Conaghan Financial Services

Conaghan Financial Services works with individual investors as well as small and medium‑sized businesses, pensions, trusts and other entities, offering financial planning, portfolio asset management, retirement and post‑retirement planning, college savings advice for 529 and Coverdell ESA accounts, and small‑business retirement plan services. The firm also provides point‑of‑service consulting to other financial firms and may effect securities transactions as part of its planning and asset‑management engagements.

The firm’s investment process combines quantitative and qualitative fundamental analysis with technical tools and a proprietary investment thesis that considers economic, secular, cyclical and regulatory trends; it invests in equities, fixed income, mutual funds, ETFs, options, REITs, BDCs and MLPs and rebalances according to strategic, tactical or hybrid allocation approaches. Risk mitigation is emphasized through selection of companies with stable cash flows and by avoiding certain high‑risk products (for example, auction‑rate securities, non‑rated bonds, and inverse or leveraged ETFs); services may be provided on either a discretionary or non‑discretionary basis.

What distinguishes the firm is the integration of tax‑related services into its advisory work — including specific tax planning for 529 and ESA accounts and broader investment tax‑mitigation — informed by the principal’s experience as a tax preparer. The firm operates on a fee‑only basis with multiple billing formats (flat planning fees with upfront deposits and an annual client retention fee, hourly consulting, and asset‑based management billed in arrears), does not accept commissions or engage in performance‑based compensation, and offers a credit‑card pre‑authorization option for billing.