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East Bay Five Star award winner

What I Can Offer My Clients

When you hire a financial planner, you are hopefully entering into a long-term trusting relationship.  My goal is to be the go to person for all things financial for my clients.  Not only must I meet the minimum requirements of competence and integrity,  but I earnestly strive to have my client engagements be win-win relationships.

Many of my clients do not have the inclination to deal with the immense amount of financial information and choices out there.  Perfect - I love to do that!  I am organized, friendly, and always looking to learn more about the latest techniques and technologies that may help my clients towards better outcomes in their lives.

Although we talk about some serious topics, my sense of humor makes meetings more fun.  I keep the financial lingo to a minimum and prefer to use analogies to help my clients better understand the topics we discuss.  Since I specialize in working with newly independent women, some of which may not have dealt with financial issues before, my easy to understand language can be helpful.

Since I am the trusted advisor to my clients, I take my ongoing education very seriously.  I have been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ since 1992 and a Retirement Income Certified Professional™ since 2013.  In most continuing education cycles I end up completing significantly more than the required hours for my various certifications and licenses.  You hire me for the grey matter between my ears... I work to keep it sharp!

When new clients come in they have many questions and are often nervous.  This is totally normal.  My measure of success is when clients get their questions answered and have a path on how to pursue their goals.  When I hear a sigh of relief, or see shoulders relax away from their ears, it makes my day.

Please feel free to click here to contact my office to see if we might be a good match! 

This award was issued on 10/1/20 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 01/13/2020 through 08/7/2020. 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. 1260 San Francisco - East Bay-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 88 (7% of candidates) were named 2020 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2019: 1340, 104, 8%, 10/1/19, 12/31/18 - 8/9/19; 2018: 1397, 113, 8%, 10/1/18, 1/16/18 - 8/10/18; 2017: 1049, 95, 9%, 10/1/17, 1/13/17 - 7/28/17; 2016: 948, 182, 19%, 9/1/16, 2/24/16 - 8/22/16; 2015: 2261, 183, 8%, 10/1/15, 3/5/15 - 7/31/15; 2014: 4527, 204, 5%, 10/1/14, 3/5/13 - 7/31/13; 2013: 858, 195, 23%, 10/1/13, 3/5/12 - 7/31/12; 2012: 1145, 233, 20%, 10/1/12, 3/5/11 - 7/31/11.
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Diane Woodward is a registered representative with and securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Strategic Wealth Advisors Group, LLC, a registered investment advisor. Strategic Wealth Advisors Group, LLC. and Oak Tree Wealth Management, LLC, are separate entities from LPL Financial.

*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.