Who We Are   Why We Are Different   Our Clients

Who We Are

Gerry O’Donoghue is a CPA in the State of New York and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional with over fifteen years of experience in the Public Accounting and Financial Planning Industries.

Gerry received his Master’s in Taxation from Fordham University, where he also earned his undergraduate degree in accounting. After college, Gerry became a staff accountant with a CPA firm that specialized in providing accounting and tax services to individuals and small businesses, and later was a senior associate in the international tax and personal financial planning practices of a worldwide accounting firm.

Most recently, Gerry was a client service manager with a firm specializing in tax and financial planning for high net worth individuals and closely-held business clients. He was a supervisor for the firm’s tax compliance and retirement plan services practices and provided investment, estate, tax, and insurance planning to his clients.

Gerry enjoyed helping his clients and the challenge of his work, but he believed that everyone, regardless of income level or net worth, needs and can benefit from independent, objective financial planning, at least periodically, to strive toward their cherished life goals.

With this mission driving him, Gerry created O’Donoghue Financial Planning, LLC to focus on providing quality independent financial and investment planning to individuals and families, and is proud to offer his services on an hourly, as-needed basis to people from all walks of life. We also provide expert tax advice and preparation services to individuals, businesses, trusts, and estates.

While born in the U.S., Gerry was raised in Ireland before his family moved back to the U.S. during his teenage years. He now lives in Somers, NY with his family, and enjoys coaching soccer to his three energetic children and playing golf - when he can.

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We Do Not Sell Financial Products
Your financial plan will be based on objective financial advice. We believe the best way to remain objective is to offer our services on an hourly or per project fee-only basis. "Fee-only" means that we do not accept commissions or sell any investment or insurance products. This frees us to offer the best advice for your unique situation, without regard for someone else's agenda. Gerry's background as a CPA has instilled the concept of establishing and maintaining a fiduciary responsibility in all client relationships. Less than 1% of financial planners adhere to this hourly-as-needed, fee-only relationship with their clients.

We Require No Minimums
We do not require that you have a minimum income or account size, nor do we charge a minimum fee amount. Our fees are fair and affordable since they are based on the time and the effort needed to complete the work for you, not on the value of your investments. We also do not require you to commit to a long-term agreement.

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This type of hourly, as-needed financial planning is a good fit for "do-it-yourselfers" ... competent, self-directed people who periodically need or want a second opinion or validation of their current plans and/or investment portfolio. They prefer, however, to manage some or all of the implementation on their own and typically do not want to delegate the ongoing management of their financial affairs to an advisor. It is also well suited to those who hold most of their investment assets in company-sponsored 401(k) or 403(b) plans. These clients can often be young people just starting to build their financial future – or they can be more established families with substantial means.

Having grown up in an entrepreneurial family and establishing his own business, Gerry understands the challenges business owners face in planning for the financial well-being of their families and their businesses. We couple this background with extensive accounting and tax experience to help small-business owners address these often competing goals.

Affiliations
Gerry is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). As a member of The Garrett Planning Network, Inc., he is also part of a growing international affiliation of like-minded fee-only advisors dedicated to providing their services without commissions or minimums of any kind, in the increments you need, at the times you want.

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CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ are certification marks owned by the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Board of Standards, Inc. These marks are awarded to individuals who successfully complete the CFP® Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.

COMPLIANCE DISCLOSURE:

All written content on this site is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of the owners and principals of O’Donoghue Financial Planning, LLC. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and we make no representations as to its accuracy or completeness. All information and ideas should be discussed in detail with your individual advisor prior to implementation.

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