Meet The Northstar Financial Team

ChFC, CLU, President, Investment Advisor Representative

Allen Giese has been a financial advisor for over 17 years, working with professionals, business owners, executives and retirees. He is founder and President of Northstar Financial Planners, Inc. Prior to founding Northstar, Allen had worked in the securities and insurance industry, working as an agent and representative. He has also owned businesses in the retail sector and was a professional violinist, having received his degree from the University of Miami in violin performance. He continues to play music with his musical friends.

Allen has extensive experience lecturing on portfolio management principles to both public and professional audiences. He is a Chartered Financial Consultant as well as a Chartered Life Underwriter. He lives in the Davie area of South Florida with Gayle, his wife of 20 years and their two children, Andrew and Paige. Besides making music, Allen enjoys sailing and bicycling in his spare time.

Vice President, Investment Advisor Representative

Gary Glanz has been a trusted financial advisor for over 15 years, working with professionals, business owners, executives, and retirees.

Gary’s Financial Planning practice merged with Northstar shortly after Allen founded it. For the past 15 years, Gary has built a loyal following of clients that have recognized his unique ability to understand and connect to their most important financial concerns of independence and peace of mind, and to provide effective solutions to them.

As a former professional actor/director of stage, film, and television, Gary remains an ardent, active supporter of the arts in South Florida.

Gary lives in the Cooper City area of Florida with his wife Gail and three children, Sydney, Taylor, and Hunter. Besides the arts, coaching Hunter's basketball teams and the serenity of beach life, Gary spends all his non-work time with his most valuable asset . . . his family.

Chief Operations Officer, MBA, Investment Advisor Representative

Steve Tepper runs the operations of Northstar, with responsibility for all back office operations a well as long-range planning. Just about everything except Sales and Marketing fall under his auspices. He also assists the lead advisors in monitoring, maintaining and rebalancing client portfolios.

Steve grew up on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio, and joined Northstar in May, 2007 as COO after 20 years in the corporate world in a variety of capacities, including Financial Planning and Analysis, Audit, Human Resources and Software Development. He has a Masters of Business Administration degree from Florida International University and an undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Steve lives in Weston with his wife Laura and son Jake. His daughter Lian is an undergraduate at F.I.U. Steve spends his spare time playing guitar, mourning the latest Cleveland professional sports disappointment, and traveling.

Investment Advisor Representative

New to the firm in 2008, Gary Gonzalez brings to us a specialized knowledge and understanding of the retirement benefits offered through the State of Florida and specifically the Miami-Dade Fire Department. He is currently a Battalion Chief with the Miami-Dade Fire Department (due to retire from the department in 2009).

Gary focuses on the investment component of the FRS retirement and benefits program, and challenges the traditional thinking about pension options and payouts. Gary now works exclusively with firefighters and Florida Retirement System employees, through Northstar, counseling them on maximizing the programs they are offered and helping them achieve a level of understanding to make the difficult decisions they need to make as they approach retirement.

Gary is a true Floridian, born in Miami Beach. He lives in Davie with his wife Karen and their two daughters Sarah and Emily. Softball, church activities and family life are important to Gary and he is also an accomplished singer/songwriter and guitarist.

Client Concierge

Candy has been with us since day one. Her job definition is fairly simple: do whatever it takes to get the job done to our clients' satisfaction. Our resident expert on systems and paperflow, Candy works closely with the institutional platforms like TD Ameritrade and Schwab making sure that your accounts are set up and assets are transferred properly, your requests are taken care of, and just about anything else that comes up to make you happy. She comes pretty close to running the place!

A graduate of the University of South Florida, before working for Northstar, Candy worked for noted archaeologist, Dr. James Strange. Perhaps that explains why she's so willing to dig through large piles of paperwork.

A fifth generation Floridian, Candy enjoys jogging, cycling, gardening and cooking healthy foods. She also enjoys reading fiction (anything but science fiction). She's a devoted mommy to her beagles and aunt to her 8 nieces and nephews. She lives in Coral Springs with her husband Dave.

Dayana Herrera

Receptionist

Dayana is our afternoon receptionist and office assistant, and has been with us since May 2007. She is currently a full-time student at Florida Atlantic University majoring in Mathematics Education for Secondary Schools, and plans to pursue a Doctorate degree.

Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador and raised in South Florida, Dayana enjoys the tropical weather and beautiful beaches. She enjoys salsa dancing, drawing, listening to music and spending time with her family. She lives in Coconut Creek with her husband Nelson and poodle Chulin.