To ‘fuse’ something, by definition, is to “join or blend to form a single entity.” It’s about taking the distinctive parts of an object, combining those with another object, and forming something greater. This fusion happens all the time, when young couples decide to take on the world together.

It takes a lot of work to get that fusion right — and in the financial world, one of the best places for Rochester’s young people to seek advice is named after that concept of ‘fusion.’

“They’re coming to us as one, but we still want to honor the fact that they’re two individuals,” says Natalie Slagle, one of two certified financial planners (CFP) behind Rochester’s Fyooz Financial Planning. “We’re working together, creating this fusion, if you will, to combine finances and ideas without ever making it one side versus the other. It’s a blend of both individuals. They’re both heard, they’re both seen, and that’s where we took the name from.”

Natalie and her husband, Dan Slagle, founded Fyooz together in October of 2019. Their mission was to reach a younger demographic than traditional financial planners normally do — think of young couples moving into their first house and laying the groundwork for the family to come.

Every major life event for a young couple — weddings, having children deciding whether to rent or buy a home, starting businesses — involves a serious amount of money, and people coming from different upbringings may want to make different decisions.

That’s where Natalie and Dan come in, with sound advice and a personal touch. Not only do they have a combined two decades of experience in the financial planning world, they’ve also gone through the same experience themselves — in fact, it’s part of what led them to start the company.

“Finances alone are pretty challenging, but when you mix in someone totally different from you with a completely different upbringing and philosophy around money, that can be difficult,” says Natalie. “It takes a long time to be on the same wavelength as your committed partner, financially. It’s amazing how much the topic of money is just avoided in a relationship. We’re professionals in this field, and we were avoiding it!”

Advice for a New Generation

Dan says the millennial generation, having grown up through the financial crisis of 2008, is a resilient group that wants to find their own answers. It boils down to three main avenues, for financial questions or otherwise: personal investigation, asking parents for advice, or just Googling it.

When those avenues are exhausted and people still don’t have all the answers, he says it’s time to talk to the experts.

“You wouldn’t believe all the people who come to us and say, ‘I feel like I've read every personal finance book, I've Googled all the answers, but I know there’s more I can be doing,’” says Dan. “That’s when they come to us.”

So, what’s there to gain from becoming a Fyooz client? For the young-professional demographic, Natalie and Dan both say it’s about personalized, effective planning from a relatable and flexible team that truly understands your situation.

“We just try to give advice that shows people what they should focus on,” says Natalie. “When you come on board, you get individualized attention and intentional time set aside to focus on this major part of your life.”

“I’d rather talk to someone I can relate to than someone sitting in a big mahogany desk with a suit and tie,” adds Dan.

Dan and Natalie may market themselves as young, modern financial advisors, but make no mistake — they have the experience to back it up. Dan has been in the industry for a decade, and Natalie’s done the same for eight years. In that time, they’ve both seen the drawbacks of the traditional, large financial planning firms currently dominating the industry.

Most financial planners make part of their salary through earning commission on their clients, by offering expensive products and plans. Dan and Natalie grew tired of that lifestyle, so they decided to blaze their own trail. Fyooz operates exclusively through one-time project fees or monthly subscriptions, meaning they don’t earn a cent in commissions.

There’s a peace of mind that comes from being commission-free: clients can be sure the advice they’re receiving is 100 percent truthful, and the advisors only have to worry about giving the best advice they can.

“At other firms, a lot of people working are incentivised to sell people other products,” Dan says. “Yes, the client may need it and may be suitable for it, but there’s still a conflict of interest — the person selling the product is being paid by the institution to do so. All the traffic coming to us is from people who really want unbiased, fee-only advice.”

The financial model means Fyooz is able to offer a fresh, thoughtful, and modern look at money management, for busy and energetic people looking to take the next step in their lives with someone else by their side. Through Natalie and Dan’s experience and chemistry, they’ll make your money work for you, as hard as they possibly can.

“For people in their 30s and 40s, there’s a lot to juggle,” says Natalie. “There’s home life, family, work, staying healthy… and money will just do its thing whether you pay attention or not. You can be strategic about it if you set aside time, and our clients get to do that with us on at least a quarterly basis.”