About Purpose Driven Financial Services

Stuart Hunsicker, Managing Partner

Stuart is a retirement specialist and federal employee benefits specialist at PDFS. “Once we decided to really commit to pushing the firm forward, we knew that we could be effective,” Stuart says. “We work very well together and complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses.” Stuart considers himself more of the analytical and numbers half of the duo. With more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, he has become an expert at assessing each individual person’s situation and deducing how much they may need for a successful retirement. Once he arrives at the target number, Zar steps in as a specialist to design a plan that includes specific elements that will help clients reach that number.

As a VCU-Richmond graduate with a degree in finance, specializing in business, Stuart has seen nearly every side of the financial industry. Early in his career, he worked for smaller firms and oversaw trading and investment portfolios. He also held a Series 24 license and signed off on variable business within the firm. “I wore a lot of hats,” he says. “I focused on the investment side, but when the markets crashed, I took too many phone calls with crying voices on the other end.” Those tough phone calls led him into the insurance side of the business. He now considers retirement his focal point and believes in making sure that each client is prepared for retirement before they move to the next step. Once the retirement plan is put into place, the rest is icing on the cake, helping give the client financial freedom.

PDFS certainly isn’t exclusive, but Stuart is extremely passionate about working with teachers and federal workers. His beautiful wife of nearly 20 years, Andrea, is a teacher, so he’s very familiar with the issues they face, and he tends to gravitate toward clients who serve and assist. He has also experienced many of the hypothetical scenarios he raises to clients. What if a spouse passes away suddenly, or what if you’re forced into retirement early? Stuart has been there, and he knows how to navigate those rocky waters with you.

Zar Razack, Managing Partner

Zar is co-owner and founder of Purpose Driven Financial Services. He started the firm in 2011 with a mission to help as many clients as he could, knowing full well he wouldn’t exist without them. During your first meeting with Zar, come prepared. He will ask you many key questions to find out what your goals are. He understands that your time is valuable. and he knows you wouldn’t be spending it with him if what you were currently doing was working. After uncovering your objectives, Zar’s sole mission is to find a solution to best fit your needs.

Zar has worked in finance since 2001, and he holds life and health licenses in 8 states. At one point during his career, he flew around the entire country to different states to train financial professionals. In fact, his passion is training and teaching, and he believes the biggest compliment he can receive is a client saying they completely understand their situation. “I’ve always worked with the mindset of a teacher. I love seeing clients have an ‘aha! moment’ and say they actually get how this all works,” he says. PDFS was created with the intent to help individuals and families to truly understand how to better grow and protect their assets.

At the end of the day, Zar goes home to his two sons. Whether they’re out on a course or challenging each other at TopGolf, it always brings them closer. His youngest son is also interested in cooking, a passion he inherited from Zar. Cooking his own meals also makes it easier to maintain his fitness goals. As a single father, he realized that he wanted nothing more than to be around to meet his grandchildren. Since he set off on a fitness journey, he now has a rigorous physical regimen with the goal of improving his health and maintaining a close relationship with his sons for as long as possible. He also leaps at any chance he gets to be outdoors, whether it’s hiking a local trail or spending time in the garage working on a project that calls for his building and mechanical skills.

Originally from Guyana, South America, he moved to Florida when he was 7 years old. Throughout his life, he has outlined his intentions with one simple sentence: “I want to use my blessings to be a blessing. I’ve learned to lend a helping hand to anyone who needs one,” Zar says. “Whether it be financially or otherwise, I’m proud to say that I’ve been able to change the lives of others, just as others have done for me.”