Your RSI Team

Mike Kwiatkowski, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™

Phone: 630-577-1800

Mike brings more than 30 years of investment management experience and insight to business owners, individuals and families seeking a proactive and unbiased approach to wealth management. In 1990, Mike was among a small number of financial advisors who embraced comprehensive financial planning as a more effective and strategic means of helping clients pursue their financial goals. For more than two decades, Mike has focused his attention and expertise on helping clients grow and protect their wealth through the development of customized wealth management strategies that place his clients’ interests first.

In 2000, Mike and his wife Joanie co-founded Retirement Solutions, Inc. (RSI) in Naperville, Illinois. Through their affiliation with LPL Financial, the nation’s largest independent broker/dealer*, they are able to offer state of the art wealth and investment management services to the firm’s clients. Mike is also a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®, working with divorced and divorcing clients. He specializes in investment management and retirement planning, and keeps pace with industry changes through continuing education. For multiple years Mike has been awarded Chairman’s membership by LPL Financial based on his ranking as a top-producing advisor.

Professional Background & Education
After graduating from The University of Toledo in 1980 with a business degree in finance, Mike was hired by The Sylvania Savings Bank Co. in Sylvania, Ohio, quickly working his way to Assistant Vice President in charge of the investment department. He managed $80,000,000 of taxable and tax-free bonds, as well as the Trust department’s discretionary stock and bond accounts. Mike directed the bank’s Asset/Liability efforts to reduce interest rate risk. He was subsequently hired in 1984 as a bond trader with Van Kampen, Merritt in Naperville, Illinois, trading government, agency and mortgage backed bonds.

In 1986, Mike moved to The American National Bank in Chicago to trade government bonds. When the stock market crashed in 1987, he made a conscious decision to move out of trading and into a field where he could use his vast investment experience to make a direct impact on the lives of individuals. He enrolled in the Certified Financial Planner™ program in 1988 while still at American National Bank, and upon completion, moved to The Acacia Group in April 1990 to begin a financial planning practice. Mike spent 10 years at Acacia, growing his practice and bringing his investment skills honed in a corporate environment to individuals and couples seeking financial planning and comprehensive wealth management services. Mike also co-hosted a personal finance radio show from 1994 – 1996.

Mike is active in his church and community, most notably as a member of the CASA Kane County Board, a nonprofit volunteer organization that advocates for abused and neglected children within the Juvenile Court system. In 2010, the organization was successful in placing 530 children in stable homes. As Vice-chairman of the CASA Grow a Healthy Child campaign, Mike is spearheading efforts to establish an endowment to ensure ongoing operating capital for the nonprofit. He has volunteered at Hesed House homeless shelter in Aurora, IL and is an officer of the Walnut Hill townhome association in Galena, IL.

Mike is married to Joanie who is also his Managing Partner at Retirement Solutions, Inc. They have two children, Lisa and Ryan. After living in Naperville for 22 years, they built a home in Batavia in 2006. He is an avid bowler and golfer, having recorded three perfect 300 games and a hole in one.

*Based on revenues as reported in Financial Planning Magazine, June 1996-2016

Joanie Kwiatkowski

Managing Partner

Phone: (630) 577-1800

Joanie is the Managing Partner and cofounder of Retirement Solutions, Inc. (RSI). She and her husband Mike Kwiatkowski have built a successful wealth management practice focused on meeting the challenges business owners, individuals and families face in growing, protecting and managing their wealth.

As a registered representative with LPL Financial and an integral part of the RSI team, Joanie enjoys working one-on-one with the firm’s clients to ensure their needs are met across a broad range of areas from account inquiries and market updates, to review preparation and meetings, coordinating asset transfers accurately and on a timely basis, client communications and special event planning. Joanie is instrumental in ensuring all office practices and operations maintain compliance with industry standards. She is the firm’s primary liaison with the investment companies and other business partners RSI interfaces with on a regular basis and provides oversight across all business operations, including human resources activities and technology initiatives.

Professional Background & Education
Joanie was raised in Toledo, OH, where she graduated from The Toledo Hospital School of Nursing in 1979. She worked for 17 years in the nursing field, specializing in Pediatrics. Her experience included hospital nursing, home healthcare and utilization review. Her last position before leaving the nursing profession in 1996 was in a corporate setting, which allowed her to hone her business skills.

Joanie joined Mike Kwiatkowski at The Acacia Group as his part-time assistant in 1998, which quickly grew into a full-time position. In 2000, they left The Acacia Group in Oak Brook, IL and started Retirement Solutions, Inc in Naperville, IL to better serve the growing need among clients for unbiased investment advice and guidance. Joanie is now the Managing Partner of RSI and holds Series 6, 63 and 65 Investment Securities registrations through LPL Financial.

Joanie has volunteered for a variety of organizations over the years, from church groups to School District 204 PTAs as well as Hesed House, a homeless shelter in Aurora, IL.

After living in Naperville for 22 years, Joanie and Mike built a home in Batavia in 2006. They have two children, Lisa and Ryan. She enjoys cooking, reading, flower gardening, watching Ryan’s volleyball matches, travel, and family time.

