The PFRG Story…By Kelly B. Trevethan, CIMA®

When Dr. Michael Sheinberg made the transition from Chief Resident of Neurosurgery at the University of Michigan to a private practice group in Berkeley, California, he was 34 years old and entirely unprepared to properly manage his personal finances.   Like most of his colleagues in medicine, he had no background or knowledge about how best to set and achieve financial goals, despite the fact that over the upcoming years his financial resources would expand dramatically.  During his first years in practice, he bounced from one financial advisor to another, generally dissatisfied with the products and disappointed with the understanding people in financial services had of the situation facing young physicians.

Later, while attending business school, he told a classmate who had been extremely successful in building and selling his own asset management business about his frustrations.  Without hesitation, he referred Dr. Sheinberg to The Trevethan Group, who had been advising his classmate’s financial affairs for many years.  Dr. Sheinberg’s initial fear that his own modest net worth would not be well attended to by someone who typically worked with higher net worth individuals proved unfounded.

Over time, Dr. Sheinberg became convinced that there was a tremendous need for the services Kelly and his team provided among his physician colleagues.  Many physicians lack a source for financial services with a true insight into their specific situation.  This need was the genesis for Physicians’ Financial Resource Group. (PFRG)

Kelly and Dr. Sheinberg originally formed PFRG to specifically meet the financial needs of specialty physicians and medical groups.  Their backgrounds combine extensive experience in asset management for high net worth individuals with an understanding of the issues physicians face.  Although Dr. Sheinberg has returned to his medical practice, PFRG’s goal remains to provide physicians and physician groups in all stages of practice, from residency to retirement, with financial products and services from a trusted source and designed specifically for them.

October 2006 - Miami Society of Plastic Surgeons.

August 2006 - The 20th Annual Symposium on the Latest Advances in Facial Plastic Surgery.

Spring 2006 - "Medical Practice Retirement Plans — The Perils of Excessive Choice", Article in the Bulletin of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

January 2006 - "Eggs in a Basket — The role of diversification in a portfolio", Article in the Bulletin of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Winter 2006 - University of Michigan, Department of Neurosurgery Grand Rounds, "Financial Priorities from a Physician's Perspective", TBA.

September 2005 - Medical Staff Grand Rounds, "Financial Priorities for Physicians", Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Berkeley, CA.

November 2005 - Resident Career Event, "Financial Priorities for the Young Physician", Stanford University, Department of Anesthesiology.

Fall 2005 - "Financial Planning and the Neurosurgeon — A perspective from both sides of the fence", Article in the Bulletin of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.