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Meet the Team

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Steven Foldes

Steven Foldes, CFP™, J.D., CMFC is the President of Foldes Financial Management, Inc. which manages assets valued at over $350 million for approximately 250 clients. He is a fee-only investment advisor.  Mr. Foldes specializes in portfolio construction by developing and implementing asset allocation plans for larger pools of assets for individuals, pension plans, trusts, and institutions.

Mr. Foldes received his Bachelor’s Degree, cum laude, from Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, and his Law Degree from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana.  He also studied at the University of Madrid, Madrid Spain, University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico and Societa Dante Alighieri, Rome, Italy.  He is a member of the Florida and Pennsylvania Bar Associations.  He completed his CFP™ (Certified Financial Planner) course work from the College for Financial Planning, Denver, Colorado and received his CFP designation from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.  He received his CMFC (Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor) designation from the National Endowment for Financial Education.

After playing the satellite tennis circuit and completing his military service as an officer in the Army National Guard, Mr. Foldes practiced law for three years in the criminal area in Harrisburg, PA and then the sports management field with International Management Group (IMG) in Cleveland, OH. In 1978, Mr. Foldes co-founded Fun Footwear Company.  As President, Mr. Foldes led the company from $1 million in sales and 50 employees in 1979 to $20 million and 750 employees in 1984.  Fun Footwear pioneered the all-plastic sandal category (“Jellies”) in the United States and came to be known as the worldwide leader in product development and innovative marketing techniques.  Mr. Foldes sold his company in 1985.  From 1986 until 1991, he was a consultant to the footwear industry working with firms from Japan, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico as well as the United States.  In 1991 Mr. Foldes began his career as a fee-only investment advisor and became associated with the firm of Evensky & Brown. In 1996 he became a partner in the firm of Woolf, Lubitz and Foldes which ultimately became Foldes Financial Management, Inc. 

He is a frequent lecturer on investment topics and has appeared on PBS and Cable television.  He is a member of the Financial Planning Association and the American Association of Individual Investors.   He is chairman of the Investment Committee of the Dave & Mary Alper Jewish Community Center and served as President and Treasurer of that organization.  He is also a former board member of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and Temple Beth Am where he currently serves on the Endowment Investment Committee for both organizations, and is active in the Israel Tennis Centers, Maccabia USA/Sports for Israel and the Anti Defamation League.  Mr. Foldes is currently the Chairman of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s Investment Committee which manages the $160,000,000 endowment of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.

David W. Austin

David W. Austin, CFP, is a fee-only financial and investment advisor and a Certified Financial Planner licensee, having completed the coursework from the College for Financial Planning in Denver, and received the CFP designation from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards in 1984. His areas of specialty include investment portfolio design and management, pre- and post-retirement planning, tax planning, and estate planning.

Mr. Austin is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and has been active in the financial services industry for 33 years. For over 25 years he has provided comprehensive financial planning and investment advisory services to individuals, trusts, pensions, and charitable organizations. He is a former Vice President of a major, international insurance company, and has conducted over 500 seminars on capital creation and personal financial management throughout the United States.

In 1986, he formed Austin Financial Advisers, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor, to provide comprehensive financial planning and investment advisory services to a wide variety of individuals, organizations, and qualified retirement plans. In October, 2000, he merged his practice with Foldes Financial Management, Inc. as a senior financial advisor.

Mr. Austin is a member of the international Financial Planning Association. As an independent, fee-only financial advisor, he custodies all securities through the Institutional division of Charles Schwab & Company. He has written for various publications including The Miami Herald, Registered Investment Advisor, Financial Services Week, Financial Product News, Mutual Funds Magazine, and Bloomberg’s Wealth Manager. Mr. Austin was a featured speaker on Risk Management at the South Florida Financial Planning Symposium Expo ‘91 in Miami, and an expert panelist on mutual fund investing for the WLRN-TV series “Financial Fitness”. He is a former adjunct faculty member of Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and the National Center for Financial Services Training in New York, New York, having taught the Certified Financial Planner Certificate Program for both institutions.

Thomas Balcom

Thomas Balcom, CFP, CAIA, MBA is a fee-only investment advisor. Mr. Balcom researches investment opportunities and constructs diversified portfolios for individuals, retirement plans and charitable organizations.

Mr. Balcom is a graduate of the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida where he received both Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration degrees. He received a Specialization in Investments during his Master of Business Administration program. He completed his Certified Financial Planner (CFP) coursework with the College for Financial Planning and received his CFP designation from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. He recently earned the designation of Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

After receiving his Bachelor degree, Mr. Balcom spent four years working in Boston, Massachusetts as a Financial Analyst and as a Budget Analyst prior to returning to obtain his Masters degree. During graduate school, Mr. Balcom worked as an intern with the Private Client Services Group at the Merrill Lynch office in Coral Gables, Florida and also as an associate with the Mutual Fund Services Group at Fidelity Investments in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

He joined Foldes Financial Management in January 1999 as a graduate school associate and then joined the firm on a full-time basis upon his graduation from the Master of Business Administration program.

He is the author of the quarterly “Dollars and Sense” article on investing for the Coral Ridge (Fort Lauderdale) Newsletter. Mr. Balcom also serves on the Board of Directors for the University of Miami Hurricane Club and the Broward County Financial Planning Association.

Mr. Balcom resides in Lighthouse Point with his wife Gina and enjoys playing golf in his spare time.

Nyika Plowden

Nyika Z. Plowden, Registered Paraplanner, has been with Foldes Financial Management since December, 1997 and is currently the Office Manager.  She is in charge of all client performance reporting, account fee billing, training, and customer service functions.  In addition, she manages all corporate accounting and maintains the client database, and is the chief liason for all communications with clients and service providers.  

Prior to joining the firm, Nyika held management positions in the retail industry while attending Florida International University. She completed the coursework for the Registered Paraplanner in 2002 with the College for Financial Planning in Denver, CO.  

Nyika resides in Miami with her son Caleb, and enjoys church activities, singing, and photography.

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