John Paul Martin, CFP®
Financial Advisor
John Paul has over 12 years of industry experience. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2003 from the University of Georgia. Before becoming a financial advisor, he spent two years working in Washington, DC as a legislative assistant for a US congressman. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his wife, Leah, and his daughter, Ava Jane.
In July of 2019, John Paul joined Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. and partnered with Grillo & Associates. The partnership included John Grillo, Certified Financial PlannerTM, and Joel Shirey, Financial Advisor and Pamela Robinson, Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional. This relationship provides clients access to a unique combination of knowledge-sets and experience. Martin Private Wealth Group and Grillo & Associates are dedicated to providing clients with the highest quality advice and superior service.
Why Independence?
As an independent financial services firm we are free to do business the way we choose. Whether you are planning for retirement or simply need help determining where to invest your money, we help you develop a proper financial plan to support your financial goals.
Why is private control and independence important?
You may be familiar with firms that are subsidiaries of commercial and investment banks, or investment companies. An independent, privately controlled firm is different because they generally do not underwrite securities, create research, or engage in investment banking. They allow financial advisors to offer non-proprietary products, such as mutual funds or life insurance, from a wide variety of companies.
The CFP® Difference
John Paul is a Certified Financial Planner® professional. This means that he has met the CFP Board’s rigorous and time-intensive education and certification requirements. CFP® professionals are held to the highest ethical standards.
John Paul provides independent, objective financial planning to address your family’s complex financial goals. Whether you need help budgeting and managing debt, investing for college and retirement, or addressing your insurance needs – everything we do starts with a plan.
We follow the six-step CFP® certification planning process:
1. Agree on how to work together
First, we outline the services we provide and define our responsibilities as advisors and yours as the client. We then discuss compensation and the intended duration of our work together.
2. Gather information about your finances and set goals
During this phase, we talk about your current financial picture and gather supporting documents. We discuss any specific goals you are hoping to achieve, as well as your risk tolerance.
3. Analyze and strategize
We take a closer look and work to gain a deep understanding of your current financial outlook and goals in order to develop recommendations on how best to move forward.
4. Develop recommendations
We discuss our recommendations with you so that you can make informed decisions. We address any concerns or questions you have.
5. Put plan into motion
We work to create a plan for how the recommendations will be carried out. We can implement recommendations for you, serve as your coach, or coordinate with you and other professionals, such as an attorney or accountant.
6. Monitor progress and stay on track
As you work toward your goals, life changes may occur that require an adjustment to the plan. Regular review of your progress helps to ensure that you are on track.
Check the background of investment professionals on FINRA’s BrokerCheck
Our Broker-Dealer
Cambridge is focused on the financial professional with an independent mindset and dedication to best servicing the needs of their investing clients.
We choose to work with Cambridge because they allow us to provide investment advice and holistic financial and retirement planning guidance without expectations to sell proprietary products.
About Cambridge
Honored to be among the most respected firms in the industry, Cambridge is a 12-time honoree in the Broker-Dealer of the Year annual poll by Investment Advisor magazine1 and has earned an overall average of 9 out of 10 from our advisors based on Cambridge’s Advisor Satisfaction Survey over the last 20 years.
Ranked among the top 10 independent broker-dealers by revenue,2 Cambridge remains strong and growing – in part due to our conservative financial strategies and the disciplined efforts of financial professionals in their independent businesses. In addition, Cambridge believes their long-term success is also due to the appeal of moderate business practices and traditional values.
In keeping with Cambridge’s longstanding focus on flexibility and choice, their financial solutions are designed to give independent financial professionals the ability to serve their clients according to their unique business model, while using multiple management styles based on the preferences of their investing clients. To best support independent financial professionals and their clients, Cambridge continues to support both fee-based and commission options, giving investing clients the freedom of choice in how they interact with their financial professional.
For more information, visit joincambridge.com.
1Investment Advisor magazine, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2010, 2008, 2007, Division IV; 2003, Division III. Cambridge received the highest marks from its advisors in the Investment Advisor Broker-Dealer of the Year 2019 Division IV category. A broker-dealer becomes eligible for this honor only after a minimum of 10 percent of its producing advisors cast valid ballots. These ballots also rate the broker-dealer in 15 different categories defined by Investment Advisor as relevant challenges and concerns by advisors. The broker-dealers receiving the highest marks in each of four divisions are declared Broker-Dealer of the Year by Investment Advisor magazine. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of participating advisors surveyed in June of the 12 years listed. Your experience may vary. Visit thinkadvisor.com.
2Financial Planning magazine, June, 2012-2019