James Kantowski
CFP®, CPA, PFS
Bay Point Wealth
Founder, Principal, and Financial Advisor
James Kantowski
CFP®, CPA, PFS
Bay Point Wealth
Founder, Principal, and Financial Advisor
As a fee-only financial planner, my focus is to offer unbiased financial advice to help you achieve your life goals. - James Kantowski, CFP®, CPA, PFS
Fee-Only Financial Planner with offices in Annapolis, MD, Columbia, MD, Asheville, NC and Sarasota, FL
James Kantowski is a Annapolis, MD fee-only financial planner. Bay Point Wealth provides comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and tax planning to help high net-worth clients organize, grow and protect their assets through life’s transitions. As a fee-only, fiduciary, and independent financial advisor, James Kantowski is never paid a commission of any kind, and has a legal obligation to provide unbiased and trustworthy financial advice.
Jim Kantowski’s lifelong passion for learning, solving problems, and helping others motivates him every day in his work. He came to understand the importance of financial planning from a young age, after his father passed away and he experienced the uncertainty of wondering whether you can make ends meet.
Later as a young Certified Public Accountant, when the firm Jim worked for expanded into financial services, he put in extra hours outside of doing taxes and audits to work on financial plans for clients. Jim saw early on that combining his expertise in taxes with investments and financial planning could serve as a powerful skillset to help clients see their whole financial picture while reducing their tax bills and maximizing their wealth.
After 20 years with some of the nation's largest financial management and accounting firms, Jim decided that rather than worrying about the growth of a large firm, he wanted to focus on helping clients achieve their goals with thoughtful advice and carefully crafted financial plans. So he built and grew his own firm, JSK, under the guiding principle that the client is the most important person in the room. Eight years later he decided it was time to join forces with another company that shared his values and desire to help people; JSK and Bay Point Wealth Management officially merged in January 2020.
Today, Jim enjoys getting to know his clients and helping them identify—and plan for—their ideal financial future. He specializes in working with clients getting close to retirement or recently retired. He also works with recent widows as he has a personal experience and empathy with this difficult situation.
Jim is married with four children and can usually be found running, paddle boarding, or attending one of his kids’ extracurricular events. He is also actively involved in his community and volunteers for TCP Youth Empowerment, a charitable organization that strives to empower underprivileged youth.
Jim lives in Severna Park, Maryland, and works out of Bay Point Wealth’s Annapolis, Maryland office.
James Kantowski is a Member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors - highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.
NAPFA members live by three important values:
- To be the beacon for independent, objective financial advice for individuals and families.
- To be the champion of financial services delivered in the public interest.
- To be the standard bearer for the emerging profession of financial planning.
Bay Point Wealth is an independent, fee-only financial advisory firm providing tailored wealth management services to families and individuals. We work develop personal relationships with our clients, providing guidance and counsel to assist them in achieving their important life goals.
We have offices in Annapolis, Maryland; Columbia, Maryland; Asheville, North Carolina; and Sarasota, Florida.
An Important Decision
Selecting a financial advisor is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. An advisor must be responsive to your unique needs and be someone you can count on for years to come. Most of all, you want someone you can trust.
We understand that before entrusting your financial affairs to an advisor, you want to be sure that the company you choose has the expertise, integrity and commitment to provide the personal service that you need and deserve.
Our mission is to thoroughly understand each of our client’s goals and concerns, to help them improve their overall financial health and achieve their goals, and to help them enjoy their lives more fully.
Why Fee-Only?
The term fee-only refers to the method of compensation for the financial planner. Fee-only planners are compensated solely by fees paid by their clients and do not receive commissions or compensation from any other source. Thus, they do not sell any insurance, annuities or other investment products.
As a fee-only firm, we provide unbiased and objective advice that is always in the best interest of our valued clients. Since we are independent from all financial services companies and products, we are able to offer hundreds of different investment and insurance opportunities – none of which are commission driven.
Our Philosophy and Approach
Comprehensive Financial Planning
We approach financial planning in a very integrated and holistic manner. All of our analyses and recommendations carefully consider the impact on your entire financial picture. You can count on our extensive education and broad knowledge gained by years of financial and tax experience to help you chart your course through today's complex world of finance and investing.
Our comprehensive financial planning services will thoroughly analyze and make specific recommendations regarding your:
- Cash flows (long-term and short-term)
- Insurance
- Income Taxes
- Retirement Planning
- Estate planning
- Investments
Fee-Only, Fiduciary, Independent: Three Important Criteria to Consider When Choosing a Financial Advisor.
Specialties
- Comprehensive Financial Planning
- Tax Planning
- Investment Portfolio Management
- Retirement Income Planning
- College Education Planning
Ideal Clients
- Retirees and Near Retirees
- Growing Families
- Business Owners and Executives
- Sudden Money Situations
- Novice Investors
Working Together
- In-Office Meetings
- Virtual Meetings
- Clearly Defined Fees
- No Product Sales
- Complimentary Initial Consultation
Professional Designations & Affiliations
-
James Kantowski is a NAPFA-Registered Financial AdvisorThe National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors—highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.
-
James Kantowski is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional - Click for VerificationCFP® professionals are held to strict ethical standards to ensure financial planning recommendations are in your best interest. What’s more, a CFP® professional must acquire several years of experience related to delivering financial planning services to clients and pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Exam before they can use the CFP® designation.
-
James Kantowski is a Certified Public Accountant (Learn More)A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is a professional accountant who has met the education and experience requirements set by their state's Board of Accountancy and has passed the Uniform CPA Exam. CPAs are licensed to provide a wide range of accounting services, including financial statement preparation, tax planning and preparation, auditing, consulting, and other financial advisory services.
-
James Kantowski is a Personal Financial Specialist (PFS)The Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) credential is granted solely to CPAs (Certified Public Accountants) with considerable personal financial planning education and experience. All areas of personal financial planning—including estate, retirement, investments, and insurance—have tax implications, and the PFS professional has the experience, ethics, and expertise to get the job done right.
-
Bay Point Wealth is Featured on Expertise.com as 2022 Best Financial Advisors in Baltimore
-
James Kantowski is an Author for the Paladin Research and Registry
-
James Kantowski Contributed and Article on The Huffington Post: "6 Personal Finance Tips for Women"
-
James Kantowski is the Co-Founder and Annual Sponsor of Fish For A Cure
-
James Kantowski is a Member of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants
-
James Kantowski is Quoted in Chesapeake Family Life: "8 tips for fitting private school in the family budget"
-
Bay Point Wealth is a Member of the Queen Anne's County Chamber of Commerce
-
Bay Point Wealth Management is a Member of the Ann Arundel Chamber of Commerce
Contact James Kantowski
Office Locations:
-
721 Melvin Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21401 -
81 Broadway
Suite 200-077
Asheville, NC 28801 -
1990 Main St
#750
Sarasota, FL 34236 -
10440 Little Patuxent Pkwy
Suite 200
Columbia, MD 21044 -
582 Bellerive Rd
#4d
Annapolis, MD 21409
