CFP®, CFA®, CPA/PFS, CSEP, MBA
Managing Partner / Financial Advisor / Member Owner
My core values are ethics, education and experience. I enjoy using and sharing these values to help my clients achieve what is most important to them. I like to say, Savant helps smart people make smarter financial decisions!
Don is a managing partner and financial advisor in Savant’s Santa Fe, NM; Downers Grove, IL; and Chicago, IL offices. He has a membership interest in Savant.
Don focuses on high income and high net worth clients who have complex financial planning, tax planning, estate planning, and portfolio management needs. Don’s goal is to generate value for his clients by helping to reduce uncertainty associated with planning for the future. He brings an evidence-based, risk management oriented, institutional perspective to investment management and a goals-based, common-sense approach to financial planning.
As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®), and a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning® (CSEP), Don is knowledgeable in all areas of financial planning, including wealth transfer and philanthropy, proactive income and estate tax planning, retirement cash flow projections, retirement income optimization, insurance needs analyses, debt management, and education funding. In addition, he is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) credential, issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). As a CPA, Don focuses significant effort on minimizing the tax drag on clients’ financial plans.
Don has been involved in the financial services industry since 1980. He began his career with a 16-year stint at Northern Trust Company, ultimately managing over $8 billion in various mutual funds and as division manager, helped manage the risk of a $50 billion investment management department. Don founded D3 Financial Counselors and operated the firm until it joined with Savant in 2018.
Don is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Financial Planning Association. He is a board member for The Chicago Lighthouse and taught financial planning at DePaul University and portfolio management at Lewis University. He and his family support two churches in Downers Grove and Santa Fe. He serves on the board or on committees for two condo associations.
Don earned a bachelor of science degree with a triple major in finance, operations management, and human resources management and a minor in economics from Illinois State University. He earned a master of business administration degree in marketing from DePaul University.
Don and his wife Cindi have five children and split their time between Santa Fe and Chicago. Don and Cindi enjoy outdoor activities, especially backpacking, fishing, hiking, bike riding, skiing, and traveling to new places. New experiences keep Don young.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP® in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization's initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.