Harrison Financial Services

HELPING FAMILIES BUILD BETTER LIVES, LEGACIES AND COMMUNITIES

Wealth management firm Harrison Financial Services provides an array of services with a definitive purpose and core values always in mind.

Harrison Financial Services (HFS) can be described fairly succinctly as an integrated generational family wealth and legacy planning firm with a team of 22 that provides risk management solutions, investment strategies, retirement planning, business planning and other services. It should also be said that HFS is affiliated with Northwestern Mutual, a Fortune 97 firm and Top 10 Independent Broker-Dealer in the US1 HFS is also a founding member of Northwestern Mutual’s Private Client Group, a select group of Northwestern Mutual advisors and representatives around the country that are exclusively focused on serving high-net-worth and UHNW clientele.

“We are proactive and collaborate closely with our clients’ professional and trusted advisor team, and we often serve to help coordinate between the team and key stakeholders and family members,” said founder and CEO Tim Harrison. “We take clients through a fee-based legacy planning experience where we are able to share experiences and best practices of what other high-net-worth families are doing in areas including annual and planned giving to family members and philanthropy, conducting family meetings, business succession and wealth transfer planning.”

In describing his company, however, Harrison emphasizes a connection to the bigger picture.

“Our purpose is ‘to help families build a better life, legacy, and community’,” he said. “We are a very purpose-driven organization. Our very highly engaged team lives by a strong set of core values.”

Harrison’s personal story exemplifies the HFS purpose statement. He began building his own life and legacy at 18 years old as an intern for Northwestern Mutual. He worked full time as he pursued a bachelor’s degree in accounting, graduating with honors from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and started his own company right out of college in 1998.

He and his wife Traci, who both come from families with a tradition of giving, have served many nonprofit and community organizations over the years and are instilling the same spirit in their two teenage children. More than a decade ago, the couple founded the annual Tim & Traci Harrison Scholarship at UNO. Applicants must be enrolled fulltime in the College of Business Administration and have a concentration in investment science, finance or accounting; demonstrate financial need; and have a GPA of 3.5 or greater. Preference is given to applicants who, like the Harrisons, worked their way through college. HFS also supports many causes through both volunteer and financial contributions.

“It’s really important to pay it forward, in my mind. Many people helped me get to where I’m at, and so many people helped me to develop my business. This is such a great community in that way, with a lot of great mentors who are willing to give their time,” Harrison said. “I encourage everybody here on the team to find something they’re passionate about where they can make a mark and really get involved, and they can take time to go get involved in those things … most everyone at HFS is involved in something.”

Harrison turned to family to begin building his company, although not in a traditional sense. His brother and father were among his first employees.

“My dad basically retired from where he was at age 62 to join me for the next decade. My brother joined me prior to that at age 16,” he said. “I’ve continued to add capabilities and capacity, including a professional leadership team; we now we have a CIO and COO in addition to wellcredentialed and experienced advisors and team.”

The company has grown steadily over 25+ years. The diverse backgrounds of Harrison’s team include deep financial industry experience with more than 30 cumulative post-graduate credentials including not only master’s degrees but designations such as Certified Private Wealth Advisor (CPWA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Accredited Estate Planner (AEP), Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP), and others. Harrison himself has multiple credentials, including a CAP designation.

Harrison said the HFS team values developing meaningful relationships with its clients getting to know their needs, values and vision. That means Harrison himself still works directly with many clients.

“Half my time is working on the business, half my time is working in the business,” he said, adding that the firm’s focus has shifted somewhat over time.

“It started out that we had a niche in working with—primarily—senior decision makers, C-level executives in public companies,” Harrison explained. “We did and still do a fair amount of work with key executives in public companies, and then it’s really evolved to where most of our families created businesses; they are often entrepreneurs and people who run successful companies. Today that dominates our client base.”

As an entrepreneur himself, Harrison shared he can especially relate to those clients.

“That’s different than many financial advisors. We own our own successful business and understand what it takes to own and operate a growing company. What is also different is that we’re now serving about a third of our families multi-generationally.”

Another differentiator is that HFS doesn’t have proprietary traditional investment products, Harrison said.

“We are licensed with many of the top carriers on the insurance side and we are an independent on the investment side,” he said.

The company has slightly over a billion dollars in investment and insurance assets under advisement on behalf of clients, Harrison said,

BY KARA SCHWEISS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEBRA S. KAPLAN

which is noteworthy for a firm of its size. Both Barron’s and Forbes have included Tim and HFS on their list of best-in-state advisors2. HFS has also received consistent recognition from several local publications’ reader-driven “best of” lists.

“Our client retention has remained above 99-plus percent for a decade, which in our industry is very high. And we’ve had a world-class net promoter score (NPS, a leading metric for measuring customer loyalty)3 A world-class ranking by your clients means a lot,” Harrison said. “The majority of our clientele is within the Omaha metro area, but we do have a York, Nebraska, office also. We have a partner there and I’ve known him for 25 years, and he serves a lot of the central and western part of the state and ag community.”

Harrison shared he spent some time in Los Angeles and Miami Beach in his single days, which helped connect him to some important clients, but he was drawn back to his hometown, where he chose to grow his business and raise his family. And build a better life, legacy and community.

“I think Omaha is such a special place, and you have a lot of people here that care about community,” he said. “It’s impactful and rewarding sitting down face-to-face and working with families. I get a lot out of that; my whole team does. We enjoy helping clients and getting to know them.”

