🔎 Firm Focus

Get to Know Pathfinders Wealth

Grow with purpose. Retire with a paycheck.

16 Certified Advisor Reviews™

Commerce Township, MI │ Retirement Income & Tax-Efficient Planning Nationwide

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Ideal Client Profile

Who we serve

We help people approaching retirement, already retired, or managing complex family or business finances coordinate their investments, income, taxes, and legacy around the life they want to live.

Pre-Retirees

Knowing when you can retire, what you can comfortably spend, and how to build a retirement paycheck.

Living in Retirement

Retirement income, required distributions, and tax-efficient withdrawals as your needs change.

Business Owners

Building personal wealth alongside the business and planning for a future transition.

High-Net-Worth Households

Bringing complex investment, tax, and legacy decisions into one coordinated picture.

Couples & Surviving Spouses

Social Security timing, survivor income, and a plan if one spouse is on their own.

Families & Generational Wealth

Beneficiary and wealth-transfer planning alongside your legal and tax advisors.

Get to know us

Pathfinders Wealth

Pathfinders Wealth is a family-founded financial planning firm based in Commerce Township, Michigan. We serve clients nationwide through virtual meetings and work with families throughout Southeast Michigan by appointment.

Founded in 2019 by father-and-son team Sean Sparkman, AIF®, and Rick Sparkman, Pathfinders was built around a simple belief: every dollar should have a job. Some dollars need to grow. Others need to create reliable retirement income, preserve flexibility, or provide for the people and causes that matter most.

We specialize in helping people approaching retirement and those already retired answer some of life's most important financial questions: When can I comfortably retire? How do I turn my savings into a retirement paycheck? How can I manage taxes throughout retirement? And what happens financially if something happens to my spouse?

Our services include retirement income planning, investment management, Social Security optimization, Roth conversion strategies, tax-efficient withdrawal planning, and evaluating annuities and insurance when appropriate. We also help business owners and families navigate more complex financial and legacy decisions.

Our philosophy is simple: the plan comes first, and the financial products come afterward. We take time to understand your goals, explain your options and their tradeoffs, and help you make informed decisions without unnecessary pressure.

Investment advisory services are offered through Foundations Investment Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser.

At Pathfinders Wealth, our goal is to help you grow with purpose and retire with a paycheck.

313-246-9278

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What We Do

Services

Every dollar should have a job. We help you coordinate retirement income, investments, taxes, and protection strategies so your financial plan supports the life you want to live.

  1. Retirement Income Planning

    We coordinate Social Security, pensions, investments, taxes, and cash needs into a clearer retirement paycheck, so you can see where next month's income comes from and what it depends on.

  2. Investment Management

    We build and manage portfolios based on your goals, risk tolerance, and the job each investment needs to perform. Strategies may emphasize long-term growth, dividend income, diversification, or a combination of approaches.

  3. Roth Conversion & Retirement Tax Planning

    We evaluate how Roth conversions, required minimum distributions (RMDs), withdrawal strategies, and Medicare IRMAA may affect your taxes throughout retirement. We coordinate with your tax professionals when appropriate.

  4. Social Security Planning

    When you claim Social Security can affect your retirement income for decades. We evaluate claiming ages, spousal and survivor benefits, and how Social Security fits into your broader retirement income and tax strategy.

  5. Tax-Efficient Investment Strategies

    For investors with taxable portfolios, we evaluate tax-loss harvesting, direct indexing, and tax-aware investment transitions. We consider the potential tax benefits alongside investment risks, costs, and portfolio objectives.

  6. Annuity & Guaranteed Income Planning

    We evaluate annuities alongside other income and investment alternatives to determine whether contractual guarantees have a useful role in your plan. We explain costs, liquidity restrictions, insurer risk, and tradeoffs before recommending a strategy.

  7. Survivor, Estate & Legacy Planning

    A retirement plan should consider what happens when one spouse is left managing finances alone. We evaluate survivor income, potential tax changes, beneficiaries, and wealth-transfer goals while coordinating with estate and tax professionals.

  8. Business Owner & High-Net-Worth Planning

    We help business owners and affluent families coordinate investments, retirement goals, tax-aware strategies, and complex financial decisions. Planning may include concentrated assets, business transitions, and multigenerational wealth goals.

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Conversation

In conversation with Sean R. Sparkman, AIF®

Co-Founder & Financial Advisor

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Wealthtender

Why did you and your father start Pathfinders Wealth?

Sean Sparkman

My dad, Rick, and I started Pathfinders Wealth together in 2019. Being a father-and-son firm is meaningful to me, but what really matters is how we work with people. I don't think anyone wants to sit down with a financial advisor and immediately be told what product they should buy. They want someone who will actually listen, understand what they've worked for, and help them make good decisions with it. That's the kind of relationship we've tried to build at Pathfinders.

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WT

Wealthtender

You often say every dollar should have a job. What do you mean by that?

Sean Sparkman

I don't believe all of your money should be doing the same thing. Some of it might need to generate income to pay your bills. Some needs to keep growing for the future. Some should be available when something unexpected happens. Once we understand what each part of your money needs to accomplish, then we can decide which investments or other strategies make sense. The job comes first. The product comes afterward.

