David Wiech, CPFA

Before I ever sat across from a client, I spent fifteen years building the products that financial advisors sell. Starting as a programmer and moving through analyst and project management roles at institutions including Bank of Boston, Mellon Bank, and Brown Brothers Harriman, I worked on the technical infrastructure of financial products from the inside. Throughout that time, I had a parallel obsession with the advisory side of the business, subscribing to financial publications, advising colleagues on their financial decisions, and eventually going back to school for an MBA in Finance at Babson College. When I finally made the move to financial planning, I came with a working understanding of how those products are actually built and what drives the decisions behind them.

After leaving the corporate world, I spent several years in entrepreneurial roles, including a software start-up and a custom window treatment business, before moving into financial services following the 2008 housing market collapse. I came in as an insurance broker and licensed representative, eventually became an independent Investment Advisor Representative, and co-founded Statera Financial as an RIA in 2019.

My approach to financial planning starts with the person, not the portfolio. I build a thorough picture of a client's full situation before any investment decisions are made, and the strategy that follows is the product of that process rather than a separate exercise.

One client stands out as a clear illustration of what this work is really about. She came to me at sixty years old, recently widowed, with no clear understanding of how her finances operated. We took several meetings before any recommendations were made, working carefully through the full picture of where she stood and what she needed. Watching the tension leave her as a plan came into focus was one of the more meaningful experiences I've had in this work, and she has remained a client for fourteen years since.

I was born in New Orleans, grew up in Cincinnati, and have lived in Franklin, Massachusetts since 1988. My wife and I have been married since that same year and have three children, two in Philadelphia and one in Chicago. We travel whenever we can, with Western Europe getting the most return visits and Italy accounting for more of those trips than anywhere else. Away from work, I spend time on the golf course with friends, at the beach with my wife, and tending to our yard with a level of attention my family considers excessive. I share season tickets to the Patriots and Bruins with friends and get to Notre Dame for at least one football game each fall. I also volunteer weekly with our local Meals on Wheels program, delivering meals to seniors in the Franklin area, and serve on the board of a local Chamber of Commerce.

• MBA in Finance, Babson College
• B.S. in Business, University of Notre Dame
• Investment Advisor Representative (IAR)
• Licensed Insurance Agent: MA, NC, VA, FL