What if a mental break could recharge more than your batteries- or the people in your life could be one of your greatest sources of wealth? Our Third Quarter Newsletter explores these ideas along with a few smart 529 tips, energy and the impact on the globe, and ways to make your financial life easier with the RFS Client Portal!
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Kelly Kruse works on the Client Relations team which serves as a liaison between our clients, custodians, and internal planning and investments departments. Kelly’s main focus is to manage account maintenance activities and resolve any account related issues. She applies attention-to-detail to ensure that client requests are processed correctly and in a timely manner. In addition to working with our clients, Kelly also collaborates with her colleagues on projects and other back-office needs. Kelly enjoys connecting with our clients and learning about their interests while striving to offer herself as a dependable and friendly contact.
Kelly joined Reed Financial Services in early 2026, with over two decades of industry experience in client relations, finance technology, and operations management. She enjoys the day-to-day challenge that comes with a variety of client requests and priorities along with supporting our advisors with tasks in the back office, to ensure smooth transitions and outcomes for our clients.
Kelly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Bowling Green State University where she was also captain of the women’s basketball team in 2005. She has since traded the basketball court for the tennis court and plays singles regularly in a fiercely competitive and on-going tournament with her husband and oldest son. Kelly is also an avid reader, runner, photographer, dog lover and knitter and can be found running in a local 5k race almost any weekend of the year if she is not on the tennis court.
Ray joined Reed Financial Services as an intern in January of 2023. After completing his Bachelor of Business Administration in Financial Management and Data Analytics from the University of Akron, he joined the team full-time as a financial analyst.
Ray is primarily responsible for coordinating and organizing information into our clients’ financial plans, preparing for client update meetings, and performing analysis and reporting for the investment team. He particularly enjoys researching various funds and gathering information to help assess potential investment options with the team.
Outside of work, Ray enjoys supporting his hometown Buffalo Bills, playing sports and guitar, and going to concerts and other activities with family and friends.
Every business is different, and we’re here to help you maximize the value of what you’ve worked so hard to create. Since several of our clients own closely-held businesses, we are keenly aware of how difficult it is to distinguish one’s business finances from one’s personal finances. We are here to help business owners look at the big picture, to review what options are available to structure their financial situation to suit their future endeavors. We provide perspective and advice to business owners in areas such as passing your business along to the next generation or other exit strategies, addressing employee benefits, incentivizing key employees, or minimizing taxes. We generally work closely with your other advisors in this process.
Charitable giving helps you support issues that matter to you. Philanthropy is its own reward, but there are tax incentives for your generosity as well. Our team can help you determine the most effective strategies for donating assets to charities that have a place in your heart, or even help research organizations that you may want to know more about. We strive to understand your giving goals and implement a giving plan that benefits you and the recipients of your goodwill.
Effectively managing wealth requires a thorough understanding of how taxes can impact a portfolio. Tax efficiency involves a detailed and focused plan. We will work closely with your accountant to help manage your tax liability and increase the tax efficiency of your overall financial plan. We routinely review areas such as which account (taxable versus non-taxable) should we take money from first, the amount of withholding for taxes, whether a ROTH IRA makes sense, when is the best time to exercise employee stock options, and the best ways to make tax-efficient withdrawals of required minimum distributions from retirement accounts and tax loss selling, when appropriate.
Once we understand what’s important to you and learn about what you’ve done to date, we will create a customized plan that specifically addresses your unique questions and concerns. Our planning utilizes software to help us evaluate and make recommendations regarding investments, insurance, estate, retirement, education, and tax.
Our philosophy is to invest to achieve good returns with reasonable risk. Typically, clients want us to grow their assets but be defensive when necessary to preserve assets. Our goal in retirement is to invest in a manner that allows continuous distribution to maintain your lifestyle, but also to never worry about your retirement income.
We offer strategies ranging from income only to growth, with various balanced options in between to match your needs and wants. Options for enhanced income yields or more aggressive growth, are also available.
Results and strategies are reviewed regularly internally and reported to you quarterly. Our portal allows you to track balances and performance results daily, if desired. Our aggregation software allows for your investments (from all sources) to be seen in one consolidated view.
We view retirement as just part of life’s journey, not an end point. You will want to establish targets and strategies to accumulate sufficient monies to allow you to maintain your desired lifestyle throughout retirement. Pre-retirement planning for Medicare coverage, timing to take Social Security benefits, and various tax planning ideas to make retirement most tax-efficient are common discussions. Our goal is for you to have a carefree retirement and not worry about money, while also encouraging you to spend and enjoy.
