A Glen Ellyn Financial Advisor You Can Meet Face to Face
Glen Ellyn is the kind of place where people still know their neighbors. Your retirement planning should feel just as personal. Investment, tax, and income planning under one roof — from an advisor who’ll sit down with you, in person.
A complimentary, no-obligation conversation. You’ll leave with clarity either way.
An advisor who’s part of the community, not a call center
Glen Ellyn has long been called the “Village of Volunteers” — a place that runs on people showing up for each other. We think money advice should work the same way. While much of the industry pushes you toward an app or a distant 800-number, we stay local on purpose, so we can meet you at our office or your kitchen table and be a real, reachable person.
The advisor next door
A real local advisor who wants to meet face to face — not a call center, not a big bank, not an app. The relationship is the point.
Investments and taxes, together
Investment management, tax planning, and estate and legacy planning under one roof — so the strategy and the tax return actually match.
Retirement is the whole focus
We work with people near or in retirement, navigating the shift from saving your money to living off it. That’s a different skill, and it’s all we do.
Everything your retirement plan actually needs
Retirement income
The real question isn’t just “am I invested right” — it’s “what can we actually spend?” We build the plan that answers it.
Social Security timing
When you claim can be worth tens of thousands over a lifetime. We map the timing to your whole picture, not a rule of thumb.
Tax planning & filing
Roth conversions, withdrawal sequencing, and giving — planned, and filed, to lower your lifetime tax bill, not just this April’s.
Investment management
Our Two-Bucket approach keeps safe dollars ready for income while the rest stays invested for growth.
Estate & legacy
Pass on what you’ve built tax-efficiently and with clear documentation — to family or the causes you care about.
Healthcare & Medicare
Make sense of Medicare and long-term-care options so a health surprise doesn’t become a financial one.
Most advisors stop at the pie chart. Here’s the half they leave out.
See the better questionIf this sounds like you, we should talk
“If your current advisor hands you a portfolio once a year but has never shown you a Social Security strategy, a withdrawal plan, or a Roth conversion roadmap — that’s exactly the gap we fill.”
Meet the team
David Fortosis, CFP®
Owner & Lead Advisor
Charles Freeman, CFA, EA
Chief Investment Officer
Tracy Furman
Tax Director
Jeff Goodman
Retirement Income Specialist
Questions we hear from Glen Ellyn families
Why does working with a local financial advisor matter? +
Because the biggest retirement decisions are personal, and personal decisions are easier to get right across a table than over a call-center line. A local advisor learns your actual life — your house, your family, your worries — and is there in person when markets get scary or a big decision lands. In an era when most firms are pushing you toward an app or an 800-number, we think your money deserves a real relationship.
Why do you focus on serving clients locally instead of going virtual? +
Because trust is built face to face, and retirement planning is a multi-decade relationship — not a transaction. We deliberately stay local so we can meet at our office or your kitchen table, know our clients as neighbors, and be genuinely reachable. Plenty of firms are racing to be virtual; we’d rather be the advisor you can actually sit down with.
Why specialize in retirement planning? +
Because the shift from saving for retirement to living off your money is the hardest, highest-stakes financial transition most people face — and it’s a different skill than growing a 401(k). We focus on the 50–75 household preparing for or living in retirement, so the questions you’re asking are the ones we answer all day: when to claim Social Security, how much you can safely spend, and how to draw income tax-efficiently.
Why do you integrate taxes into financial planning? +
Because taxes are one of the biggest controllable costs in retirement, and an investment plan that ignores them leaves real money on the table. We plan, prepare, and file taxes so the strategy and the tax return actually match — Roth conversions, withdrawal sequencing, and charitable giving timed to lower your lifetime tax bill, not just this year’s. Most advisors give loose tax “advice” and stay hands-off; we don’t.
Why won’t my current advisor give me an actual retirement strategy? +
It’s the most common frustration we hear: your advisor hands you an allocation once a year but has never shown you a Social Security claiming strategy, an income-withdrawal plan, a Roth conversion roadmap, or a tax plan. Often it’s because they’re built to manage investments, not to do comprehensive retirement planning — it may be outside their training or their firm’s model. A real retirement plan answers “what do I actually do, and when?” — and that’s the whole job here.
Are you a fiduciary? +
Yes — Heritage Wealth is a fee-based fiduciary registered investment adviser, which means we’re obligated to act in your best interest. No commissions for pushing products, no hidden incentives.
How is your fee structure different? +
We bill only on the first $2M we manage — above that, you’re not charged more. Most plans don’t get materially more complex past that point, so we don’t think it’s fair to keep charging more just because you’ve saved more.
Do you have an office near Glen Ellyn? +
We’re based minutes away on Shuman Boulevard in Naperville and meet Glen Ellyn clients in person all the time — at our office or your kitchen table. Being close enough to sit down together is the entire point.
Does Illinois tax my retirement income if I retire in Glen Ellyn? +
No — Illinois fully exempts Social Security, pensions, and 401(k)/IRA withdrawals from its 4.95% state income tax. The trade-offs worth planning around are high DuPage County property taxes and an Illinois estate tax that begins far below the federal exemption — two things most advisors never mention.
We’re active in the community and give to local causes — can you help with charitable strategy? +
Yes, and it’s one of our favorite conversations. There are tax-smart ways to give — qualified charitable distributions from an IRA, donor-advised funds, gifting appreciated assets — that let you support the causes you care about while lowering your tax bill. We help you give more effectively, not just more.
Do you only work with people in Glen Ellyn? +
No — we serve clients across Glen Ellyn and the surrounding DuPage and Kane County suburbs, in person at our office or your home. Glen Ellyn is one of the communities we know and serve regularly.
Let’s grab 20 minutes
No pitch, no obligation. We’ll talk through where you stand and what a real plan would look like — and you’ll leave with clarity whether or not we work together.