Today we’d like to introduce you to David C. Porter.
Since August of 1996, Dave has been the owner and Managing Partner of Baystate Financial, one of Massachusetts’ oldest and largest full services financial firms. He began in the insurance business in Philadelphia, PA in 1983. He moved to Washington, D.C. in 1992 and on to Boston in 1996. In 1996, he became Managing Partner of Baystate Financial with 49 advisors and $1,000,000.00 of commission/fee production. Only 4 of 49 advisors remained after three years. In 2016, Baystate had 320 advisors pay for $119,000,000.00 of commission/fee production and has grown from one office in Boston to twelve major offices in five states. Under his direction, Baystate Financial has been recognized as one of Boston’s top places to work in both The Boston Globe and the Boston Business Journal. He has been an International Speaker on building Financial Services Organizations and the convergence of Banks, CPAs, Insurance, and Investment Groups. Dave’s book, “Where Winners Live”, about accountability in the financial services industry, debuted in 2013 and has sold over 45,000 copies.
His philosophy of a “people first” strategy exemplifies doing well by doing good. He is extremely active in the Boston community. He established the Baystate Financial Charitable Foundation in 1999 with the intent of raising money to help support local area charities. He coordinates an Annual Holiday Toy Drive to benefit children in the Department of Children & Families in Mass/RI areas, which has supplied gifts to over 10,000 foster children over the years. In 2004, he was one of the founding member of Friends of the Children – Boston, a non-profit that hires mentors to work with the city’s most at-risk youth. Dave was recently recognized as one of three ‘Most Admired CEO’s’ by the Boston Business Journal.
He is the Chairman of the Board of Zoo New England. His other board memberships include Elon University in North Carolina, the BochPerforming Arts Center, WPO New England, and the Boston Police Athletic League. Dave and his wife Jen are the parents of five children, ranging in age from 21-31. In addition to spending time with his family, he enjoys golf, skiing, and is a huge Bruce Springsteen fan.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Two factors affect our business …
It’s difficult to predict if and when things may change, and even harder to keep up with frequently changing legislation and its implications. We provide ongoing advice and management of your strategy, including regular performance reporting, communication about investment markets and maintenance of your investment portfolio and insurance coverage.
The second is that Baystate Financial delivers advice. This means we offer unbiased and unrestricted advice and
recommendations covering the whole of the market. We believe that starting each relationship with a
blank piece of paper and no products to sell is the best way to deliver professional and comprehensive
financial planning. But advice and having financial conversations can be difficult.
Once we have implemented a personal financial plan, we will continue to develop our relationship
with the client. So much of financial planning is about mutual trust and respect, whether in the context of
helping the client invest for the future, protect his/her family or reduce taxes. We understand that the topics
we discuss can be sensitive, and the questions we ask can be probing, but the motivation is to make
sure we look after the client. We believe in working in collaboration, but also appreciate that this sometimes
takes time.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Baystate Financial story. Tell us more about the business.
The firm’s team of over 350 advisors and 250 support staff have access to Bay state’s broad range of services including financial planning, business and estate planning, retirement and special needs planning as well as a variety of protection and investment products such as life, health and disability insurance and long-term care, mutual funds, annuities and IRAs.
This infrastructure allows the advisors to act more as practitioners, working side-by-side with the clients to develop highly personalized and customized financial plans and personal wealth management programs for a wide variety of businesses and individuals—from professional athletes and physicians to family-owned
and closely-held business owners.
Every Baystate Financial strategy is tailored to help fulfill the clients’ individual goals. The firm’s team-based approach and commitment to its staff and clients allows Baystate to attract top advisors in the marketplace and to build succession planning within the team. Retention at the firm is incredibly high, and the firm’s efforts have been recognized by media, professional organizations, and community groups from around New England, including being named one of the Top Places to Work the past 4 years by The Boston Globe.
Since 1901, Baystate Financial has built a reputation for helping its clients gain clarity, leverage and financial independence. Clarity with regard to what having wealth means to them; leverage with regard to the ways they integrate and coordinate their assets and income to build, protect and distribute wealth in an efficient and
effective manner; and financial independence with the knowledge that they have made informed and appropriate decisions appropriate for the complex financial lives they tend to lead.
“We believe that Baystate Financial’s greatest strength is its network of talented people, the passion they have for their work, and the collaborative culture they embrace. All across New England, our associates make us a best place to work. Our focus always is to foster an environment that encourages their best thinking and supports their personal and professional development so that we bring the best to each other and to our clients’ day in and day out,” says Porter.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
From my vantage point … “bad things happen to good and bad people alike, good things happen to good people more often.”
Anything is possible when you hold yourself personally accountable. If I said to you, “I want to exercise three days a week or build a $100 million business, or I dream about having a whole floor of the Hancock Tower which we now have,” when you look in the mirror and you own the outcome, the possibilities are endless.
Contact Info:
- Address: Baystate Financial
200 Clarendon Street, 19 & 25 th floors
Boston, MA 02116 - Website: www.baystatefinancial.com
- Phone: 617-585-4500
- Other: www.baystatefoundation.org
MAY 20, 2011 – Dave Porter and Tim Porter ’11. (photo by Dan Anderson)
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