Mark Gilbert
CPA/PFS, MBA
Reason Financial Advisors, LLC
Financial Advisor
Mark Gilbert
CPA/PFS, MBA
Reason Financial Advisors, LLC
Financial Advisor
As a fee-only financial planner, my focus is to offer unbiased financial advice to help you achieve your life goals. - Mark Gilbert, CPA/PFS, MBA
Fee-Only Financial Advisor located near Chicago with offices in Naperville and Northfield, serving Cook, Lake & DuPage counties in Illinois and clients across the country
Mark Gilbert is a Chicago area Fee-Only Financial Planner with offices in Naperville and Northfield serving Cook, Lake & DuPage counties in Illinois. Reason Financial Advisors, LLC specializes in providing objective financial planning and investment management to help clients build, manage, and protect their assets through life's transitions. Mark Gilbert is a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor and a Certified Public Accountant / Personal Financial Specialist.
Education:
Mark Gilbert earned a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from the University of Illinois in 1981, where he graduated with high honors. He passed the Certified Public Accountant examination in 1982. In 1983, he received his MBA in Finance from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
In 1999 Mark was awarded the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation to signify his education and experience in the field of personal financial planning. Since 1997, Mark has earned an average in excess of 40 hours annually of continuing professional education in the discipline. This includes the Certified Financial Planner™ certification professional education program offered by the College for Financial Planning.
Experience:
Mark has more than 35 years of professional experience in finance and accounting. Prior to joining Reason Financial Advisors in 2007 first as a principal, and later as sole owner he was a financial planning manager and vice president with the registered investment advisory firm affiliate and trust department of a major Chicago bank. From 1997 to 1999, he was an owner and vice president of another fee-only financial planning firm in Northbrook, Illinois. His professional career includes positions as the executive director of a municipal deferred compensation retirement plan covering more than 9,000 participants, as well as treasurer and controller of national and international privately held professional service firms based in Chicago.
Professional and Civic Memberships:
Mark is a member of the AICPA, the AICPA Personal Financial Planning section, and the Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS.) He formerly chaired the Investment Advisors/Personal Financial Planning Member Forum Group of the ICPAS, whose mission is to provide informal technical training, hands-on business education and networking opportunities for Illinois CPAs in the personal financial planning and investment advisory community. He also serves on the ICPAS’ Committee Structure & Volunteerism Task Force, which is charged with oversight of the Society’s member involvement structure, operations and related issues. He previously served on the ICPAS Consulting Services Executive Committee and the board of the Fox Valley Chapter of the ICPAS.
Mark is also a former board member and past treasurer of Kingswood Academy, a private elementary school located in Darien, Illinois.
Mark Gilbert 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.
Reason Financial Advisors believes that clients should be fully aware of all costs when shopping for financial advice. So, it’s important to understand the three ways that clients can pay for financial planning services.
- Commission only: An advisor receives a commission for the sale of a product, based on the dollar amount of the sale.
- Fee Based: An advisor charges a fee, perhaps to write a financial plan, plus receives a commission for any products sold to implement the plan.
- Fee-Only: An advisor bills a client for services provided, but receives no other form of compensation from any third party.
At first sight, Fee Based might sound like Fee-Only. But it is not; Fee Based can include products that give your advisor a commission.
Because not all products carry the same commission schedule, a bias may prompt a commission only or fee based advisor to sell products that give him or her a higher payout. A combination of commissions, incentives, rebates, and other types of soft dollars can easily lead an advisor to recommend a product based on what’s in his or her best interests, rather than yours.
This is why Reason Financial Advisors offers services on a fee-only basis and does not receive commissions for any insurance or investment products we recommend. We work for our clients, not a brokerage firm, insurance company or bank. We also do not pay any referral fees to someone who recommends our services, nor do we accept any fees from other professionals we recommend to our clients.
Fee-Only, Fiduciary, Independent: Three Important Criteria to Consider When Choosing a Financial Advisor.
Specialties
- Comprehensive Financial Planning
- Retirement Income Planning
- Investment Management
- College Education Planning
- Tax Planning
Ideal Clients
- Retirees and Near Retirees
- Business Owners and Executives
- Sudden Money Situations
Working Together
- In-Office Meetings
- Virtual Meetings
- Clearly Defined Fees
- No Product Sales
- Complimentary Initial Consultation
Professional Designations & Affiliations
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Mark Gilbert 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.
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Mark Gilbert 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.
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Mark Gilbert 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.
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Mark Gilbert is the Recipient of the 2022 Distinguished Service Award from the Illinois CPA Society, where he holds membership
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Mark Gilbert is a Member of the DuPage County Estate Planning Council
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Mark Gilbert Writes for the Nebraska CPA Magazine: "The Self-Employed Need Retirement Plans: CPAs Can Help"
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Mark Gilbert is Interviewed on WGN Radio Your Money Matters: "Inflation, investing, and purchasing a new car"
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Mark Gilbert Writes for Insight Magazine: "Can Secure Choice Secure Illinoisans’ Retirements?"
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Mark Gilbert is Quoted in Insight Magazine: "Warming Up Your Winter Watchlist"
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Mark Gilbert is Quoted in Insight Magazine: "Love & Money"
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Mark Gilbert Contributes to Insight Magazine: "Navigating a Nervous Market"
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Mark Gilbert Contributes to Insight Magazine: "Why Employers Need to Care About Employees’ Financial Health"
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Mark Gilbert is Quoted on Yahoo Finance: "A Guide to Financial Advisor Fee Structures"
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Mark Gilbert is Quoted in InvestmentNews: "Loan fiasco leads to money fund concerns"
Contact Mark Gilbert
Office Locations:
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1717 N. Naper Blvd
Suite 200
Naperville, IL 60563 -
790 Frontage Road
Suite 117
Northfield, IL 60093
