On Wednesday, November 18, Governor Cuomo announced that parts of Western New York will move to an ORANGE zone due to rising coronavirus cases in the region. Although we will continue to offer in-person meetings, we are anticipating that the region will move to RED in the coming days or weeks. If the region moves to RED, we will no longer offer in-person meetings in our Amherst or Hamburg offices. In anticipation of this change, we highly recommend you schedule Zoom or phone meetings with your advisor, instead of traditional office visits. Clients can use the same tools they have used during the pandemic to schedule these meetings (client portal, calendar links from advisors, calling our office to schedule). To protect the health and safety of all visitors to our offices, we continue to follow our Covid-19 protocols for in-person meetings. All visitors and employees are required to wear a...

PRESS RELEASE Amherst, NY: Level Financial Advisors has hired Desiree Weppner as a Client Services Specialist at the fee-only investment management and financial planning firm. She will assist the firm’s operations department with various administrative activities including working with clients on daily requests, deepening client relationships, and assisting the company’s financial advisors with meetings and paperwork. She will also assist the company with special projects related to finance and human resources. Ms. Weppner graduated from Gannon University, achieving a Bachelor of Science in Mental Health Counseling; she later received her Masters of Science in Elementary Education from Edinboro University. Prior to joining Level, Ms. Weppner worked as a School Counselor at St. Gregory the Great Catholic School for the past twelve years. She serves on the board of the Character Council of Western New York as its Vice President and is also the Co-Director of the Champions for CHANGE Youth Leadership Conference. She resides with...

Election years can be fraught with uncertainty as developments surrounding the candidates, their platforms, and their predicted effects on the economy and markets dominate the news. But should you let this stream of political information influence how you and I manage your investment portfolio? A lengthy history of empirical research suggests not. Elections matter, just not in all the ways you might think to an investor. Of course, they hold great importance in upholding the U.S. tradition of democratic, representative government. However, their impact on market returns has historically proven to be negligible, as shown in the chart below. Given the horse race nature of political campaigns, you may think that in the months closest to an election, there is a noticeable uptick in volatility. Think again. In actuality, the opposite has been true. From January 1, 1964, to December 31, 2019, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s annualized volatility was 13.8% in...

PRESS RELEASE Amherst, NY: Financial Advisor Magazine’s annual ranking of large independent investment advisors listed Amherst-based Level Financial Advisors 475th out of 683 firms nationally, according to the publication’s August edition. Querying thousands of firms throughout the U.S., Level posted 22% growth in 2019, raising their managed assets to $425 million. Since the end of the year, the company has continued to grow, posting $432 million in managed assets and recovering from the drastic dip in markets experienced at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. "It's been a challenging 2020 and we've had to adapt quickly to a changing workplace and a stressed global economy," said the firm's Chief Operating Officer and Partner, Michael Heburn. "Over the years, our dedicated employees have risen to the occasion to keep our growth streak going.  It's inspirational and a real tribute to our team!" The results mark the third straight year of double digit growth for the locally-owned...

PRESS RELEASE Amherst, NY: Level Financial Advisors has hired James Smith as a Financial Planning Associate at the fee-only investment management and financial planning firm. Mr. Smith graduated from the Utah State University in June, achieving a Bachelor of Arts in both Finance and Management Information Systems. He will assist in client meetings, preparing financial plans and researching strategies to help clients save money, reduce taxes, and improve their financial lives. He will also contribute to the firm’s financial planning and investment committees and work on special projects while preparing for his CFP® certification exam later this year. Prior to joining Level, Mr. Smith worked as a para-planner for Family First Financial Planning in Florida.   He is an Eagle Scout and recently completed a two-year missionary service trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mr. Smith is a member of the Financial Planning Association of Western New York and also serves in the Church of Latter-Day Saints....

Once again this year, Level Financial Advisors has been named a finalist in Buffalo Business First's Best Places To Work in WNY!  This year's virtual award ceremony is being held on August 13th....