you keep

The highest return isn’t always the one that puts the most in your pocket. Why? Because it’s not what you make that’s important, but what you keep—net of fees, expenses, and taxes.

When comparing returns on investments, we need to look at the net return, not the gross return. For example, a 10 percent taxable return could put less money in your pocket than a 6 percent tax-exempt return if you are in a 45 percent tax bracket. If you earn 10 percent on $100,000, you earn $10,000; however, if you pay 45 percent income tax, then you net only $5,500—which is less than the 6 percent ($6,000) tax-exempt return.

The lowest-cost investment is not always the best, either. For example, if an investment costs 2 percent per year but pays a net return (after an expense of 8 percent), that’s better than a 3 percent investment that’s free. Again, it’s not what you make, but what you keep—net of fees, expenses, and inflation.

You will sometimes hear about the “real rate of return” or “after-tax real rate of return.” It’s the actual financial benefit of an investment after you factor in taxes and inflation. If your investment earns 8 percent, but inflation averages 3 percent for the year, then your real (inflation-adjusted) rate of return is 5 percent. 

“Beware the investment activity that produces applause; the great moves are usually greeted by yawns.” —Warren Buffett

When comparing a return on a portfolio to a benchmark, such as the S&P 500, we need to compare both returns, net of income tax, fees, and expenses. Often, the benchmark that looks higher than a portfolio return does not account for expenses or income tax. Our team takes a very conservative tax, allocation and expense-management approach that focuses on the highest net return for you, based on your personal situation—not the return that appears to beat a benchmark or appears to be higher than it really is.

Benchmarks can be helpful in comparing your portfolio’s performance to an industry figure. But comparing a portfolio to the wrong benchmark can lead to a misperception of how well you are doing. Often, investors compare their portfolios to the S&P 500 stock benchmark, even though they own investments other than large-cap stocks. That is not a relevant comparison.

Another example is if you are invested to generate reliable current income, to help maintain your lifestyle on an inflation-adjusted basis. This is a very different objective than beating the S&P. The most important benchmark is whether or not you can meet your current income needs and future goals with a portfolio that also meets your risk tolerance.

Often the real value of your trusted advisor is not selecting investments, but developing and monitoring an allocation that works for you. The advisor can also help take emotion out of investment decisions and thereby increase your overall net return. In fact, according to a February 2019 study by Vanguard1, implementing the Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha framework can provide, on average, 3 percent* more return (net of their fee’s) than people can achieve on their own. This is the  

Looking at the largest return might not put the most money in your pocket. Moreover, a well-balanced portfolio may seem boring, yet this can provide a more suitable plan to help you reach your goal. Please contact our team with questions, to provide a second opinion or if we can otherwise be of service to you. Our goal is to help simplify your life and enhance your standard of living. 

1 https://advisors.vanguard.com/iwe/pdf/ISGQVAA.pdf

This information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any opinions are those of the professionals at Carver Financial Services, Inc., and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website’s users and/or members.

Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected, including diversification and asset allocation.

The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Keep in mind that individuals cannot invest directly in any index, and index performance does not include transaction costs or other fees, which will affect actual investment performance. Individual investor’s results will vary.

Examples provided are hypothetical for illustration purposes only. Actual investor results will vary. Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax or legal advice. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.

* The actual amount of value-added may vary significantly, depending on client circumstances.

Americans Are Better Off Now Than Ever Before

Bad news sells. Humans are hard-wired to focus more on negativity and bad news than on positivity and good news. Psychologists call this phenomenon “negativity bias.”  It’s no wonder many feel the world is getting worse with the onslaught of negative media and a 24/7 news cycle.

Focusing on Danger and Doom Doesn’t Serve Us in Modern Times

According to Laura Mixon Camacho, Ph.D., a communication coach at Mixonian Institute, “The human brain remembers negative messages, results, and possibilities with greater magnitude than positive ones.” In pre-historic times, remaining alert for potential danger was the key to surviving. But, she says, “Modern times favor humans who not only imagine a better future but who put in the work to make it become reality. Fixating on negative possibilities creates harmful stress that actually shortens lifespans.”

Bad news has always dominated the headlines. In fact, publications that are launched specifically for the purpose of reporting only good news don’t stay in business long. Back in 2014, a Russian newspaper called The City Reporter published only positive news for an entire day. The result? The paper lost two-thirds of its readership that day.