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WT

Wealthtender

What's the biggest change people face when they transition into retirement?

Sean Sparkman

For most of your working life, you're putting money into your accounts. Then retirement comes, and suddenly you need those accounts to start paying you. That's a completely different job. The question isn't just whether you've saved enough. It's where your monthly income will come from, what happens during a bad market, how taxes affect your withdrawals, and whether the plan still works if one spouse passes away. I want people to understand how those pieces fit together so they're not constantly second-guessing whether they can afford to enjoy retirement.

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WT

Wealthtender

How do you decide whether an annuity makes sense for someone?

Sean Sparkman

I don't start a conversation assuming someone needs an annuity. I also don't assume they should avoid one. First, we need to understand what they're trying to accomplish. Do they need more dependable monthly income? Are they worried about market losses? How important is having access to their money? Then we can compare annuities with other strategies and look at the guarantees, costs, restrictions, and tradeoffs. Sometimes an annuity fits. Sometimes an investment portfolio, bonds, or another approach makes more sense. My responsibility is to help someone understand those choices before they make a decision.

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WT

Wealthtender

What's most important to you when someone trusts you with their finances?

Sean Sparkman

I want people to feel comfortable asking me anything, even if they think it's a basic question. Financial decisions affect a lot more than an account balance. They affect your spouse, your family, what you're able to do in retirement, and what you might leave behind. I take that responsibility seriously. That means explaining things in plain English, being upfront about costs and risks, and being willing to say when I don't think someone needs to make a change. I want clients to understand why we're doing something, not just trust me because I told them to do it.

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WT

Wealthtender

What should someone expect from their first conversation with you?

Sean Sparkman

The first call is really just an opportunity for us to get to know each other. It usually takes about 25 to 30 minutes, there's no charge, and you don't need to prepare a bunch of paperwork. I'll ask what brought you to us, what you're trying to accomplish, and what concerns you about your current situation. I'll also want to understand what's already working well for you. From there, we can decide whether it makes sense to take a deeper look. There's no pressure to move forward. Even if we're not the right fit, I want that first conversation to be useful.

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Get to know Sean Sparkman

Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Straight answers about who we help, how we work, what it costs, and how to get started.

Depending on the relationship, compensation may include an ongoing advisory fee based on assets managed, a flat financial-planning fee, or commissions paid by an insurance company when an insurance product is used. We explain which arrangement applies, what it costs, and the relevant tradeoffs before you make a decision. You can review our advisory fee disclosures and ask us directly about any costs.

Investment advisory services are offered through Foundations Investment Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. When Sean provides investment advisory services through Foundations, he acts in a fiduciary capacity. Insurance products are offered in a separate capacity and may involve commissions. We explain which role applies to a recommendation and how we're compensated.

There's no minimum investment required to have an introductory conversation with us. We offer different types of relationships, including investment management and standalone financial planning, depending on what you need. Certain investments or insurance products may have their own minimums, which we'll explain if they're relevant to your situation.

We primarily help people approaching retirement or already retired who want to make thoughtful decisions about income, investments, Social Security, and taxes. We also work with business owners, high-net-worth households, couples, and families whose financial situations require more coordinated planning.

Yes. We're based in Commerce Township, Michigan, but we work with clients nationwide through phone and video meetings, subject to applicable licensing and registration requirements. We also meet with clients throughout Southeast Michigan in person by appointment. You don't need to live near our office to explore working with us.

Yes. We offer standalone financial-planning engagements as well as ongoing investment advisory relationships. If you're looking for investment management, we'll discuss which accounts, if any, would need to move and how existing accounts at firms such as Fidelity or Schwab fit into the plan. Moving everything isn't automatically necessary.

Yes. We help evaluate Roth conversion opportunities, Social Security claiming decisions, required minimum distributions (RMDs), Medicare IRMAA, and tax-efficient retirement withdrawals. The goal is to understand how decisions made today may affect your taxes and retirement income over time. We coordinate with your tax professional when appropriate.

Start by scheduling a no-cost introductory call. We'll talk about what you're trying to accomplish, what's concerning you, and what you already have in place. If it looks like we can help, we'll explain the next steps, what services make sense, and how we'd be compensated. There's no obligation to move forward.

Meet the Founder

Sean Sparkman, AIF®

I co-founded Pathfinders Wealth with my father, Rick, in 2019. I believe planning should begin with the person, not a product: listen before recommending, explain every choice in plain English, and follow through once decisions are made. When providing advisory services through Foundations Investment Advisors, I am held to a fiduciary standard.

Next Steps

Have questions about your financial future? Let's talk.

Schedule a no-cost, 25–30 minute introductory conversation. We'll talk about what matters to you, what's working today, and where you'd like more clarity. No preparation or obligation.

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Investment advisory services offered through Foundations Investment Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

 

Any comments regarding safe and secure investments and/or guaranteed income streams refer only to fixed insurance products overseen by state insurance regulators and not any investment advisory products.

 

Non-investment advisory services, including the sale of fixed insurance products, are not provided by or through Foundations.

 

Rates and guarantees provided by insurance products and annuities are subject to the financial strength of the issuing insurance company; not guaranteed by any bank or the FDIC.