FitBUX Helps Young Adults Navigate Their Financial Lives and Plan for Retirement

In a Nutshell: The process of building a financial plan for life and retirement can be daunting. The thought of actually implementing that plan, once it’s built, can feel even more stressful. FitBUX removes the stress from this process and replaces it with the confidence and peace of mind that only a comprehensive and flexible personalized financial plan can provide. Combining its one-of-a-kind artificial intelligence with human coaching, FitBUX delivers easily implementable solutions for young professionals from all economic backgrounds.

Joseph Reinke, CFA, CEO and Founder of FitBUX, initially envisioned a career in investment banking. While completing his studies to prepare for an investment banking role, he took a job in the wealth management division of a large international bank.

The post was intended to be a pit stop on his way to corporate finance glory, but it was here that he had an epiphany.

Working primarily with individuals in their 50s and 60s who were nearing retirement, Reinke was alarmed to routinely discover clients who were severely unprepared financially for that stage of life.  In fact, many of his clients did not have enough savings to adequately fund their retirement.

“Despite the fact that they had been following a financial plan,” Reinke said, “these clients had no chance of reaching their retirement goals.”

What was particularly of note to Reinke, a self-taught investor since the age of 12, was that these individuals had been working with financial advisers for years. Yet they still were not on track to reach their target retirement objectives.

“I remember asking myself ‘How can this happen?’” Reinke recalls. “My mindset is the same as theirs. This can’t be happening, or I’m going to end up unprepared for retirement as well!”

Faced with that frightening prospect, Reinke was determined to help individuals find their unique path to financial freedom. A data enthusiast, he began tracking key data points of his wealth management clientele. Using these key points, Reinke developed algorithms that, when used to develop a financial plan for clients, considered not only their income, assets, and financial goals, but took into account their risk appetite as well.

This formed the genesis of his idea for FitBUX, a company that strives to be a trusted financial partner for life and helps its members save money and reduce finance-related stress.

Initially used with his friends and family, Reinke realized the solution could improve the financial well-being of individuals from all backgrounds, regardless of where they are in their particular financial journey.

His time in wealth management, working primarily with those closing in on retirement, helped clarify that FitBUX’s greatest impact is on those who adopt the solution as young adults.

“No one is helping young adults make good decisions regarding credit card debt, student loan repayment plans, not overcommitting on mortgages,” Reinke explains. “If you make mistakes on those three things when you’re in your 20s and 30s, you’ll put yourself at a severe disadvantage when it comes to planning for retirement.”

Through the use of artificial intelligence, FitBUX’s financial planning software assesses information from its members about their current financial state and their risk appetite. Members can then specify future goals and various possible life events to understand how they will impact their overall financial plan.

The efficiency of the solution, when compared to the traditional model of meeting with a financial adviser, is staggering.

“The average financial adviser can spend upwards of 40 hours annually working with an individual client. This includes time spent meeting with clients, collecting their information, applying that information to a cookie-cutter plan, and time spent upselling products or services,” Reinke details.

“At FitBUX, we capture over 1,000 data points during a member’s onboarding program. Our AI is then able to take that information and create a comprehensive, laser-focused plan that is customized to the individual member. All in under an hour.”

This enables FitBUX to offer its services for a fraction of the cost of working with old-school financial advisers and planners. Because the AI is able to formulate plans and solutions quickly and accurately, Reinke estimates the annual cost members pay FitBUX is approximately 5% of what a traditional financial planner would charge for less comprehensive services.

To further enhance the value its members receive, FitBUX members are also assigned a personal coach to help guide them on their path to financial health.

Their FitBUX coach is also available to help them interpret results, answer any questions they may have, and help members implement their personal plans.

One of the most predictable elements of life is its unpredictability.  Even the most meticulous and well-thought-out plans can be rendered obsolete when new or unexpected variables are introduced.

Another key attribute of FitBUX’s platform is that it can simulate unexpected events easily and quickly. Reinke estimates that the software can perform numerous simulations to account for changes to a member’s plan in as little as 60 seconds.

Members can then review the results of these simulations and actually begin to understand how unforeseen events may impact their unique financial plan. Finally, understanding the ramifications of these events allows members to adjust their course of action so their overall financial plan stays on track.

“One of the pieces of the algorithm includes the capability to account for not only unexpected events, but also how changes or deviations to the core plan can impact a member’s overall financial picture,” Reinke explains.

Members enjoy the ability to conduct test runs of countless possible scenarios they may encounter throughout their life. This allows them to see, in real numbers, what impacts those scenarios yield. Another use case for these simulations is the ability to see how making small changes to personal habits can lead to big changes in goal attainment.

For example, members can quickly assess the effects of actions such as making an additional mortgage payment, consolidating loans, or choosing to put more funds toward savings. This is particularly helpful for members who are looking to make a financial decision but want to first understand its effect. Taking the guesswork out of this step provides financial confidence and peace of mind.

Reinke shared the story of a FitBUX member who was recently reviewing her plan and noted that her estimated retirement savings was $2.2 million. By simulating different actions, the member found that making a small tweak to her plan to manage debt and her timeline to home ownership would increase her estimated retirement savings to $3.8 million, an increase of over 72%. This is the power of the FitBUX solution.

Many financial advisers propose a one-size-fits-all plan for their clients to follow to achieve their goals. In designing FitBUX, Reinke engineered a solution that meets the individual where they are today and understands where they would like to be at retirement. The path they take to reach their goals is theirs alone as it accounts for their lifestyle preferences and risk appetite, among other factors.

Having a financial plan that uniquely aligns with an individual’s circumstances and perspectives improves the likelihood that clients will follow the plan more closely. FitBUX plans are actionable and flexible, and put individuals in the driver’s seat of their financial path for life.

The future is bright for FitBUX and its members. In addition to bringing in more data points to further strengthen the algorithm, Reinke said enhancements are scheduled to incorporate and streamline processes such as 401(k) rollovers and bank account openings.

When Reinke is asked why he chose to forgo a career in investment banking and instead follow the noble pursuit of helping others achieve financial freedom, his answer is a relatively simple one.

“Ultimately, people stress way too much about money,” he says. “The more we can take that burden away from them, the more they can focus on things that matter — like their family, careers, and giving back.”