Ryan Kwiatkowski

Director of Marketing

Phone: (630) 577-1800

Ryan was raised in Naperville, Illinois, where he graduated from Neuqua Valley High School. He then continued his studies at George Mason University, outside of Washington D.C., and graduated from the School of Management in 2010 while playing for the Division One Men’s Volleyball Team. In 2008, the team was ranked as the number eleventh team in the country on the AVCA Division I-II Poll. While finishing in college, he had the chance to intern in Marketing & Promotions for the athletic department at GMU. During his time at GMU, he was also awarded the 2010 Aimee Willard Commemorative Award, which is presented to the Mason student-athlete who best exemplifies the standards of quality set by Willard: intensity, consistency of purpose, achievement and teamwork.

After graduating, Ryan had the opportunity to continue his volleyball career and played professionally in Belgium from 2010 to 2011. His team competed against the other tops teams in Belgium and finished the season at the top of the league. Since returning to the states in 2011, he began his career working as a Territory Sales Manager for Rockstar Energy Drink. His responsibilities included growing the distribution and branding efforts in Virginia and Tennessee. He also had the opportunity to work in multiple sales roles for a couple of tech startups while living in Virginia and New York, one of which was featured as the number one place to work in NYC in 2014, according to Crain’s New York. After helping these startups grow for a few years, Ryan realized that he ultimately wanted to be back in Chicago and help the family business continue to grow.

Ryan brings several years of sales experience and plenty of enthusiasm and passion to RSI since joining the team in 2015. Ryan is Director of Marketing at RSI and currently holds the Series 7 and Series 66 Securities registrations through LPL Financial.

He enjoys time with family, friends, watching the Chicago sports teams play, being active and traveling.

Kristina Hopp

Registered Client Services Specialist

Phone: (630) 577-1800

Kristina is a LPL Registered Client Services Specialist who joined Retirement Solutions in February 2015. With over 15 years of prior experience in the financial services industry, she brings a high standard for quality service and understanding to help provide support to clients working toward their financial goals.

Kristina works with clients as it relates to the servicing of client portfolios. Her duties include processing new account applications and paperwork, preparing documents for client reviews and responding to client requests to ensure the highest level of service is being delivered to meet clients’ needs. She assists Mike and Joanie in rebalancing current client accounts according to the RSI models, executing trades and facilitating many additional aspects of account management. She is also part of the team responsible for developing financial plans for clients through data gathering and analysis.

Professional Background & Education
Kristina is originally from the west coast where she graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance concentrating on investments. Since graduation, she has worked for several national and regional investment firms first as a Sales Assistant and then as Operations Manager. With her series 7, 8, and 63 registrations, she oversaw the administrative and cashiering operations of a branch office and ensured policies and procedures relating to compliance issues were observed.

Kristina’s husband, John, was transferred from Oregon to the Midwest in 2007. Kristina then chose to stay home to spend more time with her children and volunteer in the community and school. Now, with her daughter, Kellie, in college and her son, Matthew, entering college, she has returned to the industry by joining Retirement Solutions.

Kristina spends her free time working out and being outdoors; hiking, biking and walking their two goldendoodles. When the cold weather brings her indoors, she enjoys cooking, sewing and taking advantage of the cultural opportunities in Chicago.

Claudia Cathelot

Client Services Specialist

Phone: (630) 577-1800

Claudia came to Retirement Solutions, Inc. (RSI) as a Client Services Specialist. With her high standards for quality service and strong desire to help others, Claudia will provide great contributions to our team. In her support role, she works alongside established team members to provide outstanding service to clients.

Claudia brings RSI a well-rounded background with underlying emphasis on client support and satisfaction. She is committed to making our clients days better by serving with her positive attitude and assuring that details of the office workflow are executed with accuracy. As part of the RSI team, Claudia contributes by preparing new account applications and paperwork, processing account changes or requests, and assisting in preparing client reviews. Claudia also works with Joanie in the implementation of client events as well as coordinates and executes special projects on an as-needed basis.

Professional Background & Education
Claudia joined Retirement Solutions, Inc. in July of 2015. Prior to being home with her children, she worked at Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company in an administrative capacity for nine years, assisting the executive team with implementation of office workflow procedures in sales offices across the country. Just before Claudia started her family in 2004, she held a position with Lincoln Financial (formerly Guarantee Life) where she was responsible for excellence in client support, overseeing the other regional sales office assistants in the group insurance side.

Claudia attended Western Illinois University where she studied psychology and business administration. She completed life and health insurance certification courses and several software seminars to keep her office skills sharpened during her career.

Claudia spends the majority of her time at home coordinating her family’s schedule and bringing her busy boys to their various activities. When she has free time, she enjoys cooking, writing, volunteering in church ministries and school PTA. Periodically, she donates her time and resources to various charity and research organizations, such as the breast cancer research organization Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Claudia married her husband, Franck, in 2000 and they reside in Wheaton, Illinois with their two energetic boys, Nicolas and Jeremie.

Your RSI Team

Mike Kwiatkowski, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™