Meet Patrick Ritter, CFP®

Principal

  • I help clients create their own Well-Built Life full of connection, vitality, purpose, and experiences. Money is the tool. A life well-lived is the point.

  • I provide comprehensive fee-only financial planning and investment management for clients in the St. Louis area and nationwide virtually.

  • I've been a Certified Financial Planner™ since 2013 and began my financial services career in 2002.

  • I'm a father of teen boys, F3 PAX, fly fishing enthusiast, author, and nature lover. 

  • TradesWave Wealth is one focus area of my practice helping trades professionals build wealth.

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Complete below your own Well-Built Life self-assessment to show where your money is already serving your life, and where a few intentional moves would make the biggest difference.

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The Well-Built Life — Self-Assessment
the well-built life
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01Connection

Healthy relationships

The single strongest predictor of a happy life — and something the right plan protects.

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This self-assessment is for educational purposes and is not financial, legal, or tax advice.
Patrick Ritter, CFP® — helping you build a life well-lived, with money as the tool.

12-18-2023 Patrick Ritter was Interviewed by FeeOnlyNetwork

  • Being too concerned with other people's lives and their money. That "comparison is the thief of joy" quote stands out because it seems we humans are hard wired for comparison. We have to make a conscious effort to avoid that in order to be truly happy and successful. 

  • A plan is not a one-time event, a binder, or document. The true value in planning is the ability to adjust plans as life changes. I'm big on assigned tasks, reminders, and encourage regular engagement with mobile apps (Right Capital and Altruist) so clients stay connected to their money and we anticipate needs.

  • Get clear on what you value, make sure your numbers work, and then use your money according to those values. 

  • Learning that success is highly subjective, for both clients and planners. "Enough" depends entirely upon one's values.

  • That we are primarily concerned with making the most money possible for clients or that our value is still stock recommendations that make money. I'd say we are more adept at defense. Being an effective risk manager, helping clients avoid the costly mistakes is a far more accurate description of a comprehensive planner.

  • Absolutely! Farm work picking tomatoes with my grade school friends, janitorial work over summers in high school, supervising mentally challenged adults for a daycare program in college, interning at the Missouri state capitol, selling computers in London in a work exchange program, and teaching fishing courses at the community college to name a few. 

    Within financial services I've worked in a variety of roles and in different business models that have given me a diverse perspective on how to help people with their money. All my work experiences taught great lessons in the value of hard work and how to care for people who have entrusted you.

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