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ERIC GANELES

ERIC GANELES

CREATIVE PLANNING | Wealth Manager
Southborough, MA 01772
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CRD#: 1256600
ERIC GANELES

Professional summary


ERIC GANELES is a registered financial advisor currently at CREATIVE PLANNING located in Southborough, Massachusetts.

ERIC is registered as an IAR (Investment Advisor Representative) and started their career in finance in 1984. ERIC has worked at 5 firms and has passed the Series 66, Series 65, Series 63, SIE, Series 7 and Series 8 exams.

Biography


Eric is a Private Wealth Manager, working with clients to create and maintain customized financial plans addressing all aspects of healthy financial lives, including investments, tax planning, risk management, retirement, charitable giving, employee benefits and estate planning. Eric brings to his clients more than 40 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Creative Planning, Eric was a Financial Counselor and Senior Vice President at a registered investment advisory firm in the Metro Boston Area. He has also served as Vice President, Senior Account Executive and as Vice President, Branch Manager at a large financial services company. Eric earned a Master of Science degree in Finance with honors from Brandeis University. He is also a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®) and Chartered SRI Counselor (CSRIC®) as designated by the College for Financial Planning. Eric is a member of the CFA Society Boston. Eric and his wife Marla enjoy travel and spending time with friends and their two adult children. In his spare time, Eric is a cyclist and a musician - though not often at the same time.
top-8-questions

Question & Answer


Are you a "fiduciary"?
Yes

Aliases


None

Other business activities


Outside business activity is any business or activity undertaken by an advisor that is outside the scope of their relationship with their firm (e.g., consulting services, real estate, freelance work, teaching, etc.). Investors should stay informed about these activities to ensure no conflicts of interest.
The advisor shows no other business activity.

Blog Corner


CRS (Client Relationship Summary) - RIA


CREATIVE PLANNING - Registered Investment Advisory firm

Version Date: Fri Mar 29 2024

Creative Planning, LLC is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an investment adviser. Brokerage and investment advisory services and fees differ and it is important for you to understand these differences.

There are free and user-friendly tools available to research firms and financial professionals at Investor.gov/CRS, which also provides educational materials about broker-dealers, investment advisers, and investing.

Types of Services Offered:

We offer investment advisory services to retail clients. We typically utilize bonds, equities, ETFs, mutual funds, and alternative investments to build diversified portfolios for each client. We offer portfolio management, retirement planning, financial planning, and sub-advisory services. We monitor client portfolios on an ongoing basis and make adjustments consistent with their investment objectives and goals. We do not make adjustments based on market timing or hunches but will periodically rebalance or tax loss harvest when necessary.

For discretionary accounts, the client gives us the authority to make trades when we feel it is appropriate, without consulting the client in advance. For non-discretionary accounts, the client must give usspecific approval before we make any trades. Non-discretionary accounts limit our ability to proactively manage the account, especially in times of market volatility. The client agreement will specify the type of account the client has with us. We generally require a minimum account size of $100,000.

For additional information, please see Items 4, 7, 8, and 13 of our Disclosure Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A).


Questions to ask your Professional:
  • Given my financial situation, should I choose an investment advisory service? Why or why not?
  • How will you choose investments to recommend to me?
  • What is your relevant experience, including your licenses, education and other qualifications?
  • What do those qualifications mean?

Our fees are based on a percentage of client assets that we manage and do not vary based on investment type. We typically deduct fees from clients’ investment accounts each quarter in arrears. The more assets you have in the account, including cash and margin, the more you will pay us, therefore we have an incentive to encourage you to increase the assets in your account in order to increase our fees. We charge our fee even if we do not buy or sell assets in your account, or if your account is profitable or not.

You will have additional fees or costs in addition to our management fee for certain investments listed below.

  • Some investments, such as mutual funds and exchange traded funds, impose additional fees that will reduce the value of your investment over time.

  • Assets managed by a sub-advisor are subject to the subadvisor’s management fee as well as our fee.

  • For certain investments, you will pay a transaction fee. You will also pay fees to an unaffiliated custodian (such as TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, or Fidelity) that will hold your assets (called “custody”). We do not receive any portion of these fees.

You will pay fees and costs whether you make or lose money on your investments. Fees and costs will reduce any amount of money you make on your investment over time. Please make sure you understand what fees and costs you are paying. For additional information, please see Item 5 of our Form ADV Part 2A.


Questions to ask your Professional:
  • Help me understand how these fees and costs might affect my investments. If I give you $10,000 to invest, how much will go to fees and costs, and how much will be invested for me?

When we act as your investment adviser, we are required to act in your best interest and not put our interests ahead of yours. At the same time, the way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests. You should understand and ask us about these conflicts because they can affect the investment advice we provide you. Here are some examples to help you understand what this means:

  • Retirement Plan Rollovers to an IRA - our advisory fees may be higher than your retirement plan fee

  • Margin – margin increases the account size subject to our advisory fee

  • Referrals to or from our related entities: comparable services may be available elsewhere for less cost

  • Benefits received from our custodians

For additional information about our conflicts of interest, please see Items 10, 12, & 14 of our Form ADV Part 2A.


