Justin Rodriguez, CFP®

I love to try new things, master new skills and meet new people. My goal is to embody this every single day and with each conversation and all client interactions. Client-care above anything else. That’s at the forefront of all I do. 

Life is to be experienced, so I am constantly pushing myself and seeking out new things to learn, compete in, and succeed with. As a college student, I earned Bachelor of Science degrees in both Finance and Accountancy from Arizona State University. Whether it’s in my professional life as a Certified Financial Planner™ or in my personal life – if it’s competitive, creative or challenging – it’s for me! Especially when it involves meeting new people and helping others along the way.   

I played baseball at a very high level for years, and loved every second of it, but have since transferred that love to tennis. I play tennis competitively and consider it my top hobby and “first love” when it comes to traditional sports. And more recently, my beautiful wife and I have found a mutual love for competitive West Coast Swing dancing, a sport that combines art and athleticism in a whole new way. 

Whether it’s tennis or teaching at my church or mastering new skills like sushi-making, playing guitar, creating digital art, or home improvement – I enjoy a challenge. Here in Arizona, I have incredible access to nature and new experiences, whether it’s outdoor adventure, exploring new places and trying new food and fun activities. My wife and I love living here and love learning new things together! 

This love for sports, skills and learning new things is dwarfed only by my passion for helping people – and it’s why I enjoy being an advisor for TCI. Equal parts fiduciary and friend, the role of financial planner fits my personality perfectly. Helping others achieve their goals is what I enjoy most! And working for TCI to help others reach their dreams is everything I could ask for, as they truly put clients before anything. Putting the client first is something other firms might say they do, but only TCI makes it their primary focus and actually delivers on that promise. 

My client’s success is what motivates me, and that responsibility matters more to me than anything else. It may sound corny, but it’s true – client trust really is a sacred bond – and I take the gravity of my relationship with my clients very seriously. My mindset is always focused on providing the best possible experience to every client interaction, backed by a methodology driven by research, results and relationship-building. 

Quite frankly, I find the world of financial planning fascinating! It’s a perfect fit for me; the ideal combination of research-driven, quantitative analysis and real-life relationship-building. I’m sort of a nerd who has always enjoyed the rigor and research that goes into planning; the quantitative analysis that goes into customizing the right plan for every person. 

Financial planning allows me to use both sides of my brain, satisfying both my love of problem solving and my desire to help people. Building trusted, lifelong relationships. Using data and research to drive decisions. Helping educate and engage with clients. Personalizing a plan for success. Seeing success happen and knowing I did everything in my power to exceed every expectation. 

The clients I meet, their stories, their lives, their needs – and helping them understand, plan for and achieve their long-term goals – that’s the best part! 

Fun Facts

1. I used to play competitive baseball, but now my wife and I enjoy West-Coast Swing Dancing; and we dance together semi-competitively.
2. I love sushi! Making it, eating it, exploring new restaurants and more. I will eat it daily and love trying out new sushi places wherever I go. 
3. Professionally, one of the people I look up to most is Michael Kitces from the “Nerd’s Eye View”, a financial industry icon who helps educate people with great financial planning knowledge and provides advisors like me the tools, training and thinking to help me better serve my clients.
   
4. My favorite movie is Happy Gilmore and my favorite TV show is Friends.
5. I play tennis competitively and consider it my personal passion. One of my personal inspirations is tennis champion Roger Federer. He’s been at the apex of the sport for 20 years and spent 900 weeks in the Top 10. In terms of grit, grace, classiness, competitiveness and championships won, he’s the best to ever play.