"Many years ago when my wife and I began raising young children, we thought it was important to work with a financial professional who could advise us and help us plan for all the typical goals of a family. Budgeting, investing for special purposes, retirement, and college savings began to take on more importance, and we felt we needed a level of professional advice.
We have been associated with John Benedict for at least 10 years at different firms as he has honed his expertise and built a full-service advisory practice that acts in his clients’ interests rather than selling products on commission. We initially had bad experiences with advisors who sold us products based on their needs rather than ours and learned the value of independence in our advisors.
For many years, our most important goal was helping our retirement savings to grow in order to achieve financial independence in retirement, and J2 has always had this at the forefront of their services.
The addition of John Salomon to the practice has enabled the firm to expand its financial and tax planning capabilities beyond the field of investment advising. I have not found other firms that do the level of tax preparation and planning that J2 can offer along with investment and financial planning services, and this is highly important to me due to the increasing tax implications of managing our finances."
- John (client)
Client was not paid for this testimonial
"As I was approaching my 50s, approximately 20 years ago, I felt less comfortable managing my own retirement assets. While spending an increasing amount of time looking at them, I felt increasingly less confident in my decisions. It was at this point I decided to seek the help of a financial advisor.
After looking at two other possibilities, I selected John Benedict because I liked his long-range planning and analytical approach. He helped me consolidate most of my assets in one place and create a comprehensive plan, including tax strategy, that met my specific needs and took my risk comfort level into consideration.
I have recommended John to a few of my fellow retirees at my company as well as to my son and daughter-in-law. I always tell people John Benedict is knowledgeable and an analytical thinker. He has made it a point to be an expert in the business and stay ahead of the curve on volatile market conditions. When J2 added John Solomon as a partner, I benefited from even more strategic planning services, including tax strategy.
The most important benefit of working with John and his team is the comfort in knowing that I don’t have to worry anymore about whether I’ve made the right decisions regarding investments or whether I’ll be able to continue to enjoy retirement. We’ve set goals together—and have met them all."
- Bob (client)
Client was not paid for this testimonial
"After a poor experience with a firm back in 2009, my wife, Loretta, and I began looking for a new financial manager. After a good friend suggested John Benedict (John B.), we attended one of his presentations and liked what we saw. About a year later, John Salomon (John S.) partnered with John B. and shared the same approach and customer orientation.
Leaving the previous firm that we felt was not acting as a fiduciary for our benefit, we decided to move our investments to John B., whose investment philosophy aligned with our somewhat conservative approach—a focus on capital conservation. John B. and John S. worked with us to set up our investments in line with our risk assessment and adjust as our needs evolved.
Perhaps more importantly, John B. and John S. impressed us as honest and trustworthy individuals that base their business on being advisors who act on the customers’ behalf in a fiduciary capacity.
When my wife passed in 2020, the J2 team helped me work through a number of issues, and through what has been and remains a difficult period in my family’s life, J2 has been there for us with kindness and compassion.
Because the benefits have been undeniable—peace of mind, plain and simple, along with asset protection and reasonable growth—I never hesitate to recommend J2 to friends."
- Jim (client)
Client was not paid for this testimonial
"My decision to partner with John Salomon wasn’t particularly strategic. I’d been referred to John concerning taxes, and when he mentioned his business also had a financial arm, the opportunity presented itself. I had some self-managed investments and felt there probably was a better way to obtain other perspectives as well as diversify how those investments were managed. I was also more comfortable with the fact that I would be working with a small company rather than a gigantic firm. However, probably the main reason for the partnership was the trust I had/have with John.
Working with John and his team has afforded me several benefits (in no particular order): 1. As they do this for a living and have a proven track record, I have the freedom to concentrate on other things. 2. They can mix and match different strategies that aren’t cookie-cutter, and some are actively managed. 3. J2’s highly experienced team can execute both investment strategy and tax strategy. 4. I know I can reach out to them at any time to have a conversation about my concerns, to discuss strategies, etc.
When I recommend John to others, I explain how they are a fiduciary shop, so there is a trust factor there. I believe it’s important that they tell you both the good and the bad, and admit there’s not always a perfect answer. Sometimes clients think this is a perfect science. If that were true, there’d be a lot more billionaires in the world!"
- Peter (client)
Client was not paid for this testimonial