Bert Whitehead, JD, MBA, a nationally known fee-only personal financial advisor, has worked in the field for over forty years. He developed the Cambridge System (now known as the ACP System) based on his experience with over a thousand middle-income and wealth management clients. In his book, Why Smart People Do Stupid Things with Money: Overcoming Financial Dysfunction (5th ed.), Bert presents a compelling new paradigm.

Bert helps us analyze our core beliefs (financial dysfunctions) that may be blocking our path to financial peace of mind. He also explains how we must base our financial decisions on endogenous factors (e.g., our stage of life, occupation, marital status) rather than on the exogenous factors (e.g., world affairs, interest rates) touted by financial gurus and pundits in the media.

He developed Functional Asset Allocation (FAA) for use in diversifying asset classes for real people, which includes real estate. In contrast to modern portfolio theory, FAA integrates holistic fee-only financial planning for all of us who must work for a living and accumulate and invest sufficient capital to fund our own retirement.

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Bert organized his own fee-only financial planning practice, known as Cambridge Connection in 1983. As Bert moved towards retirement, in 2018 he transferred the company to staff using an internal succession plan. The Alliance of Comprehensive Planners, which Bert founded in 1995, trains fee-only advisors across the country who validate Bert’s concepts every day.

Bert’s commentary has been sought after and he has been frequently quoted in the press, including the Detroit Free Press, the Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger’s, Money, Forbes, Investment News, Bloomberg, U.S. News & World Report, Dow Jones Investment Advisor, and the New York Times.