Bill Cardwell, CFP
Last updated:
Bill Cardwell is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional who reviews the product ratings published on My Annuity Store. He reads the carrier filing and the current rate sheet behind every contract we rate, and he is the reason those ratings carry a credentialed judgment rather than a spreadsheet output.
What Bill does here
Bill reviews the ratings we assign to individual annuity contracts. That means checking the crediting rates and index menu against what comparable products are paying, testing whether an income rider earns its fee at realistic ages, and pushing back when a rating does not match the evidence in the review.
You can read the framework he applies on our annuity product rating methodology page.
Background
Bill graduated from Manchester University with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and a minor in Economics.
He served as Director of Financial Planning at a registered investment adviser, where he built comprehensive financial plans used by advisory firms across the country. That role meant working through hundreds of household balance sheets and retirement income scenarios rather than a handful, which is the background that makes him useful on a product review.
He now runs Aurora Financial Strategies, the independent advisory team he founded, where he works directly with clients to build and monitor financial plans. Investment advisory services there are offered through BCGM Wealth Management, LLC dba Aurora Asset Management, an SEC registered investment adviser.
Why he fits this work
Bill built Aurora Financial Strategies deliberately free of sales quotas and product placement requirements, so that recommendations answer to the client’s situation and nothing else. Aurora’s stated approach is to learn a client’s goals first and build the plan around them.
That is the same standard our ratings have to meet. A rating is only worth reading if the reasoning behind it is on the page and holds up under scrutiny, and Bill’s job here is to push back when it does not.
Outside the office
Bill is a member of the Kokomo Y’s Men Club, a board member of Valley of Grace, and a supporter of One 17 International and Bridges Outreach.
He and his wife Alli have two children, Rory and Gavyn. When there is time, he golfs, cooks for friends and family on his Big Green Egg, and follows the Colts, Pacers, Cubs, and Boilermakers.
Find Bill
- Aurora Financial Strategies, his independent advisory team
- Bill Cardwell on LinkedIn
Bill Cardwell is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and the founder of Aurora Financial Strategies, a separate firm whose advisory business is not conducted through My Annuity Store. Investment Advisory Services are offered through BCGM Wealth Management, LLC dba Aurora Asset Management (Aurora), a SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. My Annuity Store, Inc. is a licensed insurance agency and does not provide investment advisory, tax, or legal advice. Nothing on this site is a recommendation to buy a specific contract.
