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Sean Sparkman, AIF®

Grow with purpose. Retire with a paycheck.

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Pathfinders Wealth Sean Sparkman, AIF®
Commerce Township, Michigan

Serving Clients Nationwide

Grow with purpose. Retire with a paycheck.

(313) 246-9278

Website

Areas of Focus

  • Investment Management
  • Retirement Income Planning
  • Roth Conversion Strategies
  • Social Security Optimization
  • Tax-Efficient Planning

About Sean Sparkman, AIF®

Hi, I'm Sean Sparkman, Founder and Financial Advisor at Pathfinders Wealth, a retirement-planning practice I run together with my father, Rick.

My first lessons about work, responsibility, and money did not come from a classroom, but from watching my father make decisions, serve people, and take direct accountability for outcomes. That lifelong partnership shaped our firm around a simple, essential principle: always listen before recommending, explain every choice in plain English, and follow through once decisions are made.

As an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®), I believe that planning must always begin with the person, not a product or an off-the-shelf model. When providing advisory services through Foundations Investment Advisors, I am held to a fiduciary standard, and once someone entrusts me with the details of their life, I feel a deep personal responsibility to do excellent work for them and their family. My approach is direct, relationship-driven, and focused on helping families connect retirement income, investments, taxes, protection, and legacy around the life they truly want to live, even when that means questioning and challenging default answers to build a more thoughtful plan.

At the core of how I work is my Christian faith, which shapes my belief that leadership is fundamentally an act of service. To me, serving families means listening carefully, speaking the truth, and dedicating what I have been given to help the person sitting right in front of me. While you never need to share my faith to be fully welcomed and respected here, it is the reason I take my responsibility to you and your future so seriously.

Professional Designations

  • Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF)

Primary Location

Commerce Township, Michigan

Meeting Options

  • Video Conference
  • In-Person
  • Phone
Book Intro Call

Compensation Methods

  • Commissions
  • Fee Based
  • Percentage of Assets Managed

What to expect in the first meeting

Click the 'Book Intro Call' button above to schedule a free introductory conversation. You do not need to know exactly what you need before talking with us. Bring what you are doing today, what concerns you, and what you want retirement to look like. We will listen, help organize the questions, and decide together whether a deeper look would be useful. I look forward to speaking with you.

Offers Investment Management

Yes

About Pathfinders Wealth

At Pathfinders Wealth, we founded our firm around a simple, essential belief: listen before recommending. Founded by the father-and-son team of Rick and Sean Sparkman, our firm was built on the conviction that a financial plan must begin with the person, not an off-the-shelf product or a generic template. We believe that money is not the goal itself, but a tool to create freedom, time, meaningful experiences, confidence, and stronger relationships.

We specialize in helping families navigate the critical transition between the building years and retirement. Many people spend decades saving and growing accounts, yet reach retirement without a clear understanding of how those savings are supposed to reliably replace their paycheck. Our primary focus is helping families turn what they have built into a cohesive retirement income strategy—connecting investments, dependable income, taxes, protection, and legacy around the real-life priorities that matter most to them.

Our approach is guided by four core values we call the PATH:

Prosperity: Defining what enough makes possible, from family time and stability to generosity and confidence.

Adventure: Building your plan around the life you want to live, whether that means travel, golf, continuing to work by choice, or quiet days at home.

Thoughtfulness: Taking the time to see the whole picture so every moving part works together and every dollar has a clear job.

Honesty: Explaining advice in plain English—what a strategy is designed to do, what it costs, where it could fall short, and what tradeoffs exist before you decide.

Every client relationship has a dedicated Pathfinders advisor who takes the time to learn your story, understand your concerns, and lead your plan. To support that personal relationship, we partner with Foundations Investment Advisors, LLC—an SEC-registered investment adviser—to provide our investment-advisory platform, institutional investment management, operational support, and compliance resources. Furthermore, we believe trust begins with clear custody, which is why eligible client investment assets are never held directly by Pathfinders, but are kept safely with established, independent custodians such as Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

Above all, we aim to provide advice in a way we would be comfortable sharing with our own family: direct, relationship-driven, and grounded in service.

