COVER STORY | LOCAL PROFILE
Duncan Financial Group’s team of professionals are experts in their fields, providing businesses and individuals with exceptional service and support. For businesses, Duncan offers insurance/risk management, group benefits, retirement plans, and accounting. For individuals, they offer insurance, estate planning, wealth management, and tax services.
Pennsylvania-Based Firm Offers One-Source Solution for Insurance, Financial Services Headquartered just 30 miles outside Pittsburgh — the heart of the state’s steel and manufacturing industry — Duncan Financial Group is proud to call Irwin, Pennsylvania home. For three generations, the family owned firm has provided businesses and families with comprehensive insurance and financial services — and, more importantly, confidence. “It means a great deal to be able to successfully help people through three generations,” says Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Duncan, CFP. “People who have car accidents. People who have had loved ones pass. People who have problems with the IRS. We help people with all different types of financial problems, and it’s very satisfying to know that we’ve been able to do that for 44 years.” Big enough to matter and small enough to care, Duncan Financial Group prides itself on putting its customer first — a way of doing business instilled by David Duncan’s father, the late John “Jack” Duncan, when he established the firm as an independent insurance agency in 1978. “My father always said, ‘If you take care of your clients, everything else will be fine,’ ” states David Duncan. “ ‘ If you don’t take care of your clients, it doesn’t matter how successful you are at the other parts of business, ultimately, you’ll fail.’ ”
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MAY 2022 • mbabizmag.com
It’s a philosophy that certainly has served the company and its clients well over time. Soon after David joined the business in 1979, they expanded to include financial services, such as securities and financial planning. Over the years, wealth management was added, followed by tax and accounting, and several smaller insurance agencies as well. In 1996, Duncan affiliated with Keystone Insurance Group, a prestigious multistate network of independent agencies — helping broaden the firm’s reputation and market position. Then, the unexpected happened. In 1997, Jack Duncan passed away suddenly at the age of 57. Not long after, a bank approached David and his brother, John Jr. (president of the Insurance Division), to sell the business, but they turned down the offer, making one of the most important decisions ever — to keep the company in the family and remain an independent firm. “The planning that my dad had done made it so that my brother and I were able to give my mom financial security for life, and we didn’t have to do it in a fashion that kept us from building our business,” says David Duncan. “Mom ended up with financial security, and we had the capital to continue to grow our business, which, I would tell you, at least 95 out of 100 businesses that lose their main owner at age 57, they don’t survive.” Duncan Financial Group has not only survived but also thrived. Recognized in 2019 as one of the fastest-growing companies in western Pennsylvania by the Pittsburgh Business Times, the firm presently has offices located across Pennsylvania, as well as Strongsville, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia and as far away as Laguna Nigel, California to service its clients nationwide. For employers, Duncan offers commercial insurance/risk management, group benefits, retirement plans and accounting. For individuals, they offer insurance, estate planning, wealth management, and tax services.
