Five financial disciplines, coordinated into one retirement plan.
Richard Casolari, CFP®, offers the full set of services a pre-retiree or retiree needs: retirement income planning, financial advising, investment management, tax-aware planning, and insurance. Each is handled by Richard directly and built into a single plan, not sold as five disconnected products.
Richard Casolari, CFP®, provides retirement income planning, financial planning, investment management, tax-aware planning, and insurance for pre-retirees and retirees across Chicago's south and southwest suburbs, coordinated into one written retirement plan.
Financial services that work together, not against each other
Most people reach their late fifties holding a collection of accounts and policies that were never designed to work together. A 401(k) from one employer. An IRA opened at a bank. An insurance policy bought a decade ago and never reviewed. A Social Security decision left for later. Each was a reasonable choice on its own. The problem is that no one has ever coordinated them into a single plan.
That gap is what coordinated financial services are meant to close. Rather than specializing in one product and leaving the rest to chance, Richard Casolari builds retirement income planning, investment management, tax-aware planning, and insurance into one strategy, sequenced so the pieces support each other. The accumulation years, when you were building the nest egg, and the retirement income years, when you draw from it, are different problems that call for different handling. The services below are organized around that distinction.
Two things stay constant across all five. You work with Richard directly, not a junior advisor or a call center. And on advisory accounts, Richard acts as a fiduciary, obligated to put your interests first. Because some product lines such as insurance pay commissions through licensed affiliates, the practice is fee-based rather than fee-only, and Richard reviews every cost with you before anything is put in place.
Where would you like to start?
Begin with the service closest to your question. Each links to a full page, and every one connects back to the same coordinated plan.
Retirement Income Planning
Turning a lifetime of savings into a tax-aware paycheck designed to last, with the sequence-of-returns risk planned around from the start. The practice's flagship discipline.
Explore retirement income planning → 02Financial Advisor
Comprehensive financial planning and ongoing advice for pre-retirees across the south and southwest suburbs. Financial advisor, planner, and consultant describe the same role here.
See financial planning → 03Investment Management
Custom portfolio construction with a documented buy discipline and a documented sell discipline, built for each client rather than assigned from a preset risk bucket.
See investment management → 04Tax Consultant
Tax-efficient withdrawal sequencing and Roth conversion analysis, coordinated with your CPA so your income plan and your tax exposure are read together.
See tax-aware planning → 05Insurance Broker
Income protection, life insurance, and long-term care strategies, offered through licensed affiliates and integrated with the rest of your retirement plan.
See insurance and protection →Where you are, and where to start
Clients usually arrive at one of a few moments. Here is the service that tends to fit each.
| Your situation | Where to start | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Retiring within the next one to three years | Retirement income planning | Set the income plan before you stop earning, so the first years of withdrawals are protected. |
| A 401(k) rollover after a job change or business sale | Investment management | Decide how the money should be invested and drawn down, not just where it lands. |
| An inheritance or the loss of a spouse | Financial planning | Re-coordinate the whole picture when the situation has changed materially. |
| Just turned 59½ and want a plan before distributions begin | Tax-aware planning | Sequence withdrawals and consider Roth conversions while there is still room to plan. |
| Concerned a current advisor is one-dimensional or product-pushing | Financial planning | Start with a coordinated review rather than another single product. |
This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Consult your CPA or attorney about your individual situation.
What coordination actually buys you
Five services under one roof only matters if they are run as one plan. Three things make that real.
Coordination, not specialization
Investments, income, taxes, and insurance are planned together. A change in one is read against the others rather than handled in isolation.
Founder access for every client
You reach Richard directly. After fifty years in the business, he architects every plan himself rather than handing it to a junior advisor.
Transparent, fee-based pricing
Advisory accounts use a single tiered schedule that decreases as assets grow, and every cost is reviewed with you before anything is implemented.
Fees, charges and expenses are detailed in the Cetera Wealth Services LLC's ADV Part 2A.
Questions about working with Richard
Do I need all five services to work with Richard?
No. Many clients start with one area, often retirement income planning or a 401(k) rollover decision, and add others over time. Because the services are coordinated, anything you add later fits the plan you already have rather than working against it.
How are the five services coordinated into one plan?
Richard gathers your full financial picture first, every account, policy, and income source, then builds a single written plan that sequences investments, income, taxes, and insurance together. You work with Richard directly throughout, not a rotating team or a call center.
Is Richard a fiduciary?
On advisory accounts, yes. As a Series 65 adviser on Cetera's registered investment adviser platform, Richard acts in a fiduciary capacity, meaning he is obligated to put your interests first. Some product lines such as insurance are commission based, which is why the practice is described as fee-based rather than fee-only.
How are your fees structured?
Advisory accounts are billed on a single tiered, scaling schedule that decreases as assets grow. Insurance and annuity products, offered through licensed affiliates, may pay a commission. Richard reviews all costs with you before anything is implemented. Fees, charges and expenses are detailed in the Cetera Wealth Services LLC's ADV Part 2A.
Do you only work with clients in the Chicago area?
Most clients live within about a 40-minute drive of the Palos Heights office, across Chicago's south and southwest suburbs. Richard is licensed in 24 states for clients who relocate or are referred by family, and meetings happen in person, by phone, or by video.
What happens to my plan if something happens to Richard?
The practice is built for continuity. Richard works with a long-tenured team and a designated successor, and client assets are custodied at Pershing rather than at the firm, so they remain accessible regardless of what happens to any single advisor.
Not sure which service you need?
Start with a conversation. A Retirement Readiness Review is a direct talk with Richard about where you stand and what comes next.
Schedule a Retirement Readiness Review