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Charles Cumello Jr.

Advisor at Essex Financial Services, Inc.

Updated today

Location

Essex, CT 06426

Credentials

Series 63, Series 65

Industry experience

34 years

About

Charles Cumello is a financial advisor with Essex Financial Services, Inc. in Essex, CT, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 34 years of industry experience. He has been with Essex Financial Services since 2009 and previously worked at The Leaders Group Inc for one year. Outside of advisory work, he is also licensed as an insurance agent, focusing on life insurance and fixed annuity sales. Essex Financial Services serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, and a variety of institutional clients, offering customized wealth management, financial planning, and retirement-plan advisory services. The firm emphasizes diversified, long-term portfolios primarily using low-cost mutual funds and ETFs, alongside discretionary and non-discretionary management supported by institutional platform relationships.

Client services

Based on Essex Financial Services, Inc.

Financial planning Portfolio management Pension consulting Selection of other advisers

Expertise

Based on Essex Financial Services, Inc.

Wealth management Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Tax-loss harvesting

Occupation focus

Based on Essex Financial Services, Inc.

Founder/Business Owner

Fee options

Fixed

Fixed financial planning fees ranging from $250 to $5,000.

Percentage

0.50% to 1.50% annually (based on several factors including scope, complexity, asset level, and relationship)

Commissions

Certain Advisory Persons earn commissions from securities transactions and insurance sales separate from advisory fees.

Project-based

$75 to $250 per hour for financial planning services.

Other

Account minimum: $250,000 (may be waived at the sole discretion of the Advisor) Fee-only: Investment management fees based on assets under management; financial planning fees charged hourly or fixed fee; retirement plan advisory fees.

Location

176 Westbrook Road

Essex, CT 06426

Most active in

Connecticut

Work history

The Leaders Group Inc

2021 - 2022 (1 year)

Essex Financial Services Inc

2009 - Present (17 years)

Disclosures

Exclamation point means they have disclosures of this type. Check mark means no disclosures of this type were found.

Business activities & affiliations

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Richard K

CFA®, Series 63, Series 65

Madison, CT

Sursum Financial LLC

Richard Kos is a CFA® charterholder and registered investment adviser with five years of industry experience. He is the president of Kos Consultants, an educational institutional consulting and marketing services firm unrelated to securities, which he has operated since 2007. Kos serves as the sole advisor at Sursum Financial LLC, based in Madison, CT. Sursum Financial is a single-advisor independent firm providing discretionary and non-discretionary asset management, financial planning, and consulting to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, business owners, family offices, and select institutional and charitable organizations. The firm combines proprietary and third-party research, typically favoring a longer-term buy-and-hold approach while allowing tactical adjustments, and offers performance-based fee arrangements to qualified clients.

Wealth management Active portfolio management Options & derivatives strategies Tax-loss harvesting Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Dennis O

Series 63, Series 65

Essex, CT

Brae Head, Inc.

Dennis O'Connor is the sole advisor at Brae Head, Inc. in Essex, CT, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials with 21 years of industry experience. He has been with Brae Head, Inc. since 1997. Brae Head, Inc. provides fee-only, discretionary portfolio management and basic financial planning to individuals, families, trusts, businesses, and retirement plans, including charitable organizations. The firm uses a disciplined, systematic investment process based on Modern Portfolio Theory and actively manages diversified equity and fixed-income portfolios, serving a relatively small client base with approximately $82 million in assets under management.

Wealth management Retirement income strategy Cash flow / budgeting Active portfolio management
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Evan W

Series 63, Series 65

Madison, CT

Wax Asset Management LLC

Evan Wax is the principal advisor at Wax Asset Management LLC in Madison, CT, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 14 years of industry experience. He has led Wax Asset Management since 2011. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as an independent board member at Servotronics, Inc. Wax Asset Management LLC provides discretionary investment supervisory services to individual and high-net-worth clients, managing approximately $107.8 million across about 74 accounts. The firm employs a combination of fundamental and cyclical analysis, utilizing strategies including short sales and options writing, and conducts quarterly portfolio reviews with direct management of client assets.

Options & derivatives strategies
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Douglas K

CFA®, Series 63

Chester, CT

DAK Financial Services, LLC

Douglas Kartsen is a CFA® charterholder with 19 years of industry experience. He is the principal of DAK Financial Services, LLC, an independent advisory firm he has led since 2016. His prior experience includes roles at Fortis Capital Advisors, LLC, Northstar Wealth Partners LLC, and LPL Financial. He is also a licensed insurance agent, authorized to sell fixed insurance and annuity products. DAK Financial Services provides individualized investment management and comprehensive financial planning primarily to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm combines fundamental and technical analysis in its investment approach, using both passive and active strategies, and operates as a solo independent adviser without custody of client assets.

General retirement planning Cash flow / budgeting College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.) General estate planning guidance Life insurance needs analysis
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Sally K

CFP®, Series 65

Guilford, CT

Real Financial Planning, LLC

Sally Kennedy is a CFP® and Series 65 licensed advisor with 12 years of industry experience. She is the sole advisor at Real Financial Planning, LLC, an independent firm based in Guilford, CT. In addition to financial planning, she is involved in tax preparation. Real Financial Planning serves individual clients and small businesses, offering fee-only, as-needed financial planning focused on cash flow, tax planning, education funding, retirement and estate planning, and investment selection. The firm emphasizes asset allocation, diversification, and tax considerations, providing written analyses without managing client assets or charging percentage-of-assets fees.

Cash flow / budgeting Debt management College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.) General retirement planning General estate planning guidance Self-Employed Retired Young Families Young Professionals
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Gregory G

CFP®, Series 63

Madison, CT

East Guilford Financial Services LLC

Gregory Guidone is a CFP® with 41 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at East Guilford Financial Services LLC since 2021. He previously worked at Bannon, Ohanesian & Lecours, Inc. for 14 years and has been involved with East Guilford Financial Services since 2001. In addition to his advisory role, he is a licensed independent insurance agent in Connecticut, selling life, medical, disability, and long-term care insurance, a practice he has maintained since 1982. East Guilford Financial Services LLC is an SEC-registered independent investment adviser managing approximately $193 million for about 301 clients, including individuals, pension plans, charities, and businesses. The firm employs an asset-allocation approach using mutual funds, ETFs, and other securities, with portfolios reviewed regularly and investment restrictions accommodated when feasible.

Wealth management
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