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Gary is devoted to helping people manage their investments and plan for their retirement.
As president of Personal Money Planning, Gary has counseled hundreds of people toward financial success. In addition to general financial and retirement planning Gary also provides specific investment advice, helping his clients by designing and implementing a balanced investment program. As a fee-only advisor, Gary avoids the conflicts of interest that arise with advisors who are compensated by selling the products they recommend.
Bringing with him an educational and professional background in personal and family financial counseling, Gary holds the prestigious Certified Financial Planner® license. He maintains his expertise by spending hundreds of hours in continuing education each year. Gary has also credit and continuing education courses at local universities and can be regularly seen on television and in print.
Being part of a community is important to Gary. He thinks that it is important to give time to make where you live a better place. Gary actively volunteers in various capacities with many area charities. Currently he serves on the Executive Board of Workforce Resource Board and is on the Board of the Museum of North Texas History. Gary hosts the television show Falls Informer on Time Warner Cable that features stories and personalities of local interest in Wichita Falls.
For those clients who wish to develop their personal finances in a faith-based way, Gary is one of the few Qualified Kingdom Advisors (formerly the Christian Financial Professional Network).
Personal Money Planning’s History
Personal Money Planning officially began in 1993, but the story begins much earlier.
Before entering the financial planning field, Gary Silverman, the founder of Personal Money Planning, was involved in creating and implementing large-company training programs for Texas Utilities. This was his first non-military job after leaving the U.S. Navy in 1982. He began making “real money” and decided he would give his money to a financial planner to invest. Two years later, with half of the money left, Gary figured he could lose the money just as fast himself and maybe have some fun doing it. This began his quest for financial knowledge. He began researching investing and financial planning. It seemed easy at first, but the more he learned, the more he realized how much he didn’t know. So he studied more, and more, and finally, through trial and error, he began making money instead of losing it. People around the lunch table at work began asking for advice.
This led Gary to pursue his MBA with an emphasis in financial planning. Working full time, supporting a family, and going to school took a bit of effort, but it paid off with a degree and the earning of the Certified Financial Planner® designation.
In 1990, Gary decided he would begin a part-time career in financial planning. He began working at Waddell & Reed Financial Services, his first experience working as a professional in the financial services industry. This small investment and insurance group had a good, but limited field of products and services. Meanwhile, his full-time job changed as he became Training Director at Howmet Refurbishment, a position that brought him to Wichita Falls. In the winter of 1993 he left Howmet and took his Financial Planning business full-time. In doing so, Gary left Waddell & Reed in order to have more comprehensive products for his clients. He affiliated with the brokerage firm, Investment Management and Research, and was mentored by his college professor. This gave him an almost unlimited product line and a wealth of experience.
After two years, Gary felt that a fee-only practice would be in the best interest of himself and his clients; so he became the only fee-only practitioner in his geographic area. Currently Gary concentrates on helping individuals, families and small businesses in their investment management and financial planning needs.
