Ricky Gonzalez, owner of Pinnacle Financial Group, has built his career around a simple philosophy: do the right thing, help people, and the rest will follow.
A financial services professional since 1997, Ricky’s career has taken him from his early days as a stockbroker to building a multifaceted financial services business serving individuals, families, physicians, seniors and fellow insurance professionals throughout Florida.
Originally born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Ricky moved to Orlando after graduating from high school. He earned degrees in finance and psychology from the University of Central Florida and began his career with AXA Advisors. Early in his career, he worked across wealth management, qualified retirement plans and group benefits, eventually opening his own agency and beginning to build the independent practice he has today.
Like many professionals in financial services, Ricky’s career evolved as the needs of his clients changed. The financial crisis of 2008 became an important turning point. After seeing the impact the recession had on his clients, he shifted his focus toward retirement income planning, fixed indexed annuities and insurance solutions.
Today, Pinnacle Financial Group encompasses financial planning, retirement and income planning, life and disability insurance, as well as Medicare and ancillary products. Ricky also works with and supports several sub-agencies, helping other agents navigate the constantly changing Medicare landscape.
But for Ricky, the numbers only tell part of the story.
Ricky’s commitment to helping clients protect themselves and their families is deeply personal. As the oldest of five siblings, he experienced the loss of two younger brothers to cancer. Those experiences profoundly shaped his perspective on financial protection and reinforced the importance of having difficult conversations about life insurance, disability protection and long-term care before they become urgent.
“My why is to help folks become independent and financially independent,” Ricky says.
That mission is particularly meaningful in his work with seniors, where he focuses on retirement income and long-term care planning. He wants clients to understand that insurance and financial planning are not simply transactions. They are tools designed to protect people and the lives they have worked hard to build.
Ricky’s background in psychology has also become an unexpected but valuable part of his practice. He believes good financial planning starts with asking the right questions and truly listening to the answers.
“It's all about asking questions, open-ended questions, and being able to maneuver and really asking for the pain points of who they are and what they need,” he explains.
Sometimes, that means helping clients work through difficult family or financial conversations. Sometimes it means asking questions that uncover concerns a client has not even articulated yet. Ricky jokes that he keeps tissues in his office because, in many client meetings, he finds himself serving as much like a psychologist as a financial professional.
That ability to listen and understand is also central to the way he approaches Medicare. Ricky believes the industry is strongest when advisors focus on quality rather than simply the number of policies they can sell.
“We are not made on quantity of sales. We are set up to have quality,” he says.
He emphasizes knowing your client, following the rules and making recommendations that are genuinely appropriate for the person sitting across the desk. He also measures the quality of his business through factors such as client retention and rapid disenrollment because, to Ricky, a good sale is one that continues to serve the client well over time.
That same commitment extends beyond his clients and into his community.
Ricky is deeply involved in the Weston Florida, community, where he lives and works. Pinnacle sponsors community events designed to connect local seniors with trusted professionals and resources, bringing together providers ranging from healthcare professionals and health coaches to real estate and long-term care specialists.
For Ricky, being part of a community means more than having an office there. It means being present, contributing and building relationships that extend well beyond a financial transaction.
His work with physicians is another example of how Ricky has continued to evolve his practice around the needs of the people he serves. Located near several major healthcare facilities, his practice works with physicians on financial planning and income protection. That experience inspired Ricky to write his first book, Physicians' Income Blueprint, a guide designed to help physicians understand the importance of protecting their income and planning for their financial futures.
After nearly three decades in financial services, Ricky still believes the profession is an extraordinary career for someone who genuinely wants to help others.
“If you are somebody that likes to help people and see the fruits of your labor, perhaps in the long term,” he says, “this is a great career.”
He also believes that putting people first ultimately leads to success.
“Money follows whenever you do the right thing.”
That philosophy is one of the reasons Ricky recently became a NAIFA member. Although he has known about NAIFA for years, he recognized the value of being connected to an organization representing professionals who share his commitment to serving clients, protecting the profession and doing business the right way.
For Ricky, becoming a NAIFA member is another way to demonstrate that commitment and connect with other professionals who believe that the work they do has an impact far beyond a balance sheet or a policy contract.
His message to fellow financial professionals is simple: take the time to know your clients, listen to what they really need, do the right thing and build relationships for the long term.
The rest, Ricky believes, will follow.