Most advisors focus primarily on getting documents prepared and sometimes asset and beneficiary designations adjusted on various assets. We find, however, clients frequently have many questions and want someone to talk through the issues affecting their wealth transfer plan before they are ready to have documents drafted. The Executor and Trustee decisions you make will have far-reaching impact for years to come. So we talk with you to consider how best to determine guardianship for your children, allocation of your estate, and who best should carry out your wishes after death. Designing a plan to deal with unique family situations is a common discussion for us, along with various contingencies for managing a trust, as if the grantors were still alive. Providing creditor or divorce protection for you, your heirs and grandchildren are also key provisions to consider.
Many want to leave a legacy of education funds for the grandchildren or to fund their favorite charities both now and at death. The best legacy, however, is a well-thought-out, well-organized plan that is easy for your heirs to administer, when needed.
We review life, disability, long-term care needs, and existing coverage. In the event clients must deal with lawsuits or divorce, we provide suggestions to protect you and your heirs during these difficult times. We have expertise in identity theft and can provide guidance to help review credit reports looking for errors or advise you when to freeze them, if necessary. Navigating Medicare/Medicaid insurance planning and Social Security decisions is also part of our normal planning.
Troy Hammer is the Operations Manager at Reed Financial Services. He joined Reed Financial Services in 2018. Troy’s area of focus is accounting and finance-related problem-solving. He has excelled in his position and benefits RFS and its clients by bringing his experience in other business projects and industries into the financial services industry.
Over the past 20 years, Troy has had varied experience with large, multinational companies as well as small, privately run entities across different industries. He began his career as an auditor with a big four accounting firm, focusing primarily on large publicly traded companies. Through his experience, he got to learn about a variety of industries, from manufacturing to mining. Most recently before joining RFS, Troy was a Principal, VP, and CFO of a hotel management company based in San Francisco.
Troy earned his associate of occupational studies degree in hospitality from California Culinary Academy and his Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Miami University. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) in the state of Ohio.
Mark Lisachenko is the IT and Risk Management lead at Reed Financial Services. Mark has been with RFS since the summer of 2012, bringing 16 years of prior information technology and management experience. He supports the internal operations and systems of the company, from portfolio accounting to information technology.
Mark is passionate about security and IT and joined RFS to help lead those efforts internally and to provide support to our client base.
Mark enjoys working together with clients to solve problems and feels that knowing that we made a difference is the biggest reward.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems degree from Miami University. Mark enjoys spending time with his family, supporting Cleveland sports teams, and fishing.
Nikki Huffman is Executive Assistant at Reed Financial Services. Nikki has the ability to make people feel welcome and comfortable at Reed which helps build the strong relationships that exist between Reed and its clients.
Nikki came to Reed from a large Finance and Insurance company where she worked in the Finance and Accounts Payable departments. As Executive Assistant at Reed, Nikki assists and supports Jim and Amanda. Nikki does a variety of work such as answering phone calls, sending out client statements and correspondence, and helping put financial plans together, but the interaction with the owners, co-workers, and clients is what Nikki really enjoys.
Nikki likes to spend time with her family and to be involved in her son’s activities. She also enjoys numerous outdoor activities such as running, swimming, and hiking. Nikki is an active participant in charity runs.
Michelle Hohlbaugh has been the Senior Executive Assistant at Reed Financial Services since 1999. She is a very self-motivated individual who enjoys the variety and challenges of projects that come from working in a company that puts its client’s needs and desires first.
Michelle came to Reed from a large Finance and Insurance company where she worked as an Administration Assistant/Legal Assistant. As Senior Executive Assistant, Michelle provides support for Jim and Amanda by keeping them organized, coordinating appointments, and creating estate summaries. She especially enjoys conducting special projects such as planning client events, creating PowerPoint presentations, and implementing programs that help manage the business more effectively.
Michelle holds an Associate’s Degree from Academy of Court Reporting. She enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.
