Garry Michel, CFP®, CRC®, AIF®, EA
Program Manager

Garry Michel started his financial services career in 2007 as a licensed banker with JP Morgan Chase. In this role, Garry assisted his clients with all aspects of their needs, from banking to lending and investments. In 2010, he was promoted to financial advisor and the following year, promoted again to a Private Client Advisor. As a PCA, Garry worked with affluent clients on the Upper West side of Manhattan for the Private Bank until his departure in 2016. Garry is currently a financial planner and runs the investment program at Walden Savings Bank.

Garry focuses on guiding individuals and businesses to attain their short, intermediate and long-term goals. While many financial professionals rely heavily on how much return they can earn their clients, Garry’s philosophy is very different. In fact, his motto, ‘protect then grow’ emphasizes risk management first. He would often say, “It is much easier to climb out of a 4 foot hole than a 6 foot hole” so, managing risk is a core philosophy in his practice. Whether it entails risk transfer, risk avoidance or diversification, Garry believes that it is crucial to have risk management embedded all throughout the financial planning process.

Garry assists his clients in many areas of the personal/business financial planning process. In addition to retirement (401K, IRAs, etc.), investment, insurance, employee benefits and education planning, Garry also collaborates with his clients’ CPAs and attorneys to implement tax efficiency, wealth preservation and estate planning strategies. He aims to understand his clients, their family dynamics and their businesses very well. Having a thorough understanding of the family tree, longevity, cultural values, family upbringing, philanthropic endeavors, prior marriages or children, fears and concerns; allows Garry to be very holistic in his approach. He takes time to review their financial data, and analyzes it both quantitatively and qualitatively before making a recommendation.

Garry prides himself on being fully transparent with his clients. He explains his strategies in details, especially risk and fees. Garry wants his clients to be educated so he always encourages them to attend seminars and watch business news whenever possible. He helps them understand market volatility and that long term investing, diversification and goal based planning are the keys to long-term success. Garry is keen on regular account reviews as it is very crucial to him to monitor the financial plan after implementation.

Garry Michel, CFP®, AIF® graduated from Mount St Mary College in 2004 with a degree in Biology where he also played Division III basketball. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®) and an ACCREDITED INVESTMENT FIDUCIARY (AIF®). Garry currently holds the FINRA series 6, 63, 66, 7, 24 registrations and NYS life/health licenses. When Garry is not guiding his clients or staying up-to-date with financial markets, he enjoys outdoor activities, golf and plays many competitive sports. Garry is a huge advocate for financial literacy and believes that a basic financial planning class should be mandatory in order to graduate high school. He resides in the village of Cornwall-On-Hudson with his wife Alexandria and his two sons, Ayden and Lucien.