Randy Landsman had already been a financial advisor to business executives and the wealthy in the New York City area for years when a lifelong friend, a police officer, asked him for help with his retirement finances. But financial planning for this group was different. Police officers usually retire relatively young, then have second careers. And they are not among the ultra-wealthy.

While helping his friend, Landsman had a "light bulb" moment: Why not build his business by helping police officers like his friend mine the generous benefits New York City offers them?

From that single idea grew a huge business niche, and now the firm he founded, Beacon Financial Group, has about 250 police officers among its clients. Beacon has permission to market to precincts in New York City and to Fraternal Order of Police members throughout the state. And the firm is expanding to New Jersey, Connecticut and beyond.

Landsman started his career in accounting but decided he wanted more of a hands-on, people-oriented role in the financial world. He and advisor Stephen Locker, CFP, met when both were getting their feet wet in the financial industry at American Express, where Landsman ran one of the most successful districts in the United States.

But they wanted more independence, so on the Fourth of July, 1996, they created Beacon, which is headquartered in Warren, N.J., and has offices elsewhere in the state, as well as in New York City and New Smyrna Beach, Fla. Their business now has about 1,500 clients, $300 million in assets under management and 15 employees. The firm takes a combination of fees and commissions and sells no products of its own.

Beacon continues to handle the usual wealthy clients and business executives, preparing financial plans and investing, mostly with the help of third-party money managers. But Beacon's unusual niche in law enforcement started with a childhood friend of Landsman.

Anthony Fanara had played baseball with Landsman as a 7-year-old, and they're still friends now, both at age 46. Like many police officers and other working people, Fanara, a 20-year veteran of the New York City police force, had not paid a lot of attention to his pension plan (or other city benefits) by the time he decided to retire.

"I had worked for 20 years and the city gives you a lot of benefits, but I did not know how well off I was," Fanara says. "I was still in the same investments that the city put me in when I started on the job and it was all hit-or-miss. So I asked Randy to look at what I had and tell me if I was in the best investments to retire. I was also a [Policemen's Benevolent Association] delegate and realized that giving this kind of advice might work on a larger scale."

Like many former officers, Fanara wanted a second career after he retired from the force, and he decided to join Beacon as a licensed consultant to market the firm's services to others in law enforcement. Within the last three or four years, Fanara has been to every command post in New York City and explained the firm's services to police officers at different stages in their careers-to those just starting out, those in middle command and those approaching retirement.

"Some officers are a little standoffish at first, but now they are getting to know who we are and they are more receptive," he says.

Landsman says that his team has extensive knowledge of the active duty police and New York State Fraternal Order of Police benefits programs. "We help police get more out of the city compensation package," he says, "covering the entire financial situation from cash reserve funds to retirement strategies."

In 2001, Landsman created the Financial Education Program, which offers financial guidance and educational seminars to officers at all levels of law enforcement. This includes educational programs at the New York City Police Academy and seminars for the New York City Detective Endowment Association (and, more recently, for the New York State Fraternal Order of Police). Landsman also makes presentations at police meetings and offers free assessments of anyone's finances.

Locker also speaks regularly at police functions and trains other advisors in police benefits. Fanara helps develop the educational program and works as the liaison between Beacon and the police organizations. Fanara's brother, Peter, has joined the staff too as part of the education team.

Because of the popularity and success of the New York City program, Landsman says, "Our next big step is into law enforcement circles in New Jersey."

Steve Wallace is a 22-year veteran of the New York City police force who is going to retire in a year and says he appreciates the fact that the education seminars Beacon holds present financial material in laymen's terms.

"Police are not very trusting by nature. It is just part of our job, but I trust Randy completely," Wallace says. "He took a free look at my portfolio, and whenever something is free I will jump at it. Beacon put me in a deferred compensation plan and an annuity fund. People at Beacon understand the unique aspects of the city's pension plan and benefits. I am a union rep, and now I present Beacon to others."

Helen Pappageorge, a civilian employee of the police department, had her own unique finances to present to Beacon. Her brother was killed on 9/11, so her mother is dealing with a substantial amount of money. In addition, her father had recently died at that time and she had all of the regular benefits of a New York City employee to consider for herself and her son.

"They put my mother in a mutual fund appropriate for her age, and she still has access to money if she needs it for an emergency. I had never paid any attention to my own finances except to pay my bills, and Beacon impressed upon me that it is my money and I should be thinking about passing whatever I can on to my son."

For those at Beacon, there is a big difference between most clients and the police clients.

"There is a large variation in personality," says Landsman. "Police will listen to the guy at the next locker sometimes before they will listen to a professional. That is why we concentrate on education and have meetings and seminars all the time to tell police how to maximize their pensions and other benefits and how we can help them."

Locker adds, "In these cases, we are often working with people who make $50,000 or $60,000 a year, to start, and manage to save $10,000 of it. We don't have a minimum income or minimum investment. We want to educate police early about how to maximize the pension benefits and buy insurance to protect their family. For instance, if they take a lesser pension amount initially, it can protect their spouse with benefits in the future. The majority of police are so focused on doing their job and taking care of their families they don't spend much time understanding the benefits the city provides."

As of April 2009, Beacon now has permission to market to the New York State Fraternal Order of Police, which opens up a new audience of 23,000 members. The firm also holds seminars for middle- and upper-level officers so they can bring information back to the precincts.

Because of the clientele, Beacon's fees are also somewhat different. The average fee for a comprehensive financial plan is $500 unless the finances are complex, in which case the charge is $150 to $400 an hour, depending on the situation. A benefit of law enforcement is that Beacon waives the financial planning fee for officers.

The fees are discounted 10% to 20% based on assets under management, and range from 0.75% to 1.75%. Charges can be fee-based or offered in a flat package rate, though Beacon will try to base more of its accounts on fees in the future. All educational services and seminars are free.

"Our goal is to provide value on behalf of all parties in order to establish a long-term relationship," Landsman says. "The police spend their lives taking care of others, so we want to help take care of them."