Plan ahead Financial Management, Inc. (PAFM) is a Financial Advisor based in Abilene, TX that provides a variety of services to individuals, business owners/businesses, retirees, as well many others.
OUR TEAM
Plan Ahead, Inc. was formed in 1992 by Paul Schnitman at the request of clients of another company Paul owned (Schnitman Group). Schnitman Group is a pension administration company that started in 1984 and was sold to Nathan Schnitman in 2006. Paul’s clients requested he manage their money on a fee only basis. We changed the firm’s name in 2015 from Plan Ahead, Inc. to Plan Ahead Financial Management, Inc. to better reflect our services.
Paul Schnitman, President, Investment Advisor
Paul graduated with honors from the University of Texas (1975-1978) with a Biology Degree. He worked as a heavy equipment mechanic for a construction company while in college. He began his career in 1979 by entering the life insurance business with his father, Robert Schnitman. Paul earned his Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designations in 1982 and 1985, respectively. Robert administered a small number of retirement plans, and Paul began marketing for retirement plans in 1980. Within that year, Paul was administering retirement plans under Robert’s direction.
Paul stopped selling insurance in 1996 to devote his energy to Schnitman Group, Inc. and Plan Ahead, Inc. He then focused his time to only Plan Ahead, Inc. in 2006.
His hobbies include welding and fabrication, hunting, scuba diving, and traveling with his wife, Donna.
Kyle Schnitman, Operations Manager, Investment Advisor
Kyle graduated from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M in May of 2012 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance. He had previously interned for Plan Ahead over the last several summer and Christmas breaks while in school, and upon graduation was happy to join his father in the family business.
Kyle enjoys traveling, as well as hunting, scuba diving and spending time with his friends and family.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
We built our firm to help our clients manage their finances in such a way to build and preserve wealth. Our target client is someone who does not have the time and/or the desire to manage their own investments, and they are looking for someone they can trust to provide stable investment returns. They do not expect to receive the highest return in any given year compared to other money managers, but they expect to receive a consistent return based on their investment objectives.
We have a variety of different clients including individuals, business owners, high net worth individuals, retirees, trusts, family partnerships, and retirement plans (i.e. 401K plans). Our business is structured so our clients do not have to worry about their investments or their finances. We help them establish specific goals such as retirement, education funding, and other large capital needs.
We are very passionate about helping people get their finances in good shape, save money, and formulate plans to reach their goals. Many people do NOT live within their incomes, and we have a proven system for turning this around. The bottom line is that we love helping people!
What makes us special?
We are unique because we do not use canned systems and strategies purchased from some outside vendor. Most of our systems and strategies have been developed by us. The plans we develop are very specific to each client. Most investment professionals are paid to bring new money to the table. Their compensation system is not designed to pay them to manage your money. Our service is designed to pay us to manage your money. We make more money if you make more money. This way, we both win.
As this era is dominated by technology, it is important to have an advisor that is proficient with current technologies. We are extremely knowledgeable in the use of computers and technology and have highly efficient and robust systems that allow us to improve the level of service we can provide our clients over our competition. Our office is a “paperless” office, and we are capable of operating our business from virtually anywhere. In the event of a catastrophe, we are able to re-establish our systems within a day through our redundant backups and systems.
We are a fee only advisor that is not compensated by the number of trades made so as to provide unbiased advice and money management. Our clients expect us to perform all work regarding their investments, including providing tax information to their accountants. They expect and receive extremely prompt service.