Business Profile: Prins Wealth Management helps people reach financial goals | News, Sports, Jobs

R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press |
Financial Advisor Robert Prins and Senior Branch Office Administrator Tiffany Huff discuss proceedings pertaining to a client at Prins Wealth Management, an office of Edward Jones.

EDITOR NOTE: The Daily Press will be featuring a series of articles on local businesses, highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will run on a regular basis in the Daily Press.

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ESCANABA — Prins Wealth Management, office of Edward Jones, is the workplace of Financial Advisor Robert Prins and a small team that includes Senior Branch Office Administrator Tiffany Huff and Associate Financial Advisor Kenzie Romps Koon.

Edward Jones is a large company headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., with thousands of offices across the U.S. and Canada. Their financial advisors work more or less independently; all provide the same type of services — investment and wealth management planning — but each to their own individual clients, helping people meet goals for retirement and more.

The company as a whole celebrated a century in operation two years ago. The first Edward D. Jones & Co. was established by Edward D. Jones, Sr., in 1922. Edward’s son, Ted Jones, became the 18th broker, helped establish the first branch office in 1957, and became the second managing partner in 1968. By 1980, the business was nearing 300 offices; by the end of that decade, it had surpassed 10,000.

Today, there are over 18,000 Edward Jones offices. The firm has executives, thought leaders, analysts and investment strategists who assess the landscape and guide the company’s direction, but it’s financial advisors like Prins who use their knowledge to help business owners and careful 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 personally-tailored client experience geared towards organizing and coordinating every aspect of a client’s affairs.”

Prins said that the approach has become even more personalized in recent years — compared to when he began. His office, located at 2601 1st Ave. N., is the longest tenured Edward Jones branch of the nine in the Escanaba and Gladstone area.

Prins Wealth Management holds another unique honor. Not many Edward Jones advisors operate under their own branding; Prins said that there are only about 30 out of the close to 20,000 that have been given such a status.

His own office opened in 2006, but it was just last year that he began operating under the title “Prins Wealth Management.”

Prins’s personal journey to this point may have started when he graduated from Gladstone High School and went downstate to Central Michigan University, where he earned a degree in mathematics and finance.

For the first few years after college, he worked at a high school in Lansing teaching math and business classes. Then, when he was looking for a job in the Detroit area to be closer to his now-wife, an Edward Jones posting caught his attention.

“I was always interested in business. I like finance. The big draw was going to be able to run your own office and essentially work for yourself,” Prins said, adding that both his father and grandfather had been self-employed. “And after a couple years of working in the school system, I wanted to do something where I could more create 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 certifications and licenses required to be a financial advisor and prepared to take a job in Sterling Heights. But then —

“The gentleman that was here (in Escanaba), Rich Warner, called me and asked if I would be interested in coming up and starting a new office up here,” Prins recalled.

It was his wife who thought they should make the move, said Prins, and it ended up being a great one.

In the beginning, Prins literally went knocking on doors to drum up business. Now, the office has a solid clientele base, and newcomers continue to make enquiries.

For the last 12 years, Tiffany Huff, office administrator, has been handling all the processing, scheduling, and a lot of interactions.

“She knows all of our clients very well,” said Prins. Although he gives the advice and direction, Huff carries out much of the transactions.

When people call in, they speak with Huff first, and then have usually two or three meetings with Prins before any actions take place. Prins said this is to make sure he understands each individual’s goals, situation and existing assets before making recommendations.

“When we meet with prospective clients, we look at their whole financial picture … That can include their investments, taxes, insurance, and more,” Prins said.

Then, they’re able to focus on specific aims.

“The main focus (for) the majority of our clients is retirement planning. Many clients have multiple goals, but retirement is at the top of the list.”

Some, already set for retirement, are looking for the best way to buy a seasonal home in Florida. Others are very charitable and — upon seeing that they themselves are comfortable in retirement — decide to donate back to causes around the community. Yet others decide that college funds for their kids are the highest priority.

“Goals-based advice” is what Prins said he uses to help his clients achieve those desires.

“Once we have established 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 getting the word out, the office does occasional marketing, but “we do like to sponsor activities, things that are good for the community,” Prins said.

“Now, after being established for a long time, we’re referral-based,” he explained. “So almost all of our new clients come from friends, family, people we work with. We take on probably a couple clients a month now.”

A big aid in allowing the office to grow arrived in the form of Kenzie Romps Koon, who began as an associate financial advisor about a year ago. Prior to her hiring, the workload was at capacity. Now, they’re able to provide the “excellent customer service” they strive for, Prins said.

Romps Koon has all the same certifications as Prins, has some clients of her own, and helps take a load off Prins in regards to “portfolio management, creating reports, doing tax analysis … things that take me three hours in Excel, she kicks out in like five minutes,” he laughed.

After renting the current location at the corner of 1st Avenue North and 26th Street North for 18 years, Prins has bought a new building and will soon be moving his office. Formerly 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 even more and is expected to open by the end of the month.