FINANCIAL ADVISOR PROFILES - JULY 2021

2021

financial advisor Profiles PRESENTED BY

WORDS Dwain Hebda and Catherine Frederick some interviews have been edited for length and clarity

Do South® is proud to recognize the talents and contributions of select Financial Advisors and Wealth Managers in our community. They set the bar for excellence and are committed to providing financial confidence for their clients. Join us as we bring attention to their expertise and discover how they help their clients reach their financial goals.

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The story of Arvest is one of commitment started by its founders, an intense dedication to focusing on the customer. This philosophy has remained the same during Arvest’s growth from a small bank to a group of community banks able to provide a complete range of financial services. “Every firm has the same tools in the toolbox for investing,” says Darin Drennan, Arvest vice president and trust wealth advisor. “What sets Arvest Wealth Management apart is our holistic approach to meeting the financial needs of the client and having full plan coordination through Arvest Blueprint. We do this through the Pillars of Wealth Management: Investment Management, Retirement Income Draw Down Strategy, Incapacity Planning and Estate Plan.”

Arvest’s approach to customer service completes the strategy, Darin says. “Our customer service is based on building relationships with each individual and earning their trust,” he says. “We are committed to listening to their needs, understanding their goals and implementing a plan that serves them not only today, but throughout their life. We live this in every client interaction through availability, involvement, follow-through and finishing with successful outcomes.”

Finally, Arvest ’s technological tools augment the customer experience by putting clients’ information at their fingertips at a time that works best for them. “ We are ever-improving our technology to meet clients' expectations in an ever-changing technological world,” Darin says. “ Whether through our website or app, our focus is on turnkey solutions with information available at the touch of a button anytime, anywhere.”

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Travis Teague, Dale Brunk, Geoff Rosen

Landmark Financial LLC Skillfully bringing together all aspects of a client’s financial picture is what sets Landmark Financial apart in the local financial services market. The firm, which has been in business for nearly two decades, provides tax-optimized wealth management services with the ability to draw expertise from Landmark CPAs. “Accounting and wealth management by themselves only capture part of the picture,” says Dale Brunk, advisor. “At Landmark, our clients have access to two very distinct disciplines in one location that work together to achieve the maximum outcome.” Within each of these service segments, Landmark’s experienced team brings unique skillsets to each account, providing customized solutions to virtually any client issue or goal.

“Our advisors each have a background and a level of specialization that is different from the other,” Dale says. “Whether it’s a CPA-first mentality or a wealth management-first mentality, our professionals work together to create unique, comprehensive plans for our clients that take into account their whole financial picture.”

“In this manner, we foster an environment of experts working collaboratively for the benefit of our clients, leveraging the full range of our expertise, not just one individual advisor’s expertise. At the same time, we all have the autonomy to do what is best for the client.”

A tenured member of the firm, Dale loves working with motivated clients to help them as they pursue their long-term financial goals.

“As an advisor, I learn something new every day, whether it is about people or investments,” he says. “I also enjoy meeting many different people from many different backgrounds. For me, success is about the willingness to adapt. It’s about being willing to change your thought processes and preconceived notions and have the ability to consider other options.”

Another thing setting Landmark Financial apart is the relentless drive for perfecting the customer experience, whether through impeccable customer service or by coming up with new and creative ways to work towards the client’s desired outcome. “What makes us so successful is that our entire team is constantly looking for ways to improve our clients’ lives and financial wellbeing through new changes in the tax code and new investment opportunities,” Dale says. “In short, we don’t accept easy, one-size-fits-all answers.”

“I tell clients all the time, ‘You should not like all of our ideas. If you like all of our ideas, then that means we aren’t bringing you enough ideas.’ We need to bring clients enough different perspectives to give them the information to make an informed decision.”

Securities offered through Avantax Investment ServicesSM. Member FINRA, SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Avantax Advisory ServicesSM. Insurance services offered through an Avantax affiliated insurance agency.

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Brad lewis United Financial Advisors To borrow a well-worn phrase, when Brad Lewis speaks, people listen. As an entrepreneur, financial advisor and Navy veteran, there’s a lot to appreciate in his work ethic and experience.

