Our commitment is to be your financial services advocate and develop a strong foundation and customized strategy for your financial plan.
Through our proactive investment management strategy, we monitor and adjust to your needs as they change throughout the years. M. Brown Financial Advisors (MBFA) is positioned to assist our clients with their financial needs. MBFA brings together a variety of independent affiliates to work as a team to make the complexities of financial planning understandable. We create practical solutions to help solve your financial problems.
Value Proposition.
Simply put, we put our clients’ needs before our own.
We Are Independent
M. Brown Financial Advisors (MBFA) is an independent firm. Our unbiased hand is not forced to use proprietary research, mutual funds or financial instruments of a related company. We utilize the investments and insurance products that we feel offer the most benefits to our clients’ bottom line.
M. Brown is positioned to assist our clients with their financial needs. We bring together a variety of independent affiliates to work as a team, making the complexities of financial planning understandable. We create practical solutions to help you reach your financial goals.
When needed, we are able to bring in our outside team of professionals, including Attorneys, Accountants and Third-Party Administrators for 401(k)s.
M. Brown believes that when providing any services or advice our clients’ interests must come first. This allows for our professionals to operate with fiduciary accountability. We understand that our clients want to work with people and companies who care about them first and their own balance sheets second. We feel that putting a client first is the right way to work.
Background Information
M. Brown Financial Advisors was established in 2006 by Mark Brown, CFP®, an investment advisor representative of Ausdal Financial Partners.
The firm consists of four additional Ausdal advisors (Andrew Buttimer, CRPC®, Greg Bruno, CFP®, Charles Brown, CFP® & Matthew Gill, CFP®) and together we manage over $250,000,000.00 in investment assets. We also have two administrative assistants (Laurie Corrado & Betsy Nurczyk) and an insurance division (Susan Kochalka).
Sue and Laurie have each been with Mark Brown for over 20 years.
Fiduciary Statement
We adhere to the FPA Core Beliefs and Code of Ethics and the CFP Code of Ethics.
Simply put, we put the needs of our clients before our own.
Expertise Resume
Our five investment advisors each have lengthy and diverse career experiences.
Mark Brown, CFP® is President and Principal of M. Brown Financial Advisors. He began his career in financial services in 1987. He has expertise in financial planning, retirement plans and employee benefits.
Andrew Buttimer, CRPC® began his career in financial services with a Chicago firm in 1991 and he was a partner and co-owner of that same broker-dealer from 2003 to 2011. He joined M. Brown in 2011.
Greg Bruno, CFP® has a financial career that spans over 35 years, as he ran a direct-order desk to floor operation to both the New York and American Stock Exchanges. Greg was a full-time trader from 1983-2002, becoming a member of the NYSE Futures division in 1983 and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1985. He joined M. Brown in 2009.
Charles Brown’s, CFP® experience stems from his time on Wall Street, including 11 years as a Senior Derivatives Trader. Charles utilizes the extensive experience he gained trading U.S. and global markets when building and managing tailor-made portfolios for our clients. He joined M. Brown in 2014.
Matthew Gill, CFP® started his investment career when he joined M. Brown in 2019 and has learned a lot in a short amount of time. Matt has been passionate about the markets since he was young and has been investing since high school.
Non-profit Experience
We have experience working with several local non-profit entities. We have manage their employee benefits via Health Insurance Plans, 401(k) plans, investment management of charitable funds, and customized financial planning for many of their members.
Charitable Support
Our employees are part of a generous team that happily gives back. We are always exploring ways to expand charitable efforts in our community. Recently, we have been financially supportive of: Grace Pointe Church, Families Helping Families, Loaves & Fishes, Community Access Naperville, Bridge Communities, Grace Holistic Center for Education, Joliet Jewish Congregation, A.D.O.P.T. Pet Shelter, Joliet Township High School, Salaam Community Wellness Center, Inside Out Club, The Garden Works Project, and Plainfield Lions Club.
Fees
Management fees are dependent on the total dollar amount of the assets we are managing for a client. The management fees are charged monthly, in advance, based on the portfolio value at month-end.
Client accounts are generally held at Charles Schwab Corporation, where trading fees are minimal. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are not subject to a trading fee. Traditional Mutual Funds are subject to a trading fee of $14.95.
Due to our significant amount of assets under management, we use Institutional Class Shares, meaning front-end mutual fund fees are waived for our clients. We also closely monitor the internal “expense ratios” of the funds that we utilize in our portfolios.
Investment Philosophy
At M. Brown we believe market environments are constantly evolving and presenting different opportunities and risks. We change as conditions change.
For instance, a bond-heavy portfolio with too much “interest rate risk” may see a significant decrease in principal when interest rates inevitably rise. Conversely, a bond portfolio with too much “credit risk” may see significant losses during the next economic downturn. It is in this environment that the experience of the M. Brown portfolio managers stands out.
Portfolio Description
M. Brown offers portfolios managed by our two in-house Portfolio Managers, Greg Bruno and Charles Brown. Our five Investment Advisors are able to help you to determine your Risk Tolerance and Investment Goals, which will then lead to our recommendation of a particular investment portfolio.
Sincerely,
Mark Brown
Mark Brown, CFP®
