- Retirement Income Strategies
- Wealth Management
- Annuities
- Investments
- IRA/401(k) Rollovers
- Asset Protection Strategies
- Life Insurance
- Tax-Efficient Strategies
- Long-Term Care Strategies
- IRA Legacy Planning
Confidence
Security
Peace of mind
We aim to provide cutting-edge financial strategies that inspire confidence as you continue along your retirement path.
- Philip Ellis
For most Americans retirement is the largest financial undertaking of their lives. Brittison Financial Group is here to help make this transition as smooth as possible. We want to help you seize your future by providing income planning strategies, tax planning, investment planning, legacy planning, and health care planning. This is your financial future, and in today’s economic climate we face many difficulties. With these difficulties comes an open door and opportunities for the people who can distinguish long term patterns or trends. Whether you’re confronting retirement, or simply hoping to comprehend different investment options, we can assist you with tending to your most pressing questions. Our primary goal is your financial success in retirement. We want to find out about your personal circumstance, recognize your goals and objectives, and figure out your risk tolerance. Brittison Financial Group is making long term connections with people that encourage transparent communication. This is the foundation of our success.
Philip Ellis is a fiduciary investment advisor who has provided retirement planning solutions to the Michiana area since 2003. He sits down with clients and listens to their priorities and concerns in order to better understand their unique situations and financial strengths and weaknesses. This collaborative approach results in holistic retirement strategies that make use of Social Security and tax planning, as well as income sources. Phil has achieved Certified Senior Advisor and National Social Security Advisor designations and has completed several courses, including the Financial ABC’s of Retirement Planning, Six Pillars of Income Planning and Social Security Maximizer Instructor Training. He is passionate about empowering others and uses this passion to help clients develop custom financial plans that meet their long-term goals.
View BioHide Biophil@brittisonfinancialgroup.com
Catie Ellis has been with Brittison Financial Group from its inception. Her positive energy and heart for people are the perfect fit for ensuring an excellent customer experience for every Brittison Client. Cate’s involvement starts at the hiring stage making sure each team member is a perfect fit for the Brittison Family in personality as well as professionally. Whether interior spaces, client events, or client experiences, her true passion is design. Each office space, marketing design and event has Cate’s expert touch incorporating both our staff’s and our client’s unique personalities, backgrounds, and interests. With over 15 years of event planning experience, her knowledge, industry contacts, and creativity are key ingredients in the success of Brittison events held several times throughout the year.
Catie Ellis has been married to Phil for 34 years and is mother of two dear sweet daughters. She is a part-time interior decorator and volunteer at our local Life Plan, a non-profit organization that helps ensure that moms and their babies thrive, where she counsels pregnant mothers to help them choose the best decision for their unborn babies. She is an active member of her church and in her free time enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time at the beach.
Griffin Beaudette, a southwest Michigan native and graduate of Concordia University Chicago, joined Brittison Financial Group in February 2022 as junior partner. His experience in sales, customer relations, marketing, and account management from the RV Industry, along with his nature of being a team player and his love of helping people, make him perfectly suited for our office.
Currently, he helps Phil to teach classes in Medicare, Social Security, Taxes, and Retirement as well as meeting with current and prospective clients. As Phil shares his many years of knowledge and experience with him, Griffin has shown a passion for studying the best ways to help people map out a plan that suits not only their personal financial situation, but also includes their goals and dreams.
Griffin is the middle child of Gregg and Beth Beaudette, with an older brother Blayne, and younger sister Brielle. He served as quarterback and leader of his university football team as well as participating in a weekly Bible study. Outside the office, you can find Griffin at the gym working out, spending time with friends and family, hanging out at the beach, or anything sports related.
Rhonda, a Southwest Michigan native and graduate of Michigan State University, joined the Brittison family in March of 2019 as Office Manager where she helps Phil and the clients navigate through the application process from filling out paperwork through the issuance of the policy, as well as handling client account updates, overseeing the office operations, and ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal statutes.
Her passion for helping people as well as her love of a challenge and need for organization make her a good fit for our office. She comes to us from the Berrien County Register of Deeds office with a background in title work and management working in several roles throughout the years including Chief Deputy Register of Deeds, Foreclosure Division Manager, and Seasonal Project Manager. She also acted as Register of Deeds and helped guide the office through a difficult transition period after the death of the Register of Deeds in 2018.
Rhonda lives with her husband Tim of 26 years and is a proud mom of Tim, Erin, Caitlin, and Conor, and “Mimi” to her granddaughter Willow, as well as “American-mom” to her foreign exchange students, Park and Frank. She has served at her church as Sunday School teacher, Youth Group Advisor, and VBS coordinator and in the community as committee member for the Berrien County Heart Walk and Berrien County March of Dimes Walk, co-advisor of Students Against Destructive Decisions, and co-advisor for the Coloma Post Prom party. Outside the office, Rhonda enjoys running 5k’s, 10k’s and half-marathons, traveling with her family, reading, trivia nights with friends, and everything Disney.
Krislyn has joined the team as our new Client Services Professional.She answers the phone, helps Phil and Griffin navigate the clients through the process of filling out client paperwork through the issuance of the policies. She also handles client account updates, overseeing office operations, and ensuring that everyone who enters our office feels welcome. Her passion is for helping people and she loves a challenge.
