Mike Garry

MICHAEL GARRY, CFP, JD/MBA, is a Certified Financial Planner practitioner and a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors with over twenty years of experience.

Michael was featured in the Wall Street Journal in the December 13, 2010 edition of the paper. He was part of its 2011 Advisor Roundtable and discussed working with clients and what to expect for 2011. Since then he has been fortunate enough to appear in the Wall Street Journal and its sister publications several more times.

In 2014 Michael published his first book, Independent Financial Planning: Your Ultimate Guide to Finding and Choosing the Right Financial Planner. His second book, The Smart Person's Guide to Financial Planning & Investments: A Simple and Straightforward Approach to Understanding Your Personal Finances, was published in 2022.

Michael is a frequent expert contributor to financial publications, and has also been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fortune, Money magazine, Kiplinger’s, BusinessWeek.com, CNNMoney.com, Consumer Reports Money Adviser, Investment News, the Chicago Tribune, the Bucks County Courier Times, Financial Advisor, and other periodicals; he has written articles for the Bucks County Courier Times and Yardley News and Outlook magazine; and he writes a regular personal finance column in the Yardley Voice.

St. Mary’s Medical Center has appointed Michael to serve on its Planned Giving Advisory Committee.

Michael serves as an Arbitrator for FINRA – Dispute Resolution. Arbitrators serve in panels and hear and decide cases involving disputes between securities firms, their employees, and/or the public.

Michael earned a BS in Finance and an MBA in Finance from Saint Joseph’s University, and a law degree (JD) from the Widener University School of Law, where he concentrated in tax, securities, and estate planning.

Michael began his career as an intern with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General and was admitted to the Pennsylvania and New Jersey State Bars. Michael served as a practicing attorney at two Philadelphia law firms.

Expanding his career horizons, Michael moved to Merrill Lynch & Co., where as a financial advisor he developed broad-based financial plans that encompassed high net-worth clients’ insurance, tax, investment, retirement, and estate-planning needs.

Later, Michael joined Global Investment Management, where as vice president and chief compliance officer he oversaw the 25-year old Registered Investment Advisory firm’s operations and legal compliance. He also developed and monitored the implementation of appropriate investment policies and advanced wealth-planning techniques to address clients’ financial objectives.

In February 2006 Michael formed Yardley Wealth Management, LLC to better serve the needs of his clients. At Yardley Wealth Management, Michael, a Certified Financial Planner practitioner, applies his experience, financial industry knowledge, and legal background to provide a seamless, thoughtful approach to wealth management.

In February 2007 Michael formed a law firm, Yardley Estate Planning, LLC, to work in conjunction with his wealth management firm and provide estate planning services to Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents. Yardley Estate Planning is a law firm dedicated exclusively to estate planning, which includes planning for and addressing legacy, inheritance, and tax issues; and drafting wills, trusts, living wills, powers of attorney, and other estate planning tools and documents.

Married for twenty years, Michael and his wife have three daughters. He has coached several of his daughters’ Yardley Makefield Soccer (YMS) and YMCA soccer and basketball teams, and he has completed the Philadelphia Marathon, the Philadelphia Distance Run, the Broad Street Run, the American Cancer Society Bike-a-thon, and the Philadelphia and Marsh Creek Triathlons. He recently finished the Quakerman Half Triathlon, which is a 71-mile race (1.2 mile swim, 56.7 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run), winning the Clydesdale (men over 200 pounds) division.