Patti Hughes, Principal of Lake Life Wealth Advisory Group, is a fee-only financial planner based in Chicago, specializing in advising those in their pre-retirement years.
Patti has a certificate in Financial Planning from Northwestern University, a Master’s Degree in Accounting from DePaul University and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Western Illinois University. In addition, she is a Certified Public Accountant, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and a Registered Investment Advisor in Illinois. She is also a Certified Student Loan Professional.
She is a member of the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and the Illinois CPA Society.
Patti created Lake Life Wealth Advisory Group LLC because she has a life-long passion for financial planning. She enjoys helping others better understand and organize their finances, then implementing a plan for them to achieve financial goals. She noticed the demand for financial advice as more and more of her friends asked how they might better plan for their retirement. From this experience, she saw the need for financial planning for people approaching their retirement years, particularly women seeking a trusted advisor to help them organize and manage their finances.
After more than 20 years’ experience including positions in corporate accounting and finance as well as government and public accounting, she enrolled in the Certificate in Financial Planning program at Northwestern University and became a Certified Financial Planner™. She followed her dream of starting her own financial planning firm to help people navigate through the many changes in life, including financing college for their children, planning for retirement and making decisions relating to aging parents. In addition, she assists many professional clients with significant student loan debt to develop appropriate strategies to repay this while still achieving their financial goals. Her clients have sought her help because they wanted someone they can trust and who listened carefully, offered unbiased information, advice and guidance.
As a fee-only financial planner, she does not receive commissions to recommend any stock, bond or mutual fund. She only recommends what is best for her clients based on their life goals, risk tolerance, personal and financial situation. She has a fiduciary duty to her clients.Patti’s goal is to establish long-term client relationships because comprehensive financial planning is a process, not an event. It focuses on client’s goals first, then integrates all areas of their financial life, recognizes how their beliefs and attitudes impact the financial decisions they make, and makes adjustments as circumstances change.
All of the clients we serve have a desire to establish a long-term relationship with a trusted professional to provide objective advice to help them make informed decisions relating to their finances. They believe in using professionals such as financial planners, lawyers, or accountants to assist and advise them about such complex personal and financial issues. Most of the clients we serve lack either the time or experience to properly address their important financial issues. They prefer to delegate responsibilities and see the value in paying for professional advice and services.
Financial decisions become more complex as we approach retirement and accumulate more wealth. Our clients value their personal time and want to enhance their quality of life, which drives most of their financial decision making – especially in terms of planning for life in retirement.
Comprehensive financial planning services include retirement planning, tax planning, estate planning, budgeting, insurance and investments. Lake Life Wealth Advisory Group LLC serves the Chicago area, but has offices available at several suburban locations as well. If you can’t visit our office, we can conduct either phone or online meetings. We will do whatever we can to accommodate you. Please don’t hesitate to request an appointment with us or give us a call based on your location.
Patti lives in Deer Park, Illinois with her husband and golden retriever. She has three grown children, and enjoys spending time boating in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin where they have a vacation home. She is an avid college football fan, and most Saturdays in the fall can be found at the Notre Dame football games. In addition, she volunteers with PAWS Chicago, a no kill animal shelter, and at Launch U, providing financial planning services to urban scholars seeking solutions to fund their college education. She is also a member of the Policy Circle, a group committed to discussing policy issues affecting state and local government.