Zachary A. Leggo CFF^®, CFS^®, WMS℠, CAS^®, CIS™

Zach has been inspired to help educate and prepare people for their ideal retirements since his early teenage years.

As co-founder and chief operating officer of The Affinity Group of Companies, Zach has more than 13 years of experience in the financial services industry supported by his degree in business. He also holds the Certified Financial Fiduciary (CFF^®), Certified Fund Specialist (CFS^®), Wealth Management Specialist (WMS℠), Certified Annuity Specialist (CAS^®) and Certified Income Specialist (CIS™) designations. Zach is also a member of the nationally recognized group of Dave Ramsey financial coaches.

Zach knew he wanted to enter the financial industry at the age of 14 after watching his father frequently stress about money.

“I remember being on vacations and he never enjoyed them because he was always worried about saving money for retirement,” Zach says. “He was an intelligent man, but he was not educated on investing, so it scared him. Because he feared investing, he would put his hard-earned money in savings accounts and CDs that were paying pitiful interest rates. He had to save three or four times as much as the average investor for the same end results. After seeing that at a young age I wanted to make sure people were educated on investing.”

Another event that Zach witnessed later in life — the financial crisis of 2008 — reinforced his desire to assist people with their financial goals and dreams.

“I will never forget the fear, anxiety and uncertainty that gripped everyone during that time. It was a rude awakening seeing how this industry I love and dreamed about since I was 14 years old could do harm to others without a second thought,” he says. “Instead of resenting it or taking a different career path, I took it as a challenge to expose the greed, complicated investments and high management fees, and educate clients to help them be better investors. I made it my mission to always help clients work towards their ideal retirement.”