Catalyst Financial Advisors helps people make and implement financial plans to meet their life goals.
How do I pay for college? Buy my first home? Pay for my children’s education? Save for retirement? After graduating back in 1980 from Ferndale High School outside of Detroit, I, like you, had to start figuring this all out for myself.
My first financial achievement was figuring out how to pay for my education at Georgetown University, where I graduated with finance and law degrees. Since then, my wife and I have bought multiple homes, paid for our two children to get their college degrees, and invested to fund a comfortable retirement. I have managed our finances through both good and bad economies, wildly different interest rate environments (our first mortgage in 1989 carried a 10 7/8% interest rate!), and multiple career transitions for both me and my wife. These experiences have prepared me to guide our clients to successfully manage their financial affairs through the myriads of opportunities and challenges they will confront.
By contrast, I’ve seen too many people make financial mistakes that have hurt them and their families. And I’m not talking about the impact of a bad economy or inflation, which are risks we all face. I’m talking about mistakes that could have been entirely avoided. These are mistakes caused by acting out of emotion rather than reason, or by acting out of ignorance rather than by being informed ahead of time. Tragically, these mistakes often require people to miss out on opportunities that will never come around again. Helping people avoid such missteps is a prime motivation behind operating Catalyst.
If you are looking to “get rich quick” or to find an easy path to financial security, you will likely fail and should read no further. Catalyst will not be a good fit for you.
Our approach best supports clients willing to live beneath their means rather than live for the moment. Our investment guidance is based on academic research and emphasizes low-cost passive investing through indexed funds. We are not market timers or stock pickers. We are independent and therefore recommend investments for which we receive no sales commissions.
Thank you for taking a few minutes to get to know us. Best wishes to you and your family for all future happiness and success.
Mike Poterala
Founder and Owner