Andrew Gifford, CFP®

Founder and Partner at Gifford Financial

Gifford Financial focuses on working with those in the medical and dental fields. While we specialize in advising those working in health care, our core process and principles apply to anyone committed to improving their financial situation.

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Check the background of this investment professional on FINRA’s BrokerCheck.

Andrew Gifford, CFP®

Founder and Partner at Gifford Financial

Gifford Financial focuses on working with those in the medical and dental fields. While we specialize in advising those working in health care, our core process and principles apply to anyone committed to improving their financial situation.

About

Andrew specializes in working with medical and dental professionals to help them effectively and efficiently reach their financial goals. Andrew is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional and former attorney. He previously served as President of North Star’s Medical Division, a group of North Star advisors committed to providing expertise for physicians and dentists. Andrew has been featured on Fox News in Minneapolis sharing his financial expertise and has provided written content to the Hennepin Bar Journal. While working as an attorney, Andrew practiced primarily in the areas of estate planning, real estate, and small business transactional law. He regularly speaks and conducts educational discussions for the residency and fellowship programs at the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic.

Andrew has successfully completed the CFP®, Certified Financial Planner certification, a designation that fewer than 29% of those in the industry have achieved.1 Andrew is a Juris Doctor, receiving his law degree from the William Mitchell College of Law. He also received his Master of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin – Stout, and his Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State University. Andrew previously served for two years as the Co-chair of the Ramsey County Bar Association’s New Lawyers Section.

Background

In eighth grade, while sitting next to my brother’s bedside while he received chemotherapy, I learned that life is unpredictable and you need to live in the moment and appreciate the opportunities life gives us, while overcoming the challenges it presents. I also learned that it isn’t the setback that is the difficult part. That part is emotionally straining, but it is the recovery that tests what we are made of. Marshall and I took up cycling as a way to help him gain strength and endurance. We created a rough training plan which added mileage each week, and slowly but surely my brother recovered. Today, I don’t recall exactly how many miles we logged that spring and summer on a Huffy 10-speed and Schwinn Traveler, but out of that experience grew our passion for cycling which it is still a big part of our lives today.

A month after my youngest daughter was born, my father fell and suffered a traumatic brain injury from which he never fully recovered. This was my second experience of seeing a strong and vibrant person reduced to a shell of themselves. However, our father’s recovery was not swift and it wasn’t complete. He returned home with in-home healthcare assistance but continued to deteriorate. He then moved to the memory ward of an assisted living center and finally to a nursing home facility before passing away. The stress this placed on our family was tremendous. Luckily, we had the proper planning in place to financially weather the event with the confidence that no matter what care or help our father needed, our family and our mother would be alright. I can’t imagine the strain of adding financial uncertainty on top of the already immense emotional burden.

I keep my father’s brass fleur-de-lis paperweight, which he received upon attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, on my desk to remind me of that fact daily and to remind me of the importance of the work we do for the individuals and families we serve.

“Be prepared” is the Boy Scout Motto. My father, my brothers, and I are all Eagle Scouts and this motto has served us well throughout our lives. It encompasses a philosophy of being ready for the expected and the unexpected; prepared for all of the challenges we face in life whether physical, emotional, mental, or financial; and for today as well as 20 years from now. We help our clients build solid strategies to help achieve their goals, hold them accountable to those commitments, prepare for the unexpected, and help them live life to the fullest today while still planning for the future.

Services

Andrew’s mission is to help motivated, successful professionals in identifying their needs for wealth accumulation, preservation, and succession. He believes in creating and sustaining meaningful and trustful relationships with his clients in order to better understand their values, goals, and needs. His areas of focus include:

For individuals

• Debt, Budgeting, and Cash Flow Management
• Wealth Accumulation (Investment Solutions)
• Tax Minimization Strategies*
• College Funding Strategies (529 Plans, Education IRA’s)
• Retirement Strategies (Qualified vs. Non-Qualified Plans, IRA’s, Rollovers)
• Risk Management (Life Insurance, Disability Insurance, Health Insurance)
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Asset Protection Strategies*

For businesses

• Qualified and Non-Qualified Compensation Packages
• Retirement Strategies
• Group Insurance
• Business Continuation
• Employee Seminars

Team

Alicia Leemkuil
Alicia Leemkuil

Marketing Coordinator

Katie Tam
Katie Tam

Investment Coordinator

Bert Nijssen
Bert Nijssen

Insurance Coordinator

Megan Karsseboom
Megan Karsseboom

Administrative Assistant

North Star resource team

Chase Brakke, DIA, DIF, CEPA®
Chase Brakke, DIA, DIF, CEPA®

Vice President of Business Owner Solutions

Michael Sejbl
Michael Sejbl

Property and Casualty Consultant

Anne Pierce
Anne Pierce

Medicare Specialist

Chloe Becker
Chloe Becker

Employee Benefits Account Manager

Contact

Connect with Andrew

    Office locations

    Minneapolis

    2701 University Avenue SE
    Suite 100
    Minneapolis, MN 55414

    Get directions

    Investment advisor representative of Cetera Advisor Networks, LLC. Securities offered through Cetera Advisor Networks LLC (doing insurance business in CA as CFGAN Insurance Agency LLC, CA Insurance Lic #0644976), member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory Services offered through Cetera Investment Advisers LLC, a registered investment adviser. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity. CA Insurance License #0M80995.

    1Source: CFP Board Professional Demographics as of 11/16/2021.