Jennifer Cray
EXPLOREMY WHY
Why I Became a Financial Advisor
Growing up in a family of teachers and writers isn’t the usual recipe for becoming a financial planner. But after studying journalism in college, I came across a magazine article that explained the miracle of compound interest. The article had an illustration of a young woman sitting on a big nest egg, compared to an older guy sitting on a smaller nest egg. She started saving early. He started saving much later, putting away more than three times what she did. Here’s the miracle part: She’s the one who retires with more money.
The notion that small actions can make a huge difference to our financial health captured my imagination.
As a partner and fiduciary financial planner at Forum, I specialize in helping working individuals and families. Most grew up middle class and have worked hard to take care of themselves, their families, and their communities. Now they find themselves with money, yet they’re basically the same people they were when they were young, cash was tight, and they slept on futons and ate ramen noodles.
So often, smart, career-driven professionals want to be in control of their financial lives but don’t have the time to keep up with all of the complexities. That’s where I come in.
THE DETAILS
Jennifer Cray, CFP® began her career in newspaper editing and then followed a second career path in the internet industry. All the while her fascination with personal finance grew into a passion to help other people with their money. Today, she helps busy working professionals, often in the tech industry, focus on their financial health.
Prior to joining Forum, Jennifer was a partner at Investor’s Capital Management, LLC. Additionally, she served as a senior product manager for E*TRADE Securities. Jennifer has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry.
Before working in financial services, Jennifer worked for various West Coast newspapers including the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Orange County Register, Pasadena Star-News and San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
Jennifer is a volunteer member of the board of directors and finance committee for the nonprofit Greenmeadow Community Association Scholarship Fund in Palo Alto, California.
Jennifer is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. She earned her MBA and bachelor's degree in print journalism from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
FORUM ARTICLES & INSIGHTS
A PERSONAL APPROACH
Tell Us About Your Financial Life and Aspirations
Your experience begins with an initial meeting to identify your financial vision for the future and risk tolerance levels. We review our investment philosophy and approach with you so that you fully understand each milestone of our process and how our relationship will evolve over time.
PREVIOUS 
Discuss Topics Crucial to Your Financial Success
Over the course of the next few meetings, the content and breadth of each meeting is defined by your personal needs. We can review your estate planning and risk management needs, discuss retirement accumulation or distribution planning, evaluate educational funding needs, review your tax situation, and go over any other items crucial to your financial success.
PREVIOUS Develop a Strategic Plan Unique to You
Once you select an allocation, we put together a strategic implementation plan that will coordinate investment of your portfolio between qualified (tax-advantaged) assets and non-qualified assets in order to maximize tax efficiency. The topics we address during our time with you vary depending on your unique needs and situation.
Putting Your Plan Into Action
We establish your Forum account based on the portfolio allocation we discussed and what we learned about your risk tolerance and financial goals. With your new Forum account now in place, you will have the opportunity to access your Forum Client Portal for the first time and connect with members of the Forum Client Service team.
Review Goals and Plans When Your Life Changes
You will receive reporting that will clearly show your performance net of all fees and compared to applicable market indexes. Additionally your assets are held at a reputable third-party custodian that furnishes independent monthly reports so you can feel confident about the safe handling of your money.
