President and founder of SoundPath Retirement Strategies, Benjamin J. Koval, has over a decade of experience in finance and has a focus on retirement planning. Ben is an MBA, a Certified Financial Planner™, and an Investment Advisor Representative (IAR) holding a Series 65 license. He is also a Washington state-licensed life insurance producer.
“I established this firm in response to my concern that the needs of senior investors were not being adequately addressed by brokerages and typical financial advisory firms,” Ben says. “SoundPath seeks to provide retired and soon-to-be retired investors a logical path for retirement success using cutting-edge financial analysis that helps address the specific needs of senior investors. We are a logic-driven firm focused on achieving retirement security for our clients no matter what the market is doing.”
SoundPath Retirement Strategies, LLC is licensed in Washington. All the firm’s financial advisors and planners are Series 65 licensed, meaning they cannot receive commissions on securities trades.
“My goal—and the goal for our firm—is to be absolutely honest and serve as a true fiduciary for our clients in the fullest sense of the word, ensuring their interests are foremost at all times,” Ben says.
Ben has appeared as a financial advisor in the media extensively both in radio interviews and webinars. He enjoys sharing financial knowledge and the firm is committed to providing free educational seminars, workshops and classes to the public in the Greater Seattle area. “Financial principles can seem complex at first, but they are important. They can be explained in meaningful ways. We want people to understand how they can retire successfully,” he says.
Ben’s greatest priority in life is his family, and he believes that having that sensitivity provides him with important insights as he helps others’ families with their financial planning needs. He says, “I am totally honest with my clients and my recommendations are always centered on what’s best for them and their families. I simply enjoy helping hardworking people realize their retirement dreams.”
Benjamin spent his preschool years on the Kitsap Peninsula and his school years at Lake Tahoe, returning to the beautiful Pacific Northwest shortly after completing graduate school. He earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nevada, Reno.
He and his beautiful wife, Michelle, have been married for 14 years and the family has resided in Redmond, Washington since 2014. They have four sons, ages four through 12. “My faith is the center point of our family,” Ben says. He enjoys spending time with his family when they are at home as well as when they are out exploring the many outdoor and cultural resources of the Northwest. In his free time, Ben plays recreational basketball. He is a lifelong active church member and currently serves as a volunteer youth leader. He has also served as a volunteer youth coach in soccer, football, and basketball.
“My greatest joy is seeing the relief my clients express when they see that their financial future is bright and their retirement goals can be achieved, often sooner than they expected.”
– Founder Benjamin J. Koval, MBA, CFP®