1Ranking for Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) based on total 2021 AUM, which includes figures that combine NMIS brokerage account activity and AUM with account activity and AUM of investment advisory account of NMIS’s affiliate Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC), which are held through NMIS. Source: Financial Advisor, April 2022.

2Barron’s “Top 1,200 Financial Advisors” list (March 2023), based upon data as of 9/30/2022. Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” list (April 2023), Research and ranking provided by SHOOK Research, LLC. Based upon data as of 6/30/2022. Northwestern Mutual and its advisors do not pay for placement on 3rd party rating lists, but do pay marketing fees to these organizations to promote the rating(s). Rankings and recognitions are no guarantee of future investment success.

3Source: Net Promotor Score, which measures customer experience and predicts business growth. It is measured on a scale of -100 to 100 with 80+ being world class. Survey of HFS clients. Figures as of July 31, 2021.

Tim Harrison uses Harrison Financial Services as a marketing name for doing business as a representative of Northwestern Mutual. Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, WI (NM) (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries in Milwaukee, WI. Investment advisory services provided as an Advisor of Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company®, a subsidiary of NM and federal savings bank. Investment brokerage services provided as a Registered Representative of Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of NM, registered investment adviser, broker-dealer and member FINRA (finra.org) and SIPC (sipc.org). Insurance Agent of NM. Northwestern Mutual Private Client Group is a select group of Northwestern Mutual advisors and representatives. Northwestern Mutual Private Client Group and Harrison Financial Services are not a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, insurance agency, federal savings bank or other legal entity. For more information, visit hfs.nm.com.

BY DAVID KUBICEK

LINDSAY SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, BANKERS TRUST

The largest transfer of wealth in the nation’s history will take place over the next 25 years. This transfer of wealth to future generations is driven in large part by countless individuals who have accumulated modest wealth over a lifetime of work and investing. How did they do it? And how can you build wealth during your lifetime to pass on to your heirs?

Wealth Transfer and Taxes

The “great wealth transfer” is the financial industry’s term for the transfer of an estimated $30 trillion from the baby boomers to generations X, Y, and Z, according to Steve Lindsay, senior vice president of business development at Bankers Trust.

“It is already happening, and it will continue and accelerate for decades as the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age and begins passing wealth to children and grandchildren,” he said.

Baby boomers have saved vast sums of wealth over their lifetime due to different variables including attitudes towards saving, equity performance, and estate, among others.

“They have also benefitted from large estate exemptions, which are currently due to sunset in 2026 and will be cut in half,” said Cory Garlock, financial advisor at RBC Wealth Management. “As they pass away, they are leaving large legacies in the form of assets for their next generations and nonprofits.”

“With continued changes to estate and inheritance taxes at federal and state levels, estate planning and the consideration of advanced estate and tax planning strategies are crucial to minimize the tax impact for future generations,” Lindsay said.

The tax burden of leaving money to the next generation should always be a planning consideration, according to Katie Bruno, financial advisor with Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners.

“As a result of the SECURE Act of 2019, most retirement account beneficiaries will need to draw down the account fully within 10 calendar years of the original owner’s death,” she said. “This may increase an heir’s tax rates during these 10 years. That higher tax rate should be considered in a retiree’s current withdrawal strategy and may make Roth conversions or tax-deferred distributions in retirement more beneficial.”

Also under current tax law, the cost basis for inherited investments in taxable accounts is the value at the owner’s death. Known as a “step-up in basis,” this effectively makes gains during the original owner’s lifetime tax-free for heirs.

“This benefit is why you may want to hold taxable assets as long as you can,” Bruno said.

Building Generational Wealth

By definition, building generational wealth means that you are gathering resources not only for yourself but also for future generations.

“Communicate with loved ones to discuss legacy planning and other priorities [you wish] to instill in that next generation,” Lindsay said. “Before they inherit what you plan to give them, ask yourself, ‘How will this make a positive impact on the world?’ If you can’t answer that in a satisfactory way, you may want to reconsider your plans.”

The creation of an estate plan and periodic reviews with an experienced attorney is critical to protecting your loved ones, preserving your wealth, and minimizing taxes. No matter what stage you are at in life, take time to identify your financial goals and make daily decisions that put you one step closer to reaching those goals.

“Generational wealth looks different from family to family and generational wealth is a possible destination for more than just the ultra-high net worth,” Lindsay said. “It is crucial to have a long-term and disciplined approach to saving and investing. I don’t think a native Omahan can get away without quoting Warren Buffett: ‘Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful.’ Families often place their focus on growing wealth and fail to recognize the importance of considering how that wealth should transfer and be preserved for future generations.”

It is important to make sure heirs understand how to be good stewards of the financial assets they have inherited. It starts with passing down values and making sure the next generation understands the responsibility and privilege they have been given.

“This is about passing down family values, which start with a series of conversations and actions that build upon each other,” Bruno said. “It can start with a child in grade school

- STEVE LINDSAY, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AT BANKERS TRUST

understanding something as important as a tradeoff and why it is important to save money today versus spending.”

As a child grows, these conversations should focus on future planning and investing. Many people shy away from money conversations, but communication is a vital component of preserving family wealth.

“Among the many reasons people shy away from this is fear,” Bruno said. “Individuals fear that their kids could become greedy or may not have enough experience to manage the kind of money they will inherit. There are many great ways to interact with the next generation about money. One of those ways is bringing your