Our Team

Ted Lakkides

Mr. Lakkides is founder and director of Cygnet Financial Planning, Inc.

A graduate of The Ohio State University, Mr Lakkides distinguished himself as a National Field Operations Analysis with Lever Brothers and as a Regional Sales Manager with the Arm & Hammer Company and ITT-Morton Frozen Foods before entering the financial services field in 1979.

Seeking to develop a business model that was centered on educating and helping people of all income levels without subjecting them to high pressure sales tactics or gimmicks, Mr. Lakkides established Cygnet in 1982. After years of study, field work and testing, Mr. Lakkides was awarded the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation by the College of Financial Planning, Denver, CO, in 1989.

Mr. Lakkides is currently serving as the Director of the Community Services Division of the Michigan Council on Economic Education (MCEE). MCEE is a non-profit organization that promotes economic and personal financial literacy. He is a founding member of the Michigan Jump$tart Coalition, a coalition of organizations that focuses on financial literacy among K-12 students. Ted has served as part-time member of the faculty at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) teaching personal finance courses and is an adjunct professor in the CFP program at Walsh College.

 

Brian Lakkides

Brian Lakkides has been a financial consultant with Cygnet since graduating from Kalamazoo College with a degree in Economics in 1992.

Brian is also President of Corporate Plan Administrators, Inc, a third party administrator and fiduciary consulting firm that specializes in Trustee Education and fiduciary compliance. As an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) trained and certified by the Center for Fiduciary Studies which is operating in conjunction with the Joseph M Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Brian is at the forefront of efforts to move the financial services industry away from its sales based “suitability” standard of care to the more objective, client-centered and consultative fiduciary standard of care.

Brian specializes in the design, implementation and administration of open architecture, defined contribution retirement plans as well as the internal fiduciary controls necessary to minimize costs and liability exposure under ERISA. With the rise of class-action lawsuits against well-known plan sponsor companies and plan service providers, Lakkides’ insights will be helpful to financial advisors and CPAs who are dealing with company retirement plans. Lakkides is also well-versed in recent court actions related to vacating the Broker-Dealer exemption and its implications for the investment advisor industry.

Mr Lakkides resides in Milford, MI with his wife and 3 children where he is active in local community organizations. In his free time, Brian is an avid endurance athlete who has completed numerous marathons and triathlons, including Ironman Wisconsin.

 

Other Team Members

• Elaine Rogers
• Maureen Shoemaker
• Craig Dane
• Dawn Pace
• John Bovee
• Donna Ball