Who We are

Over Four Decades of Protecting Futures

For over 40 years, Cornerstone Financial Group has been helping families, business owners and retirees design strategies to build wealth and secure their future.

Using our unique process honed over our years of service, we help you protect, save and grow your wealth sustainably. We focus on finding tax-efficient strategies that make your money work harder for you. For business owners, we also design and manage employee benefit plans, saving you time and ensuring programs are tailored to your company’s specific needs.

As an independent firm, we provide you with unbiased, objective advice. We also act as your fiduciary, putting your interests first.

Learn more about us in this section.

Our Story

Cornerstone Financial Group was founded in 1975 by Jan Sedlacek. In 1988, his brother-in-law, Alan Meckler, decided to join him. The two men who shared a common passion for helping people better plan their futures. Both had experiences early on in their careers that taught them the profound value of protecting one’s financial future.

For example, early in their career, Jan and Alan met with a young family with two young children. Both parents were working. The wife saw the value of owning life insurance but her husband didn’t really see the need. He felt they were both young and healthy so there were few risks. Jan and Alan were concerned and spent time explaining the importance of it to him over the course of a few meetings. Eventually, he changed his mind and they both purchased life insurance.

Six months later, sadly the wife suddenly passed away in her sleep. When Jan and Alan delivered the life insurance proceeds the husband couldn’t thank them enough for their perseverance in explaining to him the value of owning life insurance.

So with this inspiration, the two partners set out to create a different type of financial firm: one dedicated to helping real people plan correctly so they could work toward financial security.

More than just providing insurance or investing, they wanted to provide a planning-driven process to help people address all their financial challenges…. so they had the best chance of achieving their financial goals.

Along with that, they also offered employment benefits design and consulting, to help busy business owners simplify their lives.

Fast forward 40 years, and the boutique firm is still providing that high level of concierge-style service to families, business owners and busy professionals throughout the New Jersey area (and beyond). While additional family members have joined the effort, everyone on the small, tight-knit team remains passionate about one thing: helping make a real difference in our clients’ lives.

The Experience You Need

When your money is involved, you can’t afford inexperience. With Cornerstone, you’ll work with experienced, skilled professionals at all times:

Credentials and Professional Designations

In addition to experience, our team is also committed to maintaining our knowledge at the highest level, so we can serve you best. So that means our staff holds many top credentials evidencing their study and coursework.
Some of the credentials held by our team:

1

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP®) professional.

This credential is the highest designation in personal financial planning. It requires completing extensive coursework, a specific experience requirement, and passing of a rigorous exam, as well as the agreement to abide by a code of ethics. (Held by Alan Meckler.)

2

Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®).

This designation represents the completion of a comprehensive educational course, examinations, and practical experience related to personal financial planning and investment management. (Held by Jan Sedlacek and Alan Meckler.)

3

Chartered Life Underwriter RHU® (CLU®).

This professional designation is for individuals who specialize in life insurance and estate planning. To earn this designation, individuals must pass a series of courses and exams. (Held by Jan Sedlacek and Alan Meckler.)

4

Registered Health Underwriter (RHU®).

This professional designation is for individuals who have passed a series of courses and exams on the topic of group insurance benefits and health insurance. This designation also emphasizes major benefit protection laws including ERISA, COBRA and HIPAA. (Held by Mary Meckler.)

Are We Right For You?

Find out if we’re a good match for your needs. We offer a free, no-obligation consultation to help us get to know each other. We can meet by phone, in-person, or online.