Janet Edwards, Certified Financial Planner® and Certified Wealth Strategist,® is our multi-talented Director of Client Relations and Associate Advisor who’s passionate about taking on new challenges, building relationships with clients and supporting them in all areas of their needs. As Director of Client Relations, Janet oversees and guides our Client Relations team which serves as a liaison between our clients, custodians and internal planning and investments departments to manage account maintenance activities and resolve any account related issues. As an Associate Advisor, Janet works with a broad range of individuals, including pre-retirees, those living in retirement, professionals, multi-generational families, and business owners, providing financial planning, estate planning and retirement planning, while collaborating closely with the Senior Advisor. She applies professional insight and attention-to-detail to help develop and implement our clients’ financial plans. It is her goal for all clients to know that a knowledgeable, friendly contact is only a phone call away.
Janet came to Reed in 2012 with over 13 years of industry experience in client relations, marketing, and compliance roles. She has always enjoyed listening to her customers’ needs and helping them achieve their goals.
In addition to being a CFP® Professional and Certified Wealth Strategist®, Janet holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Miami University and is Series 7 securities licensed. She also is a 2016 graduate of the Leadership Geauga Program. In her free time, Janet enjoys spending time with her family and dogs. Additionally, Janet is an avid recreational sports enthusiast who enjoys triathlons, mountain biking, running, skiing and pretty much anything else that keeps her outside!
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Liam has spent his professional career working with Reed Financial Services, beginning in 2017. As an Associate Advisor, Liam works with a broad range of individuals, including pre-retirees, those living in retirement, professionals, multi-generational families, and business owners, providing financial planning, estate planning and retirement planning, while collaborating closely with the Senior Advisor. This includes ascertaining pertinent information for each client’s unique needs, integrating this information into our clients’ financial plans and providing sound advice to assist them in making the right decisions for their situations and overall financial wellness.
Liam has a drive to help clients better understand their financial situation, achieve their goals, and improve their financial literacy. Liam works to solve the bottom-line issues that clients encounter when it comes to financial planning and aims to provide the above-and-beyond value-added level of service that the RFS team has always strived for.
Liam is a CFP® Professional and a member of the Financial Planning Association. He graduated from the University of Akron with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, watching Cleveland sports, talking about cars, and technology.
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Evan Watson is the Investment Manager for Reed Financial Services. Evan began working in the financial services field in 2014 and joined Reed Financial Services in April of 2017.
Evan is primarily responsible for overseeing the compilation and organization of research regarding economics and investments. He also tracks the performance and implementation of the portfolios. This includes directing the research, evaluation, and selection of investment vehicles, in consultation with the investment team, to align investment selections with the organization’s goals.
Evan enjoys working with the rest of the team to achieve a common goal of providing financial services to the client. He works closely with the investment team, tracking down ideas and research to answer questions that may arise internally or from the clients. Evan keeps the team and clients abreast of ongoing market developments, particularly in times of volatility.
Evan graduated from Cleveland State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance and received his Master of Financial Economics degree from Ohio University. Outside of work, Evan enjoys spending his time with friends and family. His spare time is usually spent watching sports and being outdoors.
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Amanda Lisachenko, CFP, is the President of Reed Financial Services. She has spent her professional career working with Reed Financial Services since starting in 1998. Amanda works with a broad range of individuals, including pre-retirees, those living in retirement, professionals, doctors, multi-generational families, and business owners, providing financial planning, estate planning, retirement planning, investment management, business succession planning, and charitable planning.
Her many years of leading investment management research for Reed Financial Services provide insight to our Fund Managers, which translates into sound investment decisions for clients. Her knowledge of both investments and market conditions allows her to reassure clients in difficult times through either written communications or personal contact.
Amanda enjoys genuinely getting to know people and figuring out how she can help them achieve their financial goals. She believes it is an amazing feeling to know that so much of what she does can and does make a difference in people’s lives. She appreciates the ability to be creative when developing solutions for each client’s specific needs. Amanda is a forward thinker with the ability to explain complex issues in simple-to-understand terms while helping identify the key issues or concerns most important to clients.
Amanda has also implemented many technology enhancements and changes to ensure clients of Reed Financial Services have easy access to their investment results, and that the staff has tools available to meet client requests on a timely basis.
Amanda is a CFP® Professional. She received her Bachelor of Science in Family Financial Management from The Ohio State University and is currently a member of the Financial Planners Association and the Estate Planning Council of Cleveland. She also is a 2015 graduate of the Leadership Geauga Program.
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Jim Reed founded Reed Financial Services in 1984 and retired in March 2025. He worked for over 40 years to create a firm culture that helps investors seeking to accumulate assets with a focus on both good returns, capital preservation, and high-quality service. Although retired, Jim’s vision, passion and guiding principles are ever present and will continue to lead the firm forward through successive generations.