Vision: Lighthouses serve as beacons of strength, safety and hope. Lighthouses mark dangerous courses to be avoided and offer safe entries to the harbors of our dreams. They operate from a solid base, offering long-term, objective and valuable services through good and bad times to those from all walks-of-life who heed their messages. LFP is committed to using its energy, education and experience to leave the world and those we interact with, both personally and professionally, better off. LFP believes that through financial planning we can help our clients make the financial decisions that will best help them realize their dreams and goals.
Approach: While LFP offers its clients professional, objective investment advice and ongoing asset management, the term "Financial Planning" in our firm's name conveys the context in which we prefer to offer all of our services, including asset management. Financial planning includes identifying goals, such as a new home or business, saving for college and retirement, and transferring wealth before or after your death. It includes planning for the expected and unexpected such as taxes, unforeseen liabilities, and incapacity. As Yogi Berra is reported to have said, "you've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going or you might not get there". At LFP we believe that you have to know where you are going and to address saving, investments and other financial decisions in the context of your goals, your tolerance for risk and your overall financial situation.
Investment philosophy: Our investment approach is grounded in accepted academic and other research that has evaluated investment approaches and returns for over 50 years. The time-tested investment principles we follow emphasize asset allocation (among domestic and foreign stocks, bonds, cash and other asset classes) that matches your goals and tolerance for risk, broad diversification of investments within these asset classes, and low fees. LFP does not attempt to time the market or try to predict the future. We are not short term traders. We believe that sound, prudent, disciplined, long-term investment guided by a financial plan provides our clients with the best chance of realizing their goals.
We also want to protect your assets and reduce the inevitable swings in the value of your investments. Yet, history shows that there is always the risk of loss, especially over shorter periods of time. Thus, we tailor investments to match the time frames of your goals and give you an appropriate level of risk-adjusted returns.
About us: Lighthouse Financial Planning, LLC (LFP) started business in April 2003. LFP is a Registered Investment Advisor in the States of Maryland and Virginia. We operate as a fee-only financial planning and investment management firm serving all of our clients in a fiduciary capacity. LFP sells no products, so we receive no commissions for recommending particular investments, insurance or other products. A fiduciary standard means that we are putting your interests first, without any influence from outside interests.
LFP is headquartered in Potomac, Maryland and services the entire Washington DC Metropolitan Area. LFP is a small firm that offers personal service. If we have time, we can answer your calls and address your questions.
LFP uses Schwab as its broker-dealer for securities transactions, and custody of most client funds. Dimensional Fund Advisors is a frequent choice for mutual fund Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s) investments.
➤ LOCATION
1515 Allview Drive
(Near Falls Road & Interstate 270)
Potomac, MD 20854
☎ CONTACT
BKorb@LightHouseFP.com
Phone: 301.996.7044
Fax : 301.424.7044
Barry Korb, LFP's Principal
Barry R. Korb, CFP®, President and Chief Planner and Asset Manager of Lighthouse Financial Planning, LLC (LFP) earned a BS in Mathematics from the University of Maryland, an MS in Physics from Rutgers (NASA Fellowship), and then completed additional graduate course work in Economics, Statistics and Operations Research at George Washington University. Mr. Korb started his career as a consultant to the Navy and NASA and is the co-inventer of a "Computational Aid Device for Ekelund Ranging" (US Patent # 4327500). Mr. Korb then worked as a full-time Senior Program Advisor at the US Environmental Protection Agency, with a strong focus on bringing the market to the environment. He was involved in the development of the first emissions trading program, the acid rain emission credit program, managed a grant examining the relationship between companies' environmental and equity market performance, and as an IPA with the State of Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development focused on helping Maryland's environmental industry, including consulting with selected business owners.
Picking up on a long-time interest in personal financial planning, Mr. Korb worked part time at a Bethesda, Maryland-based fee-only financial planning firm where he performed such tasks as introducing Monte Carlo techniques, drafting an enhanced Investment Policy Statement template, revising investment education material for clients and exploring integrating office systems.
Mr. Korb earned a Certificate in Financial Planning from Florida Institute of Technology in March, 2000, and received his Certified Financial Planner® designation in July, 2000. He started his own financial planning business, Lighthouse Financial Planning, in 2003. He has earned numerous continuing education credits (CEUs) in the financial planning field since that time. Mr. Korb is a registered Investment Advisor Representative, and a licensed Life and Health Insurance Advisor in the State of Maryland.
Mr. Korb is an associate member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and the Financial Planning Association (FPA). He is a Past-President of the NAPFA Metropolitan DC Study Group. He has volunteered for Kiplinger-NAPFA financial planning call-in days and regularly participates in professional conferences and training programs sponsored by NAPFA, FPA, and other organizations.
Mr. Korb has been quoted numerous times in the popular and trade press. He was quoted on "Options for Savers Seeking Better Rates" in The New York Times, July 2012, on "Caveats for helping children buy a house" in Washington Post, September 2011, on "Changes Chalked up for 403(b)s" in Consumer Reports Money Advisor, March 2008; on Long-Term Care Insurance in the Ladies Home Journal, May 2007; on Alternative Minimum Tax Policy in Investment News, April 2, 2007; on taking full advantage of tax saving opportunities with 401(k) plans, traditional and Roth IRAs in Fidelity Investor's Weekly, Personal Finance Newsletter, July 4, 2005.
Mr. Korb is married with two married children and six grandchildren.