Hi, my name is Ron Peremel. I’m the founder of Myfinancialadvice.com, a social enterprise with a mission of connecting everyday people with trustworthy financial advisors to improve their financial lives by getting access to unbiased, affordable financial advice. I spent most of my career focused on this mission, starting at 23 as one of the youngest stockbrokers ever to be employed by Dean Witter. I quickly realized that the “full service” stockbroker was primarily a sales person focused on generating the next big commission from the next big client by selling financial products that were pushed by large financial institutions.

The reason I was able to start in this industry at such a young age was because I worked for my father’s “hybrid” discount brokerage firm in college and was able get sponsored to obtain my broker’s license and legally practice  under state and federal securities regulations. Fortunately, my father (who just celebrated his 50^th year as a financial advisor) taught me how to be an ethical advisor. In other words, focus on the needs and lives of your clients when advising them before your own financial needs. Today they call that a “fiduciary advisor,” which is an important element of financial reform that was passed by Congress in 2010 (Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act).

My father’s business was considered a hybrid brokerage because we focused on providing financial advice and a virtual supermarket of financial services at discount prices. This did not exist when he founded his company in 1974 and is still hard to find in this industry, despite the millions of Americans who want and need these services. I worked for the family business for seven years as financial advisor and VP of Marketing and Technology, where I gained a passion for helping people make better financial decisions and figuring out how to get the advice and services they need at the lowest possible price. I was so fascinated with the power of the Internet back in 1996 in terms of how it could change the way financial services and advice could be delivered that I left my family’s business to pursue a career at several Internet and online marketing companies, including Excite@Home, SmartPoint and Wall Street On Demand, managing new product innovation and clients such as Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Bank One, Intuit and Prudential Bache.

As I further immersed myself in the Internet and the needs of everyday people who had the same basic financial planning and advice needs of wealthy people, it dawned on me that the technology now existed to enable high quality advisors and middle income consumers to do business together online at a much lower cost. I knew that there were tens of thousands of financial advisors who were in this business to help people, but could not make a living doing so without focusing exclusively on the affluent.

That’s when I decided to leave my job and start Myfinancialadvice. For ten years now, my business partner, Kevin Condon, and I have remained dedicated to our mission of bringing ethical, low cost financial advice to underserved Americans who wish to improve their financial health. This blog is an extension of that work. We designed it to advocate expert advice and advisors to all who need them, whether you find one at Myfinancialadvice.com or through your local community. We don’t give advice ourselves, but we are here to help you learn about and to find advisors you can trust and to educate you to avoid those who may pose a danger to your family’s financial health, as well as those who won’t talk to you unless you have at least a quarter of a million dollars to invest. We believe financial advice should be available to all. Done right this can change lives and our economy for the better and change an industry that needs a fresh approach.

I have a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Ithaca College. I’m married to an incredible woman who is trying to save the world through the public mental health industry. We have two amazing young children. My creative passion is photography. I’m an avid snow skier, mountain biker, beginner surfer and I love live music, especially blues and classic rock.