BFG begins by understanding your goals, concerns, timeframes, and current situation before making recommendations. Each step is designed to create clarity without pressure.
Before the first meeting, BFG asks clients to complete a brief, confidential intake form. It gives you a place to organize your thoughts and gives the conversation useful structure—your goals, concerns, timeframes, and a high-level view of your current situation. Online submission is not currently configured on this website, so please call or email the BFG team to begin.
The intake form is not an application, and completing it does not create an obligation. You do not need to have every answer or gather every financial document before contacting BFG. The purpose is simply to help us begin with a better understanding of what matters to you.
After we receive your intake form, the first meeting gives us both a chance to get to know each other. We will discuss what brought you to BFG, the goals and concerns you identified, and the questions you want answered. The objective is to determine whether working together makes sense for both sides.
No recommendations are made during this meeting. It is a complimentary conversation with no pressure and no obligation—the foundation for everything that may follow.
This meeting is a more detailed fact-finding session. You will typically be given homework at the Initial Consultation—gathering statements, tax returns, budget numbers, and other relevant information. Matt will go through your situation carefully until the issues have been addressed and understood.
This meeting may be spread over more than one session if necessary. No recommendations will be given during this meeting. This meeting dictates risk exposure/tolerance, liquidity needs, time frames, current cost analysis, estate needs, income, and more.
This is where all previous discussions come together in a plan for the future. Matt will go through his recommendations in a very detailed manner, outlining costs, benefits, liquidity, estate preservations, risks, income, and more. Most people comment that this is when Matt puts on his "teaching cap" to help clients understand the "Why" of his recommendations and "How" the accounts are used at different times of life.
It is not uncommon for recommendations to include previous holdings. No one is expected to make a decision at this meeting. A lot of information is covered — it is preferred that all prospective clients take time to review the recommendations and develop questions before implementation.
Congratulations on becoming a BFG client. Matt will work with the BFG Service Team to fill out the appropriate forms and get any accounts established. Transfers will be initiated from our end and tracked daily. Once all accounts are established, a meeting will be scheduled to go through account summaries, statements, and any other correspondence received.
This is just the beginning. There is no end to the planning process. Events affecting you, your family, and your work will create needs for periodic adjustments and continued client service.
As one famous person said, "Life is something that happens to you while you are planning to do something else." We service our clients based on this statement. The more we know what is going in your life — and the more you know what is going on at BFG — the greater the chance we both have of success in this relationship.
Every BFG client receives a proactive service calendar designed to keep the relationship active, informed, and moving forward — not just reactive when markets move.
We invite you to get to know The Bayer Financial Group, LLC. Take this opportunity to be proactive. Let us be your first — or second — opinion.
Listening to your goals, concerns, and situation before any recommendations are made.
A thorough review of your full financial picture — investments, costs, risk, income, and timeline.
A custom plan with clear "why" behind every recommendation — built for your life, not a template.
Executing the plan carefully and transparently, with every step explained along the way.
Ongoing reviews, contacts, and adjustments — because your plan should evolve as your life does.
Starting a financial planning relationship raises practical questions. What do I bring? How long does it take? What if I already work with someone else? We've answered the questions we hear most often — honestly and in plain language.
These answers are general in nature and reflect BFG's typical process. Individual circumstances vary. Nothing below constitutes a guarantee of outcome or a contractual commitment regarding services.
Begin with the brief, confidential intake form. It helps you organize your thoughts and gives the first conversation useful structure—your general goals, timeline, concerns, and a high-level view of your current situation.
You do not need to arrive with every answer or gather every financial document before contacting BFG. The intake form is not an application and creates no obligation. Please do not send Social Security numbers, account numbers, passwords, or other sensitive credentials through the form.
If you have them available and feel comfortable bringing them, the following are useful starting points for the second meeting (Data and Fact-Finding), should you choose to continue:
BFG will walk you through what supporting documents may be useful before the second, fact-finding meeting.
The timeline varies depending on the complexity of your situation and the pace at which you are comfortable moving. BFG's process is intentionally structured across multiple meetings to give clients time to absorb information, develop questions, and make thoughtful decisions — not rushed ones.
As a general reference:
In total, most clients move from initial consultation through implementation in approximately 6–10 weeks. There is no pressure to accelerate that timeline. A financial planning decision of this significance deserves the time it takes to make it correctly.
No. BFG's planning process begins with listening and understanding — not with recommendations to move accounts. The first two meetings involve no recommendations of any kind. We are gathering information and building a picture of your full financial situation.
At the Recommendations meeting, Matt will present a detailed analysis of your situation and explain his recommendations in full — including the reasoning, the costs, the risks, and the alternatives considered. At that point, you may find that some of your existing accounts and holdings are already well-suited to your goals. It is not uncommon for BFG's recommendations to include maintaining previous positions.
You are never expected to make a decision at any single meeting. The entire process is designed to give you time to review recommendations, develop questions, and make an informed choice — without pressure, without urgency, and without any obligation.
Implementation is the beginning of the relationship, not the end of it. BFG's service model is built around a proactive, ongoing calendar — not reactive contact that only happens when markets move or something goes wrong.
Active BFG clients typically receive:
Beyond the scheduled calendar, BFG clients are encouraged to reach out whenever questions arise — between reviews, during market volatility, or when a life event creates a planning need. The goal is a relationship in which you never feel like you are waiting for the next quarterly statement to get an answer.
Life changes are the reason ongoing financial planning exists. A plan built for one set of circumstances needs to evolve when those circumstances change — and BFG is structured to do exactly that.
Common life events that prompt a planning review include:
Clients are encouraged to contact BFG whenever any of these events occurs — not to wait for a scheduled review. The more BFG knows about what is happening in your life, the better positioned we are to help you navigate the financial decisions that follow.
BFG does not take custody of client assets. Client accounts are held at independent, third-party custodians — not at BFG itself. This is a fundamental safeguard that means BFG manages your investments on your behalf but never directly holds your money.
Securities transactions facilitated through Harbour Investments, Inc. are subject to FINRA oversight and SIPC protection. SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation) protects the securities in your brokerage account up to $500,000 (including $250,000 for cash) in the event of a brokerage firm failure. SIPC protection applies to the custody of securities — it does not protect against investment losses due to market fluctuation.
You will receive account statements directly from the custodian holding your assets — not solely from BFG. You are encouraged to review these statements carefully and contact BFG or the custodian with any questions or discrepancies.
The initial consultation is complimentary. No obligation, no jargon — just an honest conversation about where you are and where you want to go.