We offer a team approach to financial planning, delivering you a broader scope of expertise than you will likely find in any one person. Clients are our main priority, which is why we work to understand your unique circumstances and ultimately create a distinctive plan that provides a roadmap for your financial journey.
Craig is focused on serving business owners, corporate retirement plans and individuals who are diligent about building wealth. He oversees everything specific to client relationships, including investing, financial planning, retirement planning and tax planning.
Craig’s career in the financial services industry spans more than 20 years. While he has amassed a notable amount of knowledge and market perspective over this time, he is sensitive about avoiding industry jargon and explaining financial concepts in a manner that clients can easily understand.
His empathy and competence are two attributes that can be appreciated by his clients. As part of his dedication to putting clients first and cultivating a quality client experience, Craig proactively communicates with his clients on topics that may affect their lives.
Craig holds several key professional credentials that help him serve the specific and complex needs of his clients. As a Chartered Financial Analyst®, one of the world’s most respected and recognized investment credentials. Craig has the skills needed for high-level, specialized asset-management responsibilities, including security analysis, portfolio management and business reporting. As a Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist™, Craig is well-versed in creating, implementing and maintaining company retirement plans for businesses. Having an MBA provides Craig with several quality attributes, including strategic thinking, problem-solving ability, decision making, research and risk management skills and an entrepreneurial mindset.
He applies his experience in the principles of behavioral finance to assist clients with financial decisions that may be clouded by emotion, causing irrational investor behavior that may be detrimental to their financial well-being. “I like to say we help clients keep their heads while others are losing theirs,” Craig says.
Craig holds Series 7, 9, 10 and 63 securities licenses. He is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Minnesota. He has served on the advocacy committee since 2016 and is passionate about the Society’s annual “Putting Investors First” initiative. “I sign an annual Code of Ethics with the CFA Institute to put clients’ interest ahead of my own and I take it very seriously,” Craig says.
Before joining Raymond James in 2016, Craig spent 15 years at RBC Wealth Management in Minneapolis, where he served as a senior global manager research analyst. He was a voting member of the investment committee, which was responsible for the management of the firm’s discretionary mutual fund portfolios. Craig first developed a serious interest in investing while in college when he worked for a financial advisor who eventually sold his practice to him.
Craig earned an MBA in entrepreneurial studies from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. He previously earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from St. Cloud State University, where he was an inaugural member of the Husky Growth Fund, a student-managed investment portfolio. To this day, he still visits the class on an annual basis to share his investment knowledge.
Craig serves on the Willmar Lakes Area Chamber’s Agri-Business Committee. “Given my farming background, I thought it was an enjoyable way to give back to the community,” Craig says.
All considered, it’s apparent that one unifying theme that has run through Craig’s life and career is his passion for helping people, whether it’s his clients, area farmers, college students or fellow financial advisors. Craig was born and raised on a dairy farm in Rice, Minnesota, and today lives in Willmar, Minnesota, with his wife, Alissa, and their two dogs, Laylah and Cooper.
In his free time, Craig enjoys traveling, golf, and reading. He also enjoys monthly whiskey tastings with a group of friends.
Maria Novak is a Branch Professional with Accru Wealth. Maria comes to the financial planning industry from an over 15-year career in Education where she taught the subject of Visual Arts and Design as well as a background in Special Event sales, coordination and management. As Branch Professional, Maria strives to provide all clients and her team the highest quality personal service.
In addition to her administrative responsibilities with Accru Wealth, Maria also works with her team to create media content for the branch with a goal of engaging and educating clients for the betterment of their financial futures. In her time away from our offices, Maria is active in her local arts community and enjoys spending time in the theatre as a creator and performer for the stage.