Celebrating an Anniversary!
An Unexpected Way to Celebrate, and We’re Putting Our Names on It: Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies
By Steven Higgins, Financial Advisor, Partner
It was almost exactly a year ago when we were touring venues, preparing the menus, and finding a band. We had the new logos designed and ready to go. It was the beginning of 2020 and we were getting ready to celebrate our firm’s 10 year anniversary. The sudden arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic took the wind out of the sails, to say the least. The turn of events was ironic. When Allie and I decided to leave the nest of the firm we both previously worked for in mid-2009 to open our own doors in the fall of 2010, we did so in an environment that many thought – and in some cases articulated to us – was a horrible time to “start our own shop.” The stock market and economy was stumbling and stammering its way out of the darkness of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
It was, however, the Great Recession that motivated our decision to start building our firm. While at our previous firm, during the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, the fear and anxiety that spread as a result of the volatility and crash of the stock market stretched us too thin as we struggled to manage thousands of client relationships between the two of us. There was no way we could help people the way we should between all the challenges. We decided to work towards creating an investment and financial planning firm designed to meet the needs of a select group of clients through exceptional personalized services and process, along with the ability to have deep relationships. We wished to truly help clients work their way to developing and meeting long-term goals and meet Allie’s and my goals of having meaningful careers working side by side with like-minded, successful clients. So, in September 2010, we found ourselves starting what is now Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies at my dining room table as we waited for the paint to dry and installation of the carpet at our new office.
Now for the irony. Instead of celebrating our ten year anniversary side by side with our favorite people, laughter, and live music, fate would have it that we would celebrate by putting our firm, processes, people, and – truly the purpose for our professional existence – to the test. The sudden arrival of COVID-19, along with the economic and market reaction, was the worst financial crisis since the Great Recession. With everything and everybody attempting to operate remotely, the volatility event had the potential to derail investors’ ability to stay the course and ultimately meet their goals. Over the years we had been developing and refining our investment process to manage through and benefit from market volatility. (Check out our recent blog post: Crossing the Finish Line, The Power of Process.) Also, we believed from the beginning that thoughtful and consistent communication would strengthen our clients’ understanding of different types of market events and ease the emotional reactions along the way. We established a process to create timely content in the form of articles and videos to help keep clients informed along the way. We also integrated technologies to help us maintain our processes and relationships virtually so that we could better meet the needs and busy schedules of successful and often traveling clients. We were oblivious to the what was coming in the form of COVID-19, but we were ready. We turned our attention from celebration to action and what was revealed to us all in 2020 was the strength, knowledge, and patience of our steadfast clients. 2020 proved to Allie and I that we did that right thing way back in 2010. We created something along with our people and our clients that was different and special.
Make no mistake, we are not skipping the party. In fact, what you will realize over the next year is that we have been tinkering … a lot. We have refined some processes, established some new processes, added services, and changed some things. We have always known how much we love seeing our clients at our events: Lunch & Learns, Brews & News seminars, baseball games, holiday parties, wine tastings, etc. But we have realized how much we miss you and we have made some enhancements that will expand our event line up and give you more opportunities to hear from us and learn in a fun, social, and special atmosphere. As soon as the pandemic makes its anticipated and most welcomed exit, our doors will be open and we are most certainly going to celebrate with you.
For our first announced change and in the sprit of celebrating what is now our 11th anniversary, we have changed our name to Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies. The change reflects the very personal relationships Allie and I have with our clients and is intended to make clear that we are committed to our clients and this process for the long-term. We can’t wait to share more exciting news along the way as we optimistically, yet safely, reveal our plans for celebrating and connecting with you all in person soon, but not soon enough. Stay safe!
