Your Financial Compass

Guiding hardworking people to financial success

If you could talk to yourself 10 years ago, what financial advice^ would you give?

If you're like most people, there are some things you'd tell yourself to do differently because you weren't running your decisions through the filter of a solid plan aligned to your current and future goals. Here at Forge & Link, we help people avoid financial regret by educating and empowering them to make wise financial decisions for themselves and their families. The reality is that hoping and guessing is not a financial strategy, so if you’re ready to get on the path to financial clarity and success, we’d love to talk.

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Forge

When metal is forged, it is heated up and refined to remove impurities, changing it into something new and better. When it comes to money, most people need to go through a forging process to get rid of old baggage, bad habits and incorrect beliefs.

Link

Once we’ve forged the psychological aspects of money and the relationship people have with it, we are then able to link their refined beliefs and behaviors to the success they want to achieve for themselves and the people the care about the most.

William headshot

William White, M.B.A., ChFC®, CLTC®

Financial Adviser^

AR Insurance Lic #16525112
CA Insurance Lic #0L61976

William White is the founder of Forge & Link Financial Group, a practice dedicated to the future “You” since 2014. During his time in practice, he has helped several families, business owners and professionals create tailored solutions to reach their goals. He understands life has to have parity between enjoying the moments and building an estate for loved ones that follow. His passion comes from seeing his clients move from a place of being controlled to controlling their situation. William is the type of adviser who will laugh with you and celebrate with you but be there in the tough times when hard decisions have to be made. As he often says, “I’m in the business of building and cultivating relationships and simply being the compass on your journey.” When working with clients, he focuses on the holistic view by knowing the RIGHT questions to ask, helping his clients get to the right solution. He yearns to understand the “Why”, the risk they are willing to take, what keeps them up at night, the numbers and taking the time to portrait the end result! All of the long nights he spends in the office are worth it when he sees the plans he was a part of come to reality for his clients.

  • Education and Licenses
  • Professional Speaking
  • Personal Life

Before he became an adviser, William graduated from Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond, Oklahoma with his Bachelor’s in Marketing Management and a Master’s of Business Administration in Leadership and Organizational Development. William holds several licenses: General Lines Life & Health and Series Licenses 6, 63, 66 & 7. He is a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) earned at the American College of Financial Services and he is Certified in Long-Term Care (CLTC®).

William has hosted several seminars around the country promoting financial literacy to several demographics such as the working class, senior citizens, even kids. He is a proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. where he currently serves as the Director of Bigger, Better Business, working to help minority businesses keep up and surpass the status quo and teaching financial literacy to the community.

When William leaves the office, he is a child of the Most-High, a husband to his wife, Dr. Keesha, and a father to his two sons William III (Trey) and Kobe.

 

Martin headshot

Martin “Marty” Ezelle, MBA, ChFC®

Partner - Financial Advisor*

Marty is a Partner and Financial Adviser at Forge & Link Financial Group. His focus is on building long-term relationships with individuals and business owners to help them achieve their financial goals. Marty has worked as a financial services professional since 2014 and has expertise in wealth management, retirement planning, estate planning and investments. Prior to that, he spent 15 years in the travel industry where he provided strategic planning services to large and small businesses, including companies such as Travelocity and Sabre Inc.

Marty received his MBA in Finance from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and his BS in Business Administration from The Ohio State University. He is a Chartered Financial Consultant® and holds the FINRA Series 7 and 66 securities licenses, and General Life and Health Insurance Licenses in several states, including Texas.

Marty is a member of NAIFA, a lifetime member of the National Black MBA Association, and serves on the Board of the Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce. When he is away from the office, Marty enjoys acting, filmmaking, cycling, skiing, and traveling. Marty resides in the East Dallas neighborhood of Lakewood.

 

Natalie headshot

Natalie Stanback

Office Manager

Natalie Stanback brings over 2 decades of professional experience that spans various industries including from communications to healthcare. Her MBA is supported by her love for process optimization, systems implementation, and leadership. She is a true believer of the philosophy “Teamwork Makes The Dream Work” and she is dedicated to optimizing the FALFG client experience.

“You’re the quarterback, I’m the coach. You’re the walker, I’m the compass. Everything I do is all about you.”

William White,
Forge & Link Founder

Strategy

Click on the strategy to learn more.

Organize

80% of the work is getting everything on the table. Once we know what we have in front of us, we are able to put everything in its place.

Protect

Financial strategies without protection is like building a house on sand. Without a solid foundation, you are bound to fail. Setting an efficient foundation is essential. With our affiliations and relationships with other professionals, we will set that firm foundation.

Asset

Building assets is not about how much you accumulate. It’s about how much you keep when it comes time to use the asset or turn it into cash flow. Lean, strong, asset building is what we want to create.

Debt

Debt is simply about maintaining relationships. Good relationships speak loud but BAD relationships speak LOUDER! Integrity in your financial strategies should be addressed in an organized, educated approach.

Process

One thing our clients appreciate about working with us is that we don’t believe in cookie-cutter services or a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, we follow a meticulous process designed to help get to know each client’s situation, goals, and level of risk tolerance so that we can make appropriate recommendations to meet their needs. Everyone is different and we may amend our approach to suit a specific client, but in general, this is the process we utilize to help those we’re grateful to serve.

5 step process - Discovery, Expert Analysis, Debriefing, Implementation, Review

Services

Who We Serve


  • The Business

  • The Professional
    (Doctor, Engineer, Attorney)

  • The Educator

  • The Family

  • The Athlete

  • The Truck Driver

Areas of Expertise

  • Wealth Management^
  • Estate Planning
  • Asset Protection
  • Executive Benefits
  • Funding Deferred Compensation
  • Life Insurance
  • Financial Planning^
  • Annuities
  • Key Person Insurance
  • Disability and Extended Care Needs
  • 401(k) and IRA Rollovers
  • Charitable Planning
  • Succession Planning^
  • Funding Buy-Sell Agreements

^William White offers fee-based financial planning through Eagle Strategies LLC A Registered Investment Advisor.