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

Hobbies and Interests

  • Family

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Who We Serve

  • Business Owners
  • Couples
  • Families
  • High Net Worth
  • Intergenerational Families
  • Living in Retirement
  • Pre-Retirees

Wealthtender® is a trusted, independent financial directory and educational resource governed by our strict Editorial Policy, Integrity Standards, and Terms of Use. While we receive compensation from featured professionals (a natural conflict of interest), we always operate with integrity and transparency to earn your trust. Wealthtender is not a client of these providers. Testimonials may not be representative of other clients’ experiences and do not guarantee future performance or success.

Get answers to frequently asked questions regarding the services offered by Sean Sparkman, AIF® View Disclosures

FAQs

Who does Pathfinders Wealth typically help?
We work primarily with retirees, pre-retirees, families, business owners, and high-net-worth households who want greater clarity around retirement income, investments, taxes, protection, and legacy. We work with clients nationwide by phone and video and throughout Southeast Michigan in person by appointment. Our goal is to coordinate the moving parts of a financial life rather than treat each decision in isolation.
Are you a fiduciary, and how does Pathfinders Wealth get paid?
Investment advisory services are offered through Foundations Investment Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. When I provide investment-advisory services through Foundations, I act in a fiduciary capacity. Depending on the relationship, compensation may include advisory fees, planning fees, and, when an insurance product is used, commissions paid by the insurance company. I explain which applies, what it costs, and the relevant tradeoffs before a client makes a decision.
How do you help turn retirement savings into retirement income?
Retirement income planning is a core focus of our work. We coordinate Social Security, portfolio withdrawals, investment income, cash reserves, taxes, and protected-income strategies such as annuities when appropriate. Rather than asking one account or product to do everything, we give different dollars different jobs and build an income strategy around the lifestyle, flexibility, and legacy goals that matter to you.
How do Roth conversions fit into retirement planning?
Roth conversions can sometimes help reduce future required minimum distributions, improve tax flexibility, and address the higher tax brackets a surviving spouse may face later. But converting too much can create unnecessary taxes or affect Medicare premiums. We model conversions year by year alongside income, deductions, Social Security, RMDs, and other planning decisions rather than viewing them in isolation.
How do you help clients decide when to claim Social Security?
We compare different claiming ages in the context of the entire retirement plan. That can include life expectancy, spousal and survivor benefits, other income sources, taxes, investment withdrawals, and the need for guaranteed income. The highest monthly Social Security benefit is not automatically the best overall strategy, so we look at how the decision affects the household over time.
How do RMDs and withdrawal order affect retirement income and taxes?
The accounts you spend from first can influence taxes for many years. We evaluate taxable accounts, traditional IRAs, Roth accounts, required minimum distributions, capital gains, Social Security taxation, and other income together. The goal is not simply to minimize this year's tax bill, but to create a sustainable withdrawal strategy with greater flexibility across retirement.
When can an annuity make sense in a retirement plan?
An annuity can make sense when a client wants a portion of retirement assets to provide contractual income, principal protection, or other insurance guarantees. Those guarantees depend on the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurer. We do not begin with the product. We first identify the job the money needs to do, then compare annuities with reasonable alternatives based on income, liquidity, costs, risks, and tradeoffs.
How do you manage investments for someone already taking retirement income?
Investing during retirement requires balancing growth, income, liquidity, taxes, and downside risk. We may use different portfolio sleeves for different jobs rather than relying on one allocation for every need. The investment strategy is coordinated with the retirement-income plan so distributions, rebalancing, tax decisions, and long-term growth are considered together.
What should couples consider if one spouse dies first?
Survivor planning is an important part of retirement planning because income and taxes can change substantially after the first spouse dies. One Social Security benefit may disappear, pension or annuity income may change, and the surviving spouse may eventually file taxes as a single taxpayer. We model these risks in advance so income, investments, taxes, insurance, and estate considerations can be coordinated before a crisis occurs.
Can Pathfinders Wealth work with clients outside Michigan?
Yes. Pathfinders Wealth works with clients nationwide by phone and video, while also meeting with clients throughout Southeast Michigan in person by appointment. Our planning and advisory process is designed to work remotely, including secure document sharing, virtual meetings, planning analysis, account reviews, and ongoing communication.

FAQ Disclosures

Still have questions? Contact us today and we’ll be happy to help.

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