Innovative Financial Named National Rising Star
Innovative Financial has received national recognition as a Rising Star financial advisory firm by "CPA Wealth Provider," a national magazine for CPAs. This listing surveyed CPAs nationwide who are providing financial planning and investment management services. We are one of 37 firms designated nationwide and one of only three in Colorado.

Innovative Financial's Managing Director, DeDe Jones, is pleased to have worked with Denver's Chennel 4's "Money Makeover" twice in recent months. DeDe's first segment was entitled, "Aspiring Vet Gets Help From Financial Planner." To see the segment and read the background, click below:

http://cbs4denver.com/moneymakeover/financial.planner.family.2.944275.html

DeDe's second segment was entitled, "Personal Trainers Work Out Financial Problems." To see the segment and read the background, click below:

http://cbs4denver.com/recession/personal.training.debt.2.1016213.html

Her third segment was entitled, "Tea House Gets A New Brew For Financial Success." To see the segment and read the background, click below:

http://cbs4denver.com/moneymakeover/teahouse.owners.financial.2.1135908.html

Business partners in love

Before you and your spouse start a joint venture,
protect your finances - and your relationship.

By Karen Cheney, Money Magazine contributing writer
Money Magazine – March 5, 2008

For Jessica Jensen and Jason Pelletier, running a business together seemed like a natural. They had worked together in the late 1990s, when they both put in 60-plus-hour weeks as consultants, helping other companies figure out better ways to run their businesses.

They had complementary skills - hers in marketing and sales, his in environmental sciences. And they shared a vision to do something good for the earth. In sum, they knew they were perfect business partners. And, oh yeah, they happened to be married.

For many would-be entrepreneurs, the most natural person to work with is a spouse who shares values, goals and interests. But while a new business is a risky proposition for anyone - only 44% make it to the four-year mark, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics - the stakes are far greater for a married couple.

Start slowly
As eager as you may be to get your business up and running, you'll temper the risks you're taking as a family if one of you holds on to a corporate job for a while.

"Have the lower-income person take the leap first," advises DeDe Jones, a financial planner and accountant in Denver who specializes in working with entrepreneurs. That way you'll keep one steady paycheck and family health-care benefits until your business is off the ground.

Coming up for air

Janus resurfaces, but turmoil at the top clouds picture

James Paton, Rocky Mountain News
Rocky Mountain News – September 8, 2007

Colorado's largest pension plan gave up on Janus in early 2004.

Financial advisers lost patience, too.

Investors, who had endured severe losses in Janus mutual funds during the 2000 to 2002 bear market, said enough is enough when Eliot Spitzer accused Janus and other companies of fraud.

"That's when we became disenchanted with Janus," Denver financial adviser Peter Tedstrom said, recalling the former New York attorney general's investigation into abusive fund trading, revealed in September 2003. "We don't like our clients reading about their investments on the front page of the newspaper for the wrong reasons."

Clients fled in droves. All told, they pulled more than $70 billion from Janus stock and bond portfolios over a six-year period through the end of 2006, according to Financial Research Corp. They have run from Janus even as many of the company's mutual funds have redeemed themselves.

After paying a steep price, Janus finally has turned the corner.

DeDe Jones, a financial adviser in Lakewood who once invested in the Janus Worldwide Fund but moved clients' money to other products several years ago, said it would take a lot to get her to rekindle ties with Janus. She cited transaction and tax expenses that make it unappealing.

"There's a cost with every shift," she said. "You need a compelling reason, and right now Janus isn't giving me a compelling reason to make a shift. Hundreds of other companies aren't either."

(Click to read the complete article)

Interest rates from online banks often trump traditional accounts

By Geoff Ziezulewicz, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, April 22, 2007

Like many Americans, Air Force Staff Sgt. Sean Moeller wishes he could save more than the couple hundred dollars he squirrels away each month.

As his savings sits in a bank somewhere in the States, Moeller said he isn’t sure what kind of interest his money is earning him.

It’s easy to not pay much attention to a savings account. When looking for a place to stash cash, a low-interest rate in a traditional savings account seems like a secure, if unprofitable, option.

But in a meeting of the online world and the timeless allure of a good deal, online banks have become an emerging option when it comes to putting money away and earning some more in the process. Many online banks offer perks such as no introductory fees, and some offer high-interest checking accounts, according to Baras.

“It’s better than a conventional savings account,” said DeDe Jones, a financial planner in Colorado. “When people realize what’s going on, it’s going to be the rare person that will settle for so little.”

(click to read the complete article)