It’s really not easy for most people to talk about money. It’s often difficult to even think about money, your future, your family’s future. And it’s especially hard to wade into those waters without a well-qualified personal guide. But just as the most effective medical care is a product of trust and confidence between patient and doctor, the most effective financial strategies are produced by candid relationships between families and their consultants.

It was in that spirit that Michael J. Poulin, the first certified financial planner in the Lewiston-Auburn area, founded Downeast Financial Group, in 1978, to help clients address financial security and pursue their dreams and aspirations: college for the kids, comfortable retirement, insurance protection from burdensome healthcare costs. Intensified interest in personal financial health is often triggered by significant transitions in life, including marriage, births, job changes and general economic conditions. Managing your assets – home, savings, investments, insurance – is usually secondary to whatever it was that stimulated interest in the first place.

The professionals at Downeast Financial Group provide access to a full range of financial choices, including Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP-IRA, or SIMPLE retirement accounts and 401ks; college savings accounts and individual non-retirement accounts. Investment strategies include Mutual Funds, Stocks, Bonds, Variable Annuities, Managed portfolios and Real Estate Investment Trusts, just to name a few. The firm can also provide Fixed Annuities as well as Life, Accident, Health, Disability, and Long Term Care insurance.

Dedicated to helping people from all walks of life improve the quality of life for themselves and their families, Downeast Financial Group has recently undergone its own carefully planned transition. While there is new ownership, the long-standing relationships that have enabled the company to help clients throughout central Maine and literally all across the country have been carefully preserved.

“We are proud that many people who began working with us when they lived in this area have continued those relationships after moving away,” said Treasurer and Partner Lori-Ann Gagne.

Senior Vice President and Partner Lena-Jo Hartley further explained, “We have clients in California, Florida, Texas, New York – all over, really – who continue to rely on us.” Hartley grew up in Lewiston, Maine and graduated in 1994 from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Health Policy Administration, and has been a cornerstone of Downeast Financial Group for nearly 17 years. The staff can’t quite agree about whether the portion of new business that comes from referrals from current clients is 90 percent or more. “Could be as high as 98 percent,” was the speculation from Hartley.

In addition to helping clients navigate their financial futures, Downeast Financial Group also provides comprehensive tax preparation and planning services.

“We’re usually cheaper than H&R Block,” Hartley quipped, “and we can integrate tax planning with more comprehensive financial strategies.” Securities by licensed individuals offered through Investacorp, Inc., a registered broker/dealer, member FINRA, SIPC. Investacorp is a subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services, Inc., full-service financial company established in 1876. That firm was entrusted with investing the Nobel Prize money awarded to Albert Einstein.

Veteran L-A area insurance specialist, Dan Goff, joined Hartley and Gagne at Downeast Financial Group earlier this year. “We’ve got some new capabilities in areas such as group health insurance and products for Medicare beneficiaries,” Goff said, “that will round out the range of financial services we offer.”

Goff has been consulting with Downeast Financial Group and its clients for nearly 20 years and has had his own insurance practice since 1989. Hartley said “We’re delighted to have Dan with us full time, and to have him help us continue providing seamless service to the clients to whom we’ve become so devoted, over the years.”

Downeast Financial Group is headquartered in the meticulously restored Clifford Family mansion, at 460 Main Street, in Lewiston. Reach them by phone at 207-777-5400.