CAPS Financial Group

Flanagan State Bank, through its relationship with CAPS Financial Group, offers you services that will allow you to make the most of your money. CAPS services are provided on a fee-only basis. Fee-only means there are no commissions or sales charges and, therefore, none of the conflicts of interest that are prevalent throughout the financial services industry. You should be paying an adviser to do what is best for you, not what is best for the adviser or the company they work for. There are never any commissions or sales charges; CAPS does not use loaded mutual funds that pay 12b-1 fees or hidden incentives.

CAPS Offers Three Services

  • Investment Management
  • Financial Planning
  • Business Retirement Plans

Personal Investment Management

CAPS will manage your portfolio for you (minimum $100,000), so you don’t have to worry about making investment decisions. Many people find that they are too busy or they lack the training and experience to effectively handle their investments. CAPS builds and manages one or more portfolios specifically designed to meet your goals and your tolerance for risk. These portfolios primarily utilize exchange traded funds (ETFs). Contact a branch or Matthew to set up a free consultation to determine if CAPS’ services fit your needs.

Account Examples:

  • IRAs
  • Rollover IRAs
  • 529 College Savings
  • Open Accounts
  • Trust Accounts

Financial Planning

Need to get organized and on track? Worried about reaching key life goals? A financial plan is the best way to get objective advice on how to reach your goals. It is important to get advice in this area from someone who isn’t trying to sell you something.

Business Retirement Plans

CAPS’ president, Matthew Schwerin, was responsible for a $900 million retirement plan for a Fortune 300 corporation. Matthew knows how to set up a plan that will help you and your employees have a more secure future. A CAPS-designed retirement plan (401(K), profit sharing, SEP-IRA, KEOGH, IRA, etc.) will likely cost less and have more investment options that make sense.

Many business owners don’t know what they are paying for their 401(K) plan. Many companies today are facing increased scrutiny from governmental agencies due to inattention by business owners and abuses by retirement plan service providers. CAPS works with third party administrators that provide the features employees want in managing their retirement funds.

Account Examples:

  • 401(K)
  • Profit Sharing
  • 403(b)
  • SEP IRAs
  • Simple IRAs

Fee-only vs. Commission-based

Fee-only advisers do not collect any commissions from the products they use. The only form of compensation a fee-only adviser collects is from fully disclosed client fees. This type of service allows the adviser to use the investment vehicle that best fits a client’s needs, not what pays a hefty commission.

Commission-based advisers collect money from the companies whose products they sell. This is why you can never tell how much you are paying this type of adviser. It’s usually a big secret. This produces a conflict of interest, and it promotes a transaction-oriented approach. The client’s goal and the adviser’s goal are in direct conflict.

Experience and Credentials

Matthew Schwerin is a CFA charterholder. There are a number of reputable credentials for financial professionals, but none is as rigorously focused on investment knowledge as the CFA designation. For more information, visit www.cfainstitute.org.

Matthew was responsible for overseeing investment managers for a $900 million retirement plan. In that role, he had access to the best and brightest investment managers and consultants in the country. He quickly saw what worked and didn’t work in investment management. He can apply this experience to your situation. He has also worked in corporate finance, evaluating and managing million-dollar projects and budgets. Prior to that, he worked in the mutual fund industry for a private investment firm.

Matthew received his B.S. degree in Finance and Economics from Elmhurst College in 1987 and his Master of Business Administration from Illinois State University in 1996. He worked for a mutual fund company and two Fortune 500 corporations before founding CAPS Financial Group in 2005.

Matthew works under the Registered Investment Advisor firm North Star Investment Management. For more information on Matthew and North Star, visit www.nsinvest.com.

CAPS President, Matthew Schwerin

E-mail: mschwerin@nsinvest.com

Bloomington: (309) 661-6333

Glen Ellyn: (630) 247-0033

Matthew Schwerin has 21 years of investment and corporate finance experience. Matthew grew up in Flanagan, Illinois, and graduated from Elmhurst College with a double major in Finance and Economics. After spending time with an investment firm from New York and as a financial analyst with EDS in Dallas, Texas, he joined GROWMARK, Inc. in 1994 in Bloomington, Illinois as a financial analyst. He earned his Master of Business Administration in 1996 from Illinois State University.

In 1996, Matthew joined W.W. Grainger, Inc. in Lake Forest, Illinois. In his 9 years with Grainger, he supervised investments for Grainger’s $900 million retirement plan as well as holding Financial Manager and Director of Finance positions. Matthew is also a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Society of Chicago (for more information, visit www.cfainstitute.org).

Matthew started CAPS Financial Group in 2005 and performs fee-only investment advisory services for individuals and businesses. He serves on the Board of Directors of Flanagan State Bank and Hometown Financial Group, Inc. Matthew is married to Janene, and together they have four children: Colin, Abbey, Morgan, and Ethan. They currently reside in Wheaton, Illinois.

*Investment Advisory Services offered by North Star Investment Management Corporation. North Star Investment Management Corporation is not a bank and is not affiliated with Flanagan State Bank. Investments are not FDIC Insured, contain no bank guarantee, and may lose value.