Today we’d like to introduce you to Abbey Henderson.
Abbey, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Coming out of Dartmouth College as an Economics major, I thought that I wanted to be an accountant. It turned out that while I loved numbers and finance, I needed more personal client interaction and wanted to feel like I was making a difference for individuals not businesses. That led me to pursue financial planning. I was lucky in that the accounting firm that I was working for at the time had a financial planning group and they were generous enough to let me make a change. I worked at that accounting firm and then a Boston law firm in wealth management from 1997-2001. In 2001, I decided that I wanted to strike out on my own and I started Abaris Financial Group with two clients and $600,000 under management. My vision starting the firm was to provide exceptional fee-only wealth management to individuals and families of all income and asset levels – but most importantly, I wanted to be a trusted adviser and provide an office where my clients felt like family. That mission has evolved over time to provide not only wealth management but also life planning and financial wellness. We are about to roll out the Exceptional Life Program which will help clients look beyond the conventional definition of financial success to a build a vision and a roadmap for their best, most fulfilled lives.
Has it been a smooth road?
Over the last 16 years, the biggest struggle that we faced was the stock market from 2007-2009. It was a scary time for many of our clients and aside from managing portfolios, our most significant role was as a support system for our clients.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Abaris Financial Group story. Tell us more about the business.
Abaris Financial Group is a fee-only wealth management and financial life planning firm. What sets us apart is a focus on life planning and financial wellness. Life planning is the process of looking at financial planning through a much deeper, more personal lens – helping a client to figure out what will fulfill them in all aspects of life. This allows money to be a tool to move a client towards fulfillment. I think that the founder of the Kinder Institute, George Kinder, says it best when he explains “Life Planning is the process of melding money with meaning. It allows people to live richer, fuller lives – personally, professionally, financially and spiritually.”
I think that I am most proud of the fact that it has grown from just me in a single office managing two clients to a group of four advisors with over 150 clients.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
There are huge shifts coming in our industry. Perhaps the most interesting dynamic is technology which will commoditize investment management and possibly much of financial planning as artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated. I think that it will become critical for advisors to provide more value-added services such as life planning and coaching.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9 Damonmill Sq, #1F
Concord, MA 01742 - Website: www.abarisfinancialgroup.com
- Phone: 978-371-9649
- Email: abbey@abarisfinancialgroup.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abarisfinancial/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AbarisFinancial
Image Credit:
Headshot and Team Photo – BBV Photography
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