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Company Profile: Prins Wealth Management helps people achieve financial goals | News, Sports, Jobs
RR Branstrom | Daily Press | Financial advisor Robert Prins and senior agency administrator Tiffany Huff discuss procedures for a client of Prins Wealth Management, an office of Edward Jones.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Daily Press will feature a series of articles about local businesses, highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will be published regularly in the Daily Press.
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ESCANABA — Prins Wealth Management, an office of Edward Jones, is home to financial adviser Robert Prins and a small team that includes senior agency administrator Tiffany Huff and associate financial adviser Kenzie Romps Koon.
Edward Jones is a large firm based in St. Louis, Mo., with thousands of offices across the U.S. and Canada. Its financial advisors work more or less independently; they all provide the same type of services—investment planning and wealth management—but each to their own individual clients, helping people achieve retirement goals and more.
The firm as a whole celebrated a century of operation two years ago. The first Edward D. Jones & Co. was founded by Edward D. Jones, Sr., in 1922. Edward’s son, Ted Jones, became the 18th broker, helped establish the first branch in 1957 and became the second managing partner in 1968. By 1980, the business was approaching 300 offices; by the end of that decade, it had surpassed 10,000.
Today, there are more than 18,000 Edward Jones offices. The firm has executives, thought leaders, analysts and investment strategists who assess the landscape and guide the direction of the company, but it is financial advisors like Prins who use their expertise to help thoughtful business owners and investors make wise decisions with their money.
“We use a planning process to help our clients clearly define and more predictably achieve their serious financial goals,” Prins said. “We deliver a consistent yet personalized client experience focused on organizing and coordinating every aspect of a client’s business.”
Prins said the approach has become even more personalized in recent years — compared to when he started. His office, located at 2601 1st Ave. N., is the oldest Edward Jones branch of nine in the Escanaba and Gladstone area.
Prins Wealth Management holds another unique honor. Few Edward Jones advisors operate under their own brand; Prins said there are only about 30 of the nearly 20,000 who have received such status.
His own office opened in 2006, but it was only last year that he began operating under the title “Prins Wealth Management”.
Prins’ personal journey to this point may have begun when he graduated from Gladstone High School and went on to Central Michigan University, where he majored in mathematics and finance.
In his early years after college, he worked at a high school in Lansing, teaching math and business. Then, when he was looking for a job in the Detroit area to be closer to his current wife, a publication by Edward Jones caught his eye.
“I’ve always been interested in business. I like finance. The big attraction was being able to run your own office and essentially work for yourself,” Prins said, adding that both his father and grandfather were self-employed. “And after a few years of working in the school system, I wanted to do something where I could create more of my own schedule, run my own office, create (my) own income streams … control my success.”
He was hired by Edward Jones on July 5, 2004. He then studied for about 12 weeks to obtain the necessary certifications and licenses to be a financial advisor and prepared to take a job in Sterling Heights. But then —
“The gentleman who was here (in Escanaba), Rich Warner, called me and asked if I would be interested in coming and opening a new office here,” Prins recalled.
It was his wife who thought they should make the move, Prins said, and it turned out to be a great decision.
In the beginning, Prins literally knocked on doors to drum up business. Now the firm has a solid client base, and newcomers continue to make inquiries.
For the past 12 years, Tiffany Huff, the office administrator, has handled all the processing, scheduling, and many interactions.
“She knows all of our clients very well,” Prins said. While he provides advice and guidance, Huff executes many of the transactions.
When people call, they speak to Huff first and then typically have two or three meetings with Prins before any action takes place. Prins said this is to ensure he understands each individual’s goals, situation and existing assets before making recommendations.
“When we meet with potential clients, we look at their entire financial picture… This can include their investments, taxes, insurance and more,” Prins said.
Then they can focus on specific goals.
“The main focus (for) most of our clients is retirement planning. Many clients have multiple goals, but retirement is at the top of the list.”
Some, ready for retirement, are looking for the best way to buy a vacation home in Florida. Others are very charitable and — seeing that they themselves are comfortable in retirement — decide to donate back to causes around the community. Still others decide that college funds for their children are their highest priority.
“Goal-based counseling” is what Prins said he uses to help his clients achieve those desires.
“Once we establish a client’s goal, we can then offer appropriate investments to help them achieve those goals. We offer a variety of investments, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, insurance and annuities,” he said.
As far as outreach goes, the office does marketing occasionally, but “we like to sponsor activities, things that are good for the community,” Prins said.
“Now, after being established for a long time, we are referral-based,” he explained. “So almost all of our new clients come from friends, family, people we work with. We probably take on a few clients a month now.”
A big help in enabling the firm to grow came in the form of Kenzie Romps Koon, who started as an associate financial advisor about a year ago. Before she was hired, the workload was at capacity. Now, they are able to provide the “excellent client service” they seek, Prins said.
Romps Koon has all the same certifications as Prins, has a few clients of his own, and helps ease Prins’ burden of “portfolio management, report creation, tax analysis… things that take me three hours in Excel, she does in five minutes,” he laughed.
After leasing the current location at the corner of 1st Avenue North and 26th Street North for 18 years, Prins has purchased a new building and will soon be moving his office. Formerly the Lake Michigan Armory, the property at 2713 N. Lincoln Rd. is preparing to open as the home of Prins Wealth Management. The new space will allow the office the potential to expand further and is expected to open by the end of the month.
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