Our Story

Why Plimsoll?

Plimsoll Financial Planning was launched with a simple, yet clear idea:

People live better lives when their money and values are aligned.

We're not your typical financial planning firm. And that's by design. Created as a place where clients become educated and empowered about money, Plimsoll touches all areas of your financial life through our extensive planning process.

We're forward-thinking, client-centric, and tech-forward. We believe in full transparency. That's why, as a fee-only planning firm, we never receive any commissions or incentives that could influence our recommendations.

We also believe that everyone, regardless of the size of your portfolio, should have access to straightforward, affordable financial and investment advice. That's why Plimsoll offers a unique, innovative fee structure with no investment minimums.

Finally, we always operate as a fiduciary. In layman's terms, that simply means that we are always acting in your best interest.

Plimsoll is a fee-only financial planning company that helps simplify, clarify, and organize your financial life.

Founder

Tyler Reeves, CFP®

Hi, I'm Tyler. As the son of two educators, it's always been my preference to have things explained, or taught, instead of sold to me. It was that mentality that led me to create Plimsoll Financial Planning as a fee-only firm dedicated to serving clients who want to take control of their financial lives.

I began my career in the financial services industry in 2009 immediately following the Great Recession. Not exactly the most booming time to enter this profession. Looking back though, I think I learned a lot about the industry that I would have missed if not for those turbulent times. Probably the most valuable lesson was the first hand experience of seeing how human emotion and behavior can have a far greater impact on financial planning than investment returns and asset allocation.

I started Plimsoll because I'm passionate about helping people make better financial decisions. In order to do that, we take a unique, collaborative approach to wealth management that places the client's best interest directly at the center of each decision.

Additionally, I'm proud to be a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, as well as a member of the XY Planning Network and NAPFA.

On a personal note, my wife, Laura, and I live in Birmingham, Alabama, with our family of three rescue pets. In our spare time, we love to travel, cook, and stay outside as much as possible.

For more information, follow along on LinkedIn, Twitter, & Facebook.

CFP®. Fee-Only. Fiduciary.

What does it mean? Why does it matter?

"Anyone can hang out a shingle as a financial planner, but that doesn’t make that person an expert. They may tack on an alphabet soup of letters after their names, but CFP® (short for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ ) is the most significant credential … and is a good sign that a prospective planner will give sound financial advice. Consider the planner’s pay structure. You typically want to avoid commission-based advisers."

Wall Street Journal

"You’ll want to hire the type of financial adviser who promises to act as a fiduciary all of the time, with all of your money, which is a fancy way of saying that person must be loyal to you first. In fact, you should ask your financial planner to sign a fiduciary pledge, a promise not to profit at your expense."

New York Times

"The stakes are so high in investing that you should consider fee-only planners. They’ll give you a fixed price up front for their services, regardless of the product they recommend. You won’t have to worry about conflict of interest."

Clark Howard

"If you’re looking for broad-based advice about various aspects of your financial life, hire a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) professional. These professionals must pass an extensive exam and meet other education and ethics requirements to gain the credential."

Kiplinger's Personal Finance

Our Name

Stay Above the Line

The year was 1873.
411 British ships vanish.
None had rough sea conditions.

In an act of atrocious greed, wealthy ship owners were overloading, thus sinking their own ships just to collect insurance money. Worth more at the bottom of the ocean than on the other side, these vessels eventually became known as "coffin ships" as they killed thousands of seamen each year.

Enter Samuel Plimsoll. This courageous, forward-thinking British politician fought for sweeping regulation that would require a maximum load line to clearly indicate the tipping point of all ships.

Simply referred to as the "Plimsoll Line," this marking gives a clear, unmistakable measure of how much a ship can carry and stay afloat.

Listen to the 99% Invisible episode on Samuel Plimsoll →

Notes

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