Krislyn is originally from the Saginaw area, but moved to Southwest Michigan during high school and now calls it home. Krislyn is passionate about learning about homesteading. Krislyn works the early shift at UPS, then starts her day at Brittison; so any "free" time is spent with her daughter, playing outside, going to the library, dancing, and so much laughing. Krislyn loves to travel and spending as much time as she can with family.
Phil has been helping people for over two decades make sure that they have their ABC’s covered when it comes to retirement. He knows that the relationship he builds with everyone he works with goes far beyond his knowledge of finance. It’s a friendship that is filled with an abiding care in making sure the person is secure financially through their lifetime. “Most of my clients invest all their money with me so it’s a very sacred thing.”
When he first started in this business almost 20 years ago, he noticed that most of the financial firms just put all their clients’ money in the stock market because that is what they get paid to do. Even the people that are just getting ready to retire! Phil wasn’t comfortable with that since he is a retirement planner, so he knew right then that he had to go the independent route with a fiduciary responsibility to his clients.
Phil knows how every aspect of how your retirement plan fits together. “I’m well versed in all the aspects of retirement planning. It’s important for people to understand the intricacies of making decisions about Social Security, Medicare and an income plan. It’s vital that everyone knows this is the best opportunity you are ever going to see in your lifetime regarding reducing or eliminating taxes.”
This is why Ellis’s approach to retirement is all about holistic planning. “You’re going to get the best solution that is tailored to your individual financial needs. I have a fiduciary responsibility, which means that I have to do what’s in your interest, not mine.”
He adopted a straight forward way to help people look at their money. Its called the ABC process, and it’s all about putting your money in the proper category. He does this for one simple reason: When others are losing 20% in the market, his clients are consistently down 4% to 7% because they are truly diversified. He also helps his clients see that the stock market really isn’t the issue... It’s performed fine over time... It’s the investment vehicles and the questionable investment advice that so many people are getting from Wall Street that causes so much stress.
There are many pieces to this investment game. It’s not just how much money you’re making or even losing. It’s how much you’re paying as well. Phil helps you understand the fees—what’s legally disclosed and, more importantly, what’s not—and the cash drag on your account (if you don’t know what that means, he’ll explain that to you when you call).
Phil invests in you, his client. He makes sure that you fully understand and are comfortable with the solutions he advises. He also loves it when the magic happens—when his clients light up because they’ve had that “ah ha” moment. They know that there is hope for a better future.
You’ve heard the old saying, “he’s a guy that’s never met a stranger”? It holds true in the case of Phil Ellis. The most important part of his job is finding out, respecting, and totally understanding your story.
Take the woman who didn’t think her retirement was salvageable. After she started following Phil’s advice, she said to him, “hey……..It’s really working.”
He asked, “what’s working?”
She said, “When we met, I had no idea when or if I could retire. You put a plan together that I could follow, and it’s working. I’m going to be able to retire! “She was 63 at the time and didn’t have much saved for retirement even though she was earning plenty of money. Phil and his client figured out how to put her on the fast track to retirement and she didn’t have to wait until she was 70 to retire!
That’s the success that he strives to create in every client’s case. He prays with his clients. He tells them that he loves them—because he really honestly cares.
His family is incredibly important to him. He has two daughters, and every year, he tries to take one of them on a trip. One year it was Utah. “We did Bryce and then Zion National Park. We climbed to the top of Angels Landing. It was death defying and crazy, but we loved it.” His wife of 36 years is his rock, and they have a lot of fun together.
They are devout Christians, both working in local ministries. Catie helps young, pregnant women find alternatives to abortion. Phil has volunteered in prison ministry for 14 years and still is amazed at how open the prisoner are.
“There are a lot of similarities to prison ministry and retirement planning…….you can go this way or that way, it’s your choice.”
Once you become a client, you become family. And it’s a wonderful place to be.
Griffin Beaudette, a southwest Michigan native and graduate of Concordia University Chicago, joined Brittison Financial Group in February 2022 as junior partner. His experience in sales, customer relations, marketing, and account management from the RV Industry, along with his nature of being a team player and his love of helping people, make him perfectly suited for our office. Currently, he helps Phil to teach classes in Medicare, Social Security, Taxes, and Retirement as well as meeting with current and prospective clients. As Phil shares his many years of knowledge and experience with him, Griffin has shown a passion for studying the best ways to help people map out a plan that suits not only their personal financial situation, but also includes their goals and dreams.
Griffin is the middle child of Gregg and Beth Beaudette, with an older brother Blayne, and younger sister Brielle. He served as quarterback and leader of his university football team as well as participating in a weekly Bible study. Outside the office, you can find Griffin at the gym working out, spending time with friends and family, hanging out at the beach, or anything sports related.
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We are an independent financial services firm helping individuals create retirement strategies using a variety of insurance products to custom suite their needs and objectives.
Any references to protection benefits or steady and reliable income streams on this website refer only to fixed insurance products. They do not refer, in any way, to securities or investment advisory products. Annuity guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Annuities are insurance products that may be subject to fees, surrender charges and holding periods which vary by insurance company. Annuities are not FDIC insured.
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Financial advisory services offered through Red Oak Capital Management, (ROCM), a Registered Investment Advisor. Nothing in the content of this website should be considered a specific investment recommendation or tax or legal advice; please consult with your own tax and legal professionals. E-mail and Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or without error. Do not send requests for transactions of other account related actions as we are unable to process these requests. Brittison Financial Group, Inc. and ROCM are not affiliated companies. Nothing on this website should be interpreted to state or imply that past results are an indication of future performance.