Questions to ask your Professional:
  • How might your conflicts of interest affect me, and how will you address them?

Our financial professionals are paid a salary however our employees are eligible for awards based on the firm’s performance. We have implemented a partnership program which qualifying employees are granted and/or may purchase partnership units based on length of service to the firm and performance. Employees also receive compensation for certain client referrals. A conflict of interest exists where an employee could be motivated to increase assets at the firm regardless of the client’s best interest, however, we are required to always act as a fiduciary when working with our clients. For additional information, please see Item 14 of ourForm ADV Part 2A.

Certified licenses


Advisors may have various certifications and credentials from different organizations. AdvisorCheck highlights these seven certifications - AIF®, CFP®, ChFC®, CFA, CLU®, CIMA®, CPWA®
None

Experience


Current

July 6, 2022 - Present

CREATIVE PLANNING

Office #1: 118 Turnpike Road Suite 300, Southborough, MA 01772
RIA
CRD#: 105348
Southborough, MA
Past

November 16, 2017 - June 21, 2022

FERRIS CAPITAL, LLC

RIA
CRD#: 160116
SOUTHBOROUGH, MA
Past

February 28, 2005 - May 9, 2017

STRATEGIC ADVISERS LLC

RIA
CRD#: 104555
FRAMINGHAM, MA
Past

February 2, 2005 - June 2, 2017

FIDELITY BROKERAGE SERVICES LLC

BD
CRD#: 7784
FRAMINGHAM, MA
Past

March 7, 1990 - November 29, 2001

FIDELITY BROKERAGE SERVICES LLC

BD
CRD#: 7784
SMITHFIELD, RI
Past

April 18, 1984 - August 28, 1989

THOMSON MCKINNON SECURITIES INC.

BD
CRD#: 829
NEW YORK, NY

Primary Firm SEC Registration


This SEC-registered firm can serve clients nationwide. Some states may require the firm to submit a notice filing if the firm has more than 5 clients or a physical office there. You can view these state-level filings under the section titled "State Registrations and Notice Filings".
CP
CREATIVE PLANNING
CREATIVE PLANNING | WOMEN'S WEALTH MANAGEMENT | THE EXCHANGE TRADED FUND CENTER | CREATIVE PLANNING, LLC | CREATIVE PLANNING, INC. | CREATIVE PLANNING INC

CRD#: 105348 / SEC#: 801-18564

RIA
Registered Investment Advisory firm - (3/18/1983 Approved)

State Registrations and Notice Filings


Listed states reflect where the advisor is authorized to serve clients under state regulations.

IAR
means the advisor is registered as an Investment Advisor Representative in this state and is authorized to provide investment advice to clients there.

Highlighted states indicate IAR registrations

IAR
Massachusetts
(7/6/2022)

Exams


State Security Law Exam
RR
IAR
Series 66
Date: 2/23/2005
Uniform Combined State Law Examination
State Security Law Exam
State Security Law Exam
General Industry/Product Exam
General Industry/Product Exam
Principal/Supervisory Exam
RR
Series 8
Date: 8/24/1990
General Securities Sales Supervisor Examination (Options Module & General Module)

Current Firm


CP
CREATIVE PLANNING
CREATIVE PLANNING | WOMEN'S WEALTH MANAGEMENT | THE EXCHANGE TRADED FUND CENTER | CREATIVE PLANNING, LLC | CREATIVE PLANNING, INC. | CREATIVE PLANNING INC

CRD#: 105348 / SEC#: 801-18564

RIA
Registered Investment Advisory firm - (3/18/1983 Approved)
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Contact information


Main Address
5454 W. 110th Street, Overland Park, KS 66211
Mailing Address
Phone number
(866) 909-5148
Established
Firm type
Fiscal year end
# of Employees
1,428

SEC notice filing (53 States and Territories)


Blank US states mapAlaskaHawaiiAlabamaArkansasArizonaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaIowaIdahoIllinoisIndianaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMassachusettsMarylandMaineMichiganMinnesotaMissouriMississippiMontanaNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNebraskaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNevadaNew YorkOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVirginiaVermontWisconsinWest VirginiaWyoming

Documents


Customer Relationship Summary (CRS / SEC)Latest Form ADV

Part 2 Brochures

CREATIVE PLANNING FIRM BROCHURE (3/5/2025)

Regulatory assets under management


Total Number of Accounts269,686
AUM (Assets Under Management)$ 217,399,324,981

Accountant surprise examination report


Filing DateForm ADV-E CoverForm ADV-E Report
06/27/2025
Cover Page
09/19/2024
01/03/2024
01/18/2023

Red Flags


Disclosures can be potential red flags, including customer disputes, regulatory fines, employer terminations, bankruptcies, judgments, liens, or certain criminal activities.

Check for any disclosures as part of your thorough research when choosing an advisor.

Company Information


CREATIVE PLANNING

Wealth ManagerCRD#: 105348Southborough, MA 01772

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