Two major milestones for Sound Stewardship
When I started the company back in 2004, I had no idea where it would take me. Equipped with only a laptop and a phone, I was determined to help people discover more confidence and contentment with their finances.
Fast forward to 2019 and I’m excited to share two major milestones for my company. First, Sound Stewardship is celebrating its 15th year of helping our clients to achieve their goals and make an impact on their community. Fewer than 25% of business owners ever make it this far, and we’re just getting warmed up!
Secondly, one of our Wealth Advisors, Jonathan Harrison, has joined me as an owner of Sound Stewardship —the first beyond myself. We will both continue to actively serve Sound Stewardship clients on a daily basis and continue to strategically grow the firm.
Why did I extend an ownership opportunity to Jonathan? First of all, he’s a talented advisor with a heart for helping families steward their wealth. We also want to create a sturdier company with multiple owners, who are all responsible for the long-term health of the firm. We want to be here for you and your family for generations to come.
If you haven’t had a chance to meet Jonathan yet, let me tell you a little more about my new partner: Jonathan began his financial career at the Servant Christian Community Foundation, where he helped families as a charitable advisor, especially with their privately owned businesses and real estate. He became a CFP® professional in 2011. He joined Sound Stewardship in 2015 because he wanted to be able to help families with all aspects of their financial lives, not just philanthropy. That said, giving remains a big reason why Jonathan is passionate about being an advisor: He likes helping families grow into generosity. It’s one of the reasons he’s been such a great asset to Sound Stewardship—and our clients.
As the company’s founder, it’s been gratifying to see how ownership has added a new facet to Jonathan’s already committed career. He told me he learned from his parents to treat every position with an “owner’s mentality,” and to bring a high level of responsibility to his day-to-day tasks. Jonathan shared with me that no matter where he worked, he always felt it was more than a job. Now, this new role is creating an internal shift where that “felt responsibility” is meeting actual responsibility.
We’re very excited about this new partnership, and we think you will be too. Our shared-ownership structure has significant benefits for you, our Sound Stewardship clients:
- Continuity: Adding Jonathan—and any future partners—allows us to deliver the same quality of service over the decades. One-owner firms can leave clients adrift when they leave the business. We want Sound Stewardship’s guidance to continue beyond any single partner….and I’m not going anywhere!
- Capability: Additional partners bring a diversity of thought to our leadership team. As Proverbs 15:22 reminds us, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers, they succeed.”
- Capacity: Expanding the ownership team helps us to share vision casting and higher-level decision making, and that will help us foster sustainable, long-term growth.
- Community: Business is done better together. Sound Stewardship aims to be a community of like-minded advisors that serves a community of like-minded clients.
- Career paths: A firm is better positioned to attract and retain top talent when there’s a path to career advancement in place. We want to be a place where trustworthy advisors can grow into leadership roles.
We hope you’ll take the chance to congratulate Jonathan on his new role the next time you’re in the office. I’m looking forward to working with him as we continue to serve families for generations to come. Together, we’re excited to add this significant milestone to the many big steps along Sound Stewardship’s 15-year journey:
- 2004: I started Syverson & Company—one of only a handful of Fee-Only firms in Kansas City—and was hired by my first client.
- 2008: We codified the Sound Stewardship Principles™, seven financial practices grounded in historical wisdom.
- 2009: We welcomed our first additional CFP® and shepherded our clients through The Great Recession, using the Sound Stewardship Principles.
- 2012: Syverson & Company rebranded as Sound Stewardship. We relocated to our current offices and further simplified our fee structure.
- 2015: Jonathan Harrison joined Sound Stewardship as a Financial Planner. Sound Stewardship crossed over $100-million in assets managed.
- 2017: Sound Stewardship had our first annual job-shadow week for college students interested in the financial planning profession.
- 2018: Sound Stewardship became home to four CFP® practitioners with a wide variety of additional credentials.
- 2019: Jonathan Harrison became Sound Stewardship’s first co-owner. We currently manage around $130 million for our 140 clients—including that very first client, who is still with the firm today.
Read more about Jonathan’s journey to Sound Stewardship here.
Want to know more about Sound Stewardship’s financial planning and wealth management services? Let’s talk!
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