But as his clients will tell you, it’s his empathy for people that stands out above all.

“As a comprehensive financial planning firm, our motto is ‘Providing Financial Confidence and Dignity Through Every Stage of Life,’” he says. “We use an educational approach to planning to help clients feel confident in a strategy that will allow them to retire and live with dignity.”

Brad learned the value of hard work from his father, a longtime restauranteur, and his commitment to others’ needs from his mother. “My mother has been widowed twice and now uses that experience to help other women as they become widows,” he said. “She’s made a difference helping so many women going through a very difficult time, so I decided to take that help farther.”

“I created a booklet titled, ‘WOMEN: What You Need to Know,’ that has inspirational stories, including my mother’s, plus financial guidance and an estate planning checklist.

I give copies of this booklet away to every woman who comes through our door.” Brad reinforces the lessons in the book with a popular long-running women’s luncheon, an event he recently adapted for men. Each luncheon includes a guest expert speaking on a topic of interest, including other local business owners discussing the lessons learned in entrepreneurship.

He holds professional licenses to practice in Arkansas, Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma in addition to his Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor designation and ASPA Certificate for the Tax Exempt & Government Plan Administration. He’s also served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations in the community and is a member of the Fort Smith Chamber, Grand Avenue Baptist Church and Gideons International. For all his success, Brad is still humbled by the faith and trust invested in him by his clients toward helping guide them to their long-held goals.

“People can tell the difference between you trying to sell them something and you sincerely trying to help them,” he says. “I’ve discovered a great joy in meeting new people. Everyone has an interesting story and I’ve made a lot of new friends through this business. I work very hard to be a blessing to them.”

“There are people who want you to know how much they know, and there are people who want you to know what they know. If you visit a financial advisor who talks more about themselves than asking about you, you should probably keep looking.”

Securities and Investment Advisory services offered through Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. (RAA) member FINRA/SIPC. RAA is separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of RAA.

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Kenneth Siebenmorgen Ameriprise Financial Balancing tried-and-true financial expertise with cutting-edge tools and unparalleled client service is the winning formula for private wealth advisor Kenneth Siebenmorgen. It’s a business philosophy rooted in never accepting “good enough” as good enough.

“One of our long-term clients has said many times, ‘The client pays all the freight bill,’” Kenneth says. “Consequently, meeting the client’s request is never acceptable – we have to exceed the client’s request. Very simple items such as maintaining a rigid yet flexible schedule, expanded hours of doing business and returning calls, texts and emails promptly are the norm in today’s instantaneous society.”

“Our phones seldom go to voice mail; we meet when and where the client can meet, and follow-up occurs faster than the client expects. In some cases, a client’s financial plans may involve their CPA, attorney, loan officer and company human resource officers, so communicating with all of the client’s advisors is critical to a great experience.” Meeting the client as he or she is most comfortable often means sitting across the table, but for those who prefer, Kenneth also employs leading technology for clients' convenience.

“We embrace changing technology; this area of our practice has radically changed over our 31 years in business,” Kenneth says. “If you fight the change, you’ll always be left behind. In our initial meeting with a client, we introduce them to the mobile app and the secure online experience they will enjoy.”

“Some clients, especially those in the Baby Boomer generation, are concerned with using technology that they are not familiar with. However, we assure them we have rock stars on our team that understand and can mentor them on the use of mobile technology.”

The firm’s technological tools allow clients to sign documents, see progress towards their financial goals, access values of investments, transactions, rate of return and other information at any time. Cloud-based and mobile technology has also been critical during the pandemic in allowing the 10-employee team to work remotely and at multiple office locations to provide advice and service to clients.

For everything that’s new in the industry, the most rewarding parts of the job have remained exactly the same, Kenneth says.

“I started in this career because I loved the business of helping others,” he says. “It then became a passion to develop a team to advise more. It is now an obsession to give the client a great human experience. Seeing clients reach their goals of providing education for kids or grandkids, having a confident retirement, giving to charities, planning their estate and other goals is what it is all about.”

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