Five Star Logo
As seen in
Atlanta Five Star award winner
Marketing partner logo

The Repercussions of Losing Our Pension

Selected content image

Hello, I’m Mike Cordak. I’m the founder and owner of Optimum Wealth Management. I’m also a fellow Delta pilot in my 20th year with the company. I created this firm due to the loss our Defined Benefit Pension Plan during the bankruptcy process of 2006. Not a very pleasant time for any of us, to say the least!

I estimated that the average pilot didn’t have the time, skill, or interest in managing their “nest egg”. This left many pilots in a very precarious situation. My goal then, as it is now, was to provide professional, competent, and unbiased Investment Management and Financial Planning services from someone who lived the pilot lifestyle and could totally relate to our unique goals and concerns.

Optimum Wealth Management serves the financial, retirement, and wealth planning & management needs of Delta pilots. We do this starting from when a pilot is first hired all the way through the transition to retirement and beyond.

Our goal is to cultivate authentic life-long relationships with Delta pilots to help them and their families create, grow, and protect wealth. I’m an investment advisor with my firm, Optimum Wealth Management, which is a Registered Investment Adviser as well as an RICP®- Retirement Income Certified Professional®, so I have a legal and ethical duty to put your interests first! In addition, my firm does not offer any commission-based products and I'm a "Fee Only" Investment Advisor.

By combining this business model with our “fact-based” tactical investment management style, we create an environment that naturally allows us to fulfill our mission of bringing our clients financial peace of mind.

This award was issued on 9/1/24 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 11/14/23 through 6/10/24. Fee paid for use of marketing materials. Self-completed questionnaire was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria. 3508 Atlanta-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 249 (7% of candidates) were named 2024 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2023: 3,209, 237, 7.39%, 9/1/23, 11/14/22 - 5/31/23; 2022: 3285, 263, 8%, 9/1/22, 12/13/21 - 6/10/22; 2021: 3254, 265, 8%, 9/1/21, 11/30/20 - 6/25/21; 2020: 3314, 268, 8%, 9/1/20, 12/23/19 - 7/10/20; 2019: 3197, 285, 9%, 9/1/19, 12/10/18 - 7/23/19; 2018: 3248, 287, 9%, 9/1/18, 12/29/17 - 7/24/18; 2017: 2378, 301, 13%, 9/1/17, 12/30/16 - 7/14/17; 2016: 2210, 526, 24%, 8/1/16, 2/4/16 - 7/22/16; 2015: 3620, 546, 15%, 9/1/15, 2/4/15 - 7/22/15; 2014: 4433, 560, 13%, 9/1/14, 2/4/14 - 7/22/14; 2013: 2852, 592, 21%, 9/1/13, 2/4/13 - 7/22/13; 2012: 2660, 607, 23%, 9/1/12, 2/4/12 - 7/22/12.
Click to access BrokerCheck
*Winners appearing on this page do not pay a fee to be considered or to win the Five Star Award. Professionals with a digital profile have paid a promotional fee.
Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. The award is based on 10 objective criteria. Eligibility criteria - required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser (RIA) or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Actively licensed as a RIA or as a principal of a registered investment adviser firm for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (As defined by FSP, the wealth manager has not; A. Been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; B. Had more than a total of three settled or pending complaints filed against them and/or a total of five settled, pending, dismissed or denied complaints with any regulatory authority or FSP's consumer complaint process. Unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through FSP's consumer complaint process; feedback may not be representative of any one client's experience; C. Individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint; D. Filed for personal bankruptcy within the past 11 years; E. Been terminated from a financial services firm within the past 11 years; F. Been convicted of a felony); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation criteria - considered: 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations. FSP does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. The award is not indicative of the wealth manager's future performance. Wealth managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their clients' assets. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by FSP or this publication. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by FSP in the future. Visit www.fivestarprofessional.com.