2501 West Beltline Highway
Madison, WI
53713
608-270-2928
Dean’s role as Director of Estate Planning reflects the importance that Wipfli Financial places on comprehensive estate planning for our clients. Dean’s unique background as a former practicing attorney for nearly two decades allows him to bring a multidisciplinary approach to helping fulfill our clients’ needs.
Dean’s passion is solving complex financial planning challenges for business owners and high-net-worth individuals. “As an advisor, my ultimate goal is to have my clients be free of financial concerns to the extent reasonably possible. To accomplish this, we place primary importance on continual education on a variety of topics and use planning tools that provide clients with a clearer vision of their financial future.”
As an attorney, Dean assisted clients with both basic and advanced estate planning and represented businesses with formation and succession planning, giving him unique insight into how business ownership, tax issues and estate planning affect a client’s financial future. Dean’s passion for helping business owners and high-net-worth individuals led him to a natural career transition into private wealth management and financial planning. With his specialty in succession planning, Dean currently works with many business owners who are considering retirement or transitioning ownership to children or others. Dean prides himself on knowing his specialized experience in wealth management and planning puts his clients in good hands and provides them with peace of mind and a clearer vision for their financial future.
As a financial advisor who acts as a fiduciary, Dean also strives to make sure his clients have the knowledge they need to make informed investment decisions. He knows that investment management is not rocket science, but there is a real science behind portfolio construction and asset allocation that helps build diversified portfolios. Dean’s focus on education guides his clients away from the traditional Wall Street approach of chasing hot sectors or buying the latest trend and instead focuses on what clients can control, such as costs, taxes and portfolio allocation. “All of the academic evidence points to a diversified approach as a key to long-term investment success,” Dean says. “I work with clients to create a portfolio that meets their needs and goals, while ensuring all decisions are made with their best interests in mind.”
Outside of work, Dean is a proud member of the Madison Downtown Rotary, Coaches v. Cancer Board of Ambassadors, Mt. Horeb Basketball Club and Village of Mt. Horeb Public Works Committee. He also enjoys reading history, working with youth as a basketball coach and traveling with his wife and children.
Dean has also been regularly featured in IB Madison’s Open Mic blog:
Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Wisconsin Law School
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Political Science, from Marquette University
2020: A year in review
Dec 10, 2020
Does the stock market care who wins the presidency?
Oct 12, 2020
How to handle market fluctuations
Feb 24, 2020
Ignore Wall Street predictions and embrace the uncertainty
May 11, 2020
Information overload
Aug 18, 2021
Answering our clients’ most common questions about the pandemic, stock market, negative news and more
Jul 15, 2020
The role of bonds in a low-interest environment
May 10, 2021
The things we know we don’t know
Oct 18, 2021
The unfortunate “gamification” of investing
Mar 09, 2021
10 portfolio strategies to help save on your income tax bill
Jul 29, 2019
3 reasons high-net-worth families should review estate tax planning now
Oct 14, 2020
Don’t overlook these three critical transition-planning issues
Aug 05, 2020
5 Succession Planning Questions Every Family Business Owner Must Consider
Sep 14, 2017
What’s the Difference Between Traditional IRA vs Roth IRA?
Jun 25, 2019
Do You Really Need This Popular Annuity Product?
Jun 07, 2019
Estate planning steps for each stage of your life
Aug 21, 2020
How to handle market fluctuations due to COVID-19
Mar 20, 2020
Ignore Wall Street predictions and embrace the uncertainty
May 11, 2020
Information overload
Aug 17, 2021
Answering our clients’ most common questions about the pandemic, stock market, negative news and more
Jul 15, 2020
Transferring Assets at Death: Wills and Probate
Oct 18, 2017
Transferring Assets at Death: Revocable Living Trusts
Nov 02, 2017
When Should Business Owners Start Succession Planning?
Mar 21, 2018
[Webinar + Q&A] Financial markets and COVID-19
Mar 19, 2020