Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Keenan.
Brian, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started my company a week after my 26th birthday, in the Fall of 2016. In my previous experience working as a financial advisor, I realized that the majority of my clients were lacking exceptional service in other areas of their life. I noticed that clients would get different mortgage rates from different banks, different levels of services and fees for tax services, as well as for wills and trusts. Many clients were paying too much for their life, home, and auto policies, and most often, didn’t even have the proper coverages or proper amounts of coverage.
Essentially, I realized that the main problem was that they were going to separate companies for each service. They didn’t have someone looking out for their best interests in every area. I had to do the same thing for my own personal life, and that’s when I began searching for a solution. When looking around at the different companies in the industry, I noticed that most of them only provided services in one of those areas.
Although my initial specialty was financial planning and investments, I knew that I needed to start my own company, and expand my services. On top of that, I wanted to make sure that our clients were getting the best rates and coverage’s for each service. So we keep on top of all of their personal financial areas and are constantly making sure that they receive the best available option(s) for each one.
In order to provide all of these services, I knew that I would need to get licensed in each area. So I am licensed to do financial planning, investments, life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability insurance, health insurance. I then got my mortgage license, to be able to offer mortgages to our clients, and I am a Notary Public.
Lastly, I got my property & casualty insurance licenses, so we can offer: home, auto, boat insurance, etc. for clients. I still have a few more to go, but I believe that you should never stop learning! I then surrounded myself with an amazing team, to provide their expertise in each area (taxes, estate planning, etc.).
It is amazing to see the difference that we can make for people when you can see how all of these areas overlap! When was the last time that your financial planner/advisor, accountant, estate attorney, mortgage broker, and insurance agents all met to discuss your financial needs and goals? For most people, the answer is never. With us, we do that every day!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been very smooth for the most part. We receive a ton of referrals from our clients, so we do not need to spend any money on marketing. Our clients love the convenience of what we provide, so they love to tell their family and friends about us!
The most difficult part has probably been the hiring process. We receive a lot of applications, but we are very selective about who we hire. I try to hire people who I think are more knowledgeable in a certain area than I am. That way we all have a very specific job to do, and we don’t get in each other’s way.
We are very wary of growing too fast. What I mean by that is, we want to make sure we hire the right people. Even though our workload continues to increase from all of the referrals, we don’t want to hire someone as a short-term solution, to just get some extra work done. We carefully vet each candidate and make sure it is someone that we want to work with for the next 40 years, or until they retire.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are much different than your average financial planning or wealth management firm. We are a concierge for your life. Anything financial or insurance related, we will handle for you.
In addition to all of the services that we provide for individuals and families that we discussed previously, we also provide a plethora of services for business owners as well. For our business owner clients, we can offer liability, workers compensation, errors & omissions, malpractice insurance, etc.. We can help them establish employee benefits, 401(k)’s, 403(b)’s, SEP IRA’s, etc.. So they can benefit from our services on not only a business level but on a personal level as well.
We charge way less than most financial advisors, and our clients get their taxes, wills, trusts, etc. all done for them, for no additional fee. So our clients receive all of these services for less than they would normally pay for even one of these services alone!
I am most proud of the work that we do, and the services that we provide. More importantly, I am most proud that we do it in the right way. As a firm, we care about not only our clients, but we also care about our advisors. We maintain a long-term vision of the company, and we do not charge or chase commissions. We have a very low fee, and that is because we want to be our client’s advisor for the next 40 years.
Most advisors charge between 1-2.5%, which is outrageous if you ask me! They also often times have a sliding scale of fees, dependent upon how much you have invested with them. That has never made sense to me because they are basically saying that the lesser amount of money is not worth their time, even though all of the trading software’s trade the entire account at the same time. Some advisors won’t even help you unless you have certain amounts of money!
What sets us apart is our level of expertise. We know all aspects of your personal financial situation, so we can provide better service than someone who only helps you with one of those areas. Also, our minimal fee sets us apart as well. Clients are always astonished by everything that we do for them, and often times tell us that they are willing to pay for each separate service. We believe that by providing low fees and superior service, that we are truly acting as fiduciaries, and always putting our clients best interests first!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far is definitely being able to provide employment and opportunities for our advisors, staff, and their families! I love doing the payroll, and still do it myself, I love the feeling I get after I pay each person for their hard work.
It is nice knowing that I have provided them with an opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. I love to surprise them with bonuses on their birthdays and their spouses birthdays, or when they have a baby! Fun things like that are what put a smile on my face every day!
Contact Info:
- Address: 225 Franklin St 26th Floor Boston, MA 02110
- Website: www.KeenanFinancial.com
- Phone: (617) 217-2595
- Email: Brian@KeenanFinancial.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/KeenanFinancial
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