Michelle Weindruch
CFP® | Financial Advisor
Michelle Weindruch
MY WHY
Why I Became a Financial Advisor
I became an advisor for one reason: to help people. I began my career as a teacher and have remained an educator with clients. I believe it is important for people to understand investing and how their hard-earned money works for them.
MY FOCUS
Climb to Safety is a Chicago-based financial literacy program that begins in first grade and culminates in eighth grade. The program’s mission is to promote financial literacy at an early age by building an understanding of economic concepts and tools needed to become financially secure. As the founder and executive director of the program, I began my career as an educator and later transitioned into the role of financial advisor. I combined my two fields of expertise to address the lack of consistent financial education programming in school systems.
The curriculum begins with foundational concepts such as needs and wants. The hands-on program later discusses more complex units such as investing, diversification and inflation. All activities adhere to the Common Core Standard and include reading, writing and drawing assessments. A unique part of Climb to Safety is each first-grade class receives a funded 529 college savings account. As students continue to progress through the program, they build and apply their financial literacy knowledge while witnessing their account grow.
MORE ABOUT MICHELLE
Michelle Weindruch, CFP® joined Forum Financial Management in 2012 as a Financial Advisor and specializes in a needs-based approach to investing and financial planning. Michelle believes it is important to understand financial needs, short-term goals and long-term goals before developing an appropriate, individualized model tailored for each client.
Michelle is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and has a master’s degree in education and is passionate about promoting financial understanding among her clients. With her educational background, she understands the important role knowledge plays in the investment process.
Michelle is the founder of a not-for-profit, Climb to Safety, which brings financial literacy to school-aged children.
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.