Given the onslaught of negative information, people see the world and the future as much bleaker than they really are. A recent survey asked people all over the world, “All things considered, do you think the world is getting better or worse?” In the United States, only 6 percent of the survey respondents thought things are getting better. The Swedish were a little more optimistic, at 10 percent, and only 3 percent of the French thought things were improving—of course, if you live in France they may be right.

Despite the media’s focus on gloom and doom, the average person in the United States is better off than ever before, as are people around the world generally. 

A Harvard Professor Advises Us to Notice the Good Around Us

Steven Pinker, a cognitive psychologist and professor at Harvard University, agrees that there is a journalistic bias toward publishing negative news. He says negative events tend to happen suddenly. “Wars break out, terrorists attack, rampage shootings occur, whereas a lot of the things that make us better off creep up by stealth” so we are not as aware of them.

In a powerful study entitled “The short history of global living conditions and why it matters that we know it” by Max Roser, an economist at the University of Oxford, we learn that on virtually all of the key dimensions of human material well-being—poverty, literacy, health, freedom, and education—the world is an extraordinarily better place than ever before.

 In the early 1980s, more than 40 percent of all humans were living in extreme poverty. Now fewer than 10 percent are. 

Whereas 36 percent of the world’s population was literate in 1950, by 2010 that had jumped to 83 percent (Roser & Ortiz-Ospina, 2018b).

 Life expectancy has risen 20 years over the last half century. 

In the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof declared that by many measures, “2017 was the best year in the history of humanity”, with falling global inequality, child mortality roughly half what it had been as recently as 1990, and 300,000 more people gaining access to electricity each day.

By most objective measures the economy, and quality of life, for Americans is better than ever before.  

Negative Headlines Hide the Truth

While the media in general, and especially political pundits, continue to discuss the negative impact of tariffs, potential trade wars, that the markets are too high, we will have a recession and other seeming bad things the facts tell another story. We have one of the best economies in the world and have one some of the strongest economic numbers in American history right now.

According to NPR, “The unemployment rate dropped to 3.6% — the lowest in nearly 50 years.” Participation is higher now than it was in the late 1960s when 3.6% was considered full employment. And that’s in spite of an aging population.           

The unemployment rate for those with less than a high school degree has averaged 5.6% in the past twelve months, the lowest on record, and well below the previous cycle low of 6.3% reached during the internet boom two decades ago. 

The Hispanic unemployment rate has averaged 4.6% in the past year, while the Black unemployment rate has averaged 6.4%, both also record lows.

Meanwhile, wage growth has accelerated. Average hourly earnings are up 3.2% from a year ago. And the gains in wages are not just tilted toward the rich. Among full-time workers age 25+, usual weekly earnings are up 3.5% for those in the middle of the income spectrum. But wages are up 4.9% for workers at the bottom 10% of earners, while up 1.7% for those at the top 10% of income earners. A rising tide is lifting all boats.

Nominal GDP (real growth plus inflation) is still up 4.8% at an annual rate in the past two years, and is set to equal, or exceed, that in the year ahead.

Meanwhile, the stock market has jumped 27 percent since the 2016 election amid a surge in corporate profits and as a result of corporate tax cuts and regulation.

Focusing too much on the negative can lead to decisions that may hurt us in the long run and could cause unnecessary stress. We cannot time markets or predict short-term events from terrorism, the weather or politics, nor should we try. Our team has developed and refined an investment and planning process. It takes into consideration both the expected and unexpected while being guided by your specific needs, objectives and personal vision. What the markets and economy do in the short run should not impact you. 

People often ask the question of “what’s going to happen?” That may be the wrong question.  The question should be “How will what’s happening impact me?” If the answer is that it won’t, then there should be no point in worrying about it.  In my opinion, we are living in one of the best times and should enjoy this. Our team is here to help sift through all of the noise and help you live a happier and healthier life driven by intention, not circumstance.  We call this Persona Visional Planning® and look forward to helping you live the life you have dreamed of.

Feel free to contact Randy Carver personally, or the Carver Financial Services Inc. team at randy.carver@raymondjames.com or (440) 974-0808. Carver Financial Services has served clients globally since 1990 and manages more than $1.25 Billion for clients today. There is neither a cost nor obligation to speak with an advisor.

This information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any opinions are those of the professionals at Carver Financial Services, Inc., and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website’s users and/or members.