Mary Pat Wesche
CPA, PFS, CDFA®, CFP® | Financial Advisor
Mary Pat Wesche
We Help You Visualize Your End Goals to Build a Plan for Your Financial Future
My first step is to ask clients what they want to achieve. When I have a clear idea of what their dreams are, I start shaping a plan that works for them. Whether it is retiring early, travelling extensively or spending time and money on charitable pursuits, we can put together a plan that works.
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EXPLOREGET TO KNOW MARY PAT
Q: What are some of the reasons you advocate working with a financial professional?
A: Planners add an incredible amount of value in advising on Social Security claiming strategies, tax planning, estate planning, and even just counseling clients to stay the course during times of market volatility. For example, taxes have become increasingly complex, and without good tax planning, even a great investment plan can fall short. There are so many pieces of the financial planning puzzle that most people fail to consider if they try to go it alone.
PREVIOUS 
Q: Are there unexpected benefits when members of your family also work in financial services?
A: I think both my daughter and I have been pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoy working together. When Meghan first worked part-time at Forum while she was in college, I think she saw a side of me that she didn’t see at home. And now, I am seeing another side of my daughter when she interacts with her own clients to provide them with good financial advice. We each have different styles and strengths, so we make a good team.
PREVIOUS Q: Is there a myth you would like to dispel about the need for an estate plan?
A: Some people believe estate planning is only necessary for those who are extremely rich — and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Having a plan for the final disposition of your assets is a gift to your family and will make things so much easier for them at your passing. It is also important to name someone to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated. Both death and incapacity are difficult situations for everyone but failing to plan creates a lot of stress and unnecessary expense for everyone involved.
Q: Reflecting on your career journey, what led you to decide to become a financial advisor?
A: When I followed a career path from large CPA firm to Fortune 500 company, I realized there was little satisfaction to be found building shareholder wealth. So, I gravitated to medium CPA firms because I enjoyed working with small business owners. While reviewing investments as part of preparing tax returns, I concluded people were not receiving the best counsel — the advice seemed to benefit the broker more than the client. That is when I knew I wanted to be a financial advisor. I obtained my CFP® certification and never looked back.
“Being rich is having money;
being wealthy is having time.”
— HENRY WARD BEECHER
MY FOCUS
Embracing Change
My primary focus is on helping clients through transition. Whether that is job loss, retirement, marriage, divorce, death of a spouse or any other change, I feel I can add value by helping clients cope with short-term change while keeping longer-term goals in mind. The reality is that we can expect transition to regularly occur throughout our financial journey. Clients can successfully navigate those periods of transition by turning to their advisor for support and direction.
AWARDS
DuPage Spirit Award
2016
Influential Women in Business
The Daily Herald Business Ledger in partnership with the National Association of Women Business Owners, Chicago Area Chapter, 2008
INVOLVEMENT
The DuPage Foundation
Audit Committee
DuPagePads
Advisor to the Finance Committee
Elevate Network
Member
DuPagePads
Former Board Chair and Member
The Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners
Former Treasurer
TALKS
Chicago Women in Business Conference
2019
DuPagePads Wake Up Your Spirit Breakfast
MY ARTICLES & INSIGHTS
THE DETAILS
Mary Pat Wesche helps clients create and preserve wealth by making sure that their tax, insurance and estate planning needs are met. She enjoys helping her clients plan for a long and stress-free retirement.
Mary Pat was named one of 2008’s Influential Women in Business by the Daily Herald Business Ledger in partnership with the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Chicago Area Chapter. In 2018, she was named treasurer of the Chicago Chapter of NAWBO.
She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Illinois CPA Society and the Financial Planning Association. She has obtained the Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® certification. With this advanced focus on the financial issues associated with divorce, Mary Pat expands upon her experience helping individuals in transition.
For more than 15 years, she has worked with DuPagePads, an organization that addresses the needs of the homeless population, serving as a past president of the board of directors and board advisor. In 2016, she received the DuPagePads Spirit Award for her volunteer work. In 2021, Mary Pat was selected to serve on the audit committee of DuPage Foundation. The Foundation is DuPage County’s philanthropic leader, fostering key partnerships to address critical issues affecting the community.
Mary Pat is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional. She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Indiana. She received her MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
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.
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.
