Worcester, MA Office

Cornerstone Planning Group serves individuals (including high-net-worth clients), businesses, qualified retirement plans, foundations, trusts, and estates with discretionary portfolio management, comprehensive financial planning, retirement-plan consulting, and educational seminars. The firm operates as a fee-only, independent SEC‑registered adviser and discloses that it does not accept commissions or third‑party sales compensation.

The firm’s investment process blends fundamental analysis with a general preference for low‑cost, passive ETFs and mutual funds, and it documents client objectives with investment policy statements that guide model‑based portfolio management. For employer‑sponsored or “held‑away” retirement accounts, Cornerstone uses a third‑party order‑management platform (Pontera) to review options and implement allocation and rebalancing strategies without taking client login credentials or direct custody.

Noteworthy differences from many peers include offering ERISA fiduciary consulting for retirement plans and the ability to serve as either a 3(21) or 3(38) fiduciary when agreed, while also permitting supervised persons, in their individual capacities, to sell insurance products to clients (a disclosed conflict). The firm states that financial planning engagements may be structured as either upfront flat fees or hourly work and also discloses that it does not vote proxies for securities held in client accounts.