Carl C. Buckner
Fee-Only Financial Planner Carl Buckner and Associates, LLC
Carl has been a Fee-Only financial planner for over ten years and is part of the John E. Sestina network of fee-only financial planners. A Fee-Only planner sells no products and is compensated solely by the client. This relationship avoids any potential conflict of interest when recommending financial products.
He started his financial planning career after retiring from Lucent Technologies. His interest in helping others attain their financial objectives began while he worked part-time as a tax preparer. During that time, he saw many instances when, with the proper planning, individuals could have reduced their taxes significantly.
That experience sparked his interest in financial planning and he has found the profession to be even more rewarding that he originally anticipated.
Carl is a member of the Financial Planning Association and formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Columbus chapter. He is also a member of the National Association of Professional Financial Advisors.
He served on the Board of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce for many years. During that time, he was one of the founders of Leadership Dublin. He was a member of the original Advisory Board of The McClure School of Information and Telecommunication Systems at Ohio University.
In addition to earning an MBA from the University of Chicago, Carl has undergraduate degrees in mathematics-physics (St. Joseph’s College) and electrical engineering (Illinois Institute of Technology).
Carl lives in Dublin with his wife, Connie. They have two adult children, a daughter in Columbus and a son in Denver.
NBMBAA: What do you like best about your current role/organization?
CRB: As a comprehensive financial planner, I am involved in almost every aspect of my client’s lives and strive to become a trust advisor. Over the years, I have served clients through college graduation, marriage, birth of their first child, job loss, and even the death of a loved one. Being able to help them throughout these significant life events brings me great personal satisfaction.
NBMBAA: Best advice you’ve received/favorite quote/personal mantra?
CRB: When I got my first job after graduation from college, my supervisor encouraged me to obtain a MBA degree. After almost 18 years of formal education, going back into the classroom was not the first thing on my mind. However, I took his advice and thus began my quest for continuous education, which, I believe, is essential for success in both business and personal endeavors.
NBMBAA: Thoughts on leadership and success?
CRB: First, leadership must be earned. It does not come from title, position or power. After that, the leader must grow the followers, even to the extent that the leader can be replaced and can move on to the next challenge.
NBMBAA: Three words/phrases that describe you with a description as to why you picked those words/phrases.
CRB: Good Listener – Oftentimes, a person is so anxious to express his/her opinion that what the other persons is saying goes unheard. It is only by listening to the others that you can convince them of your point of view or, if applicable, help them.
Empathic – This supplements the listening characteristic. While listening gathers the facts, empathy identifies the feelings. Feeling convey more than words.
Analytical – My math and engineering background has help me see possible solutions to problems by identifying the relevant facts.
NBMBAA: What are you reading right now/listening to on your MP3?
CRB: I’m pretty much “old school” – B. B. King, Tina Turner, Otis Redding. Ray Charles. However, there is room for Beyonce, Deitrick Haddon, Alicia Keys as well.