Innovest Turns 25
The summer of ’96 began the journey of a lifetime for Wendy Dominguez and me as we left the Wall Street world and started Innovest as an independent, fee only fiduciary investment consulting firm. Five of us loaded a Ryder truck with used office furniture – Wendy drove the truck – and started Innovest with a mix of confidence and trepidation. The truck might as well have been a covered wagon, as independent and fee-only investment firms were extremely rare.
Wall Street conflicts of interest were the catalyst for our entrepreneurial venture. To this day, bank solutions are still mixed with conflicts of interest – undisclosed compensation, proprietary products, misaligned incentives, and questionable lending practices. The culture is not client-centered; it is sales oriented. Some may call themselves “fiduciaries” as the fiduciary rule has been watered down, but how ridiculous is it when a firm can say they are a fiduciary with only “part” of an investor’s portfolio?
Fast forward 25 years and our five employees have grown to over 55. Wendy and Bill Fender are still putting up with me, thank goodness! Our approximately 25 original clients have grown to around 300, with many of our initial clients still with us today!
Growth remains important to us, but the promise we make to our clients is that they benefit from our growth. We get stronger every year as both our life and market experience make us better and yet, humbler about our success. Our team and resources are better than ever, and we challenge ourselves to add even more value to our clients. Growth is also important to especially our young partners who buy into our firm.
We are proud of our team and many progressed in the year! Cos Braswell, John Brock, Joanne Cinalli, Claire DeLine, Stephanie Dufano, Peter Girard, Kristin Lee, Joe Lemming, Alex Johnson, Eileen Pohs, Kyli Soto, Abigail Thomas, Brooks Urich, and Cheryl Wilks all advanced. Awards are given annually to the top team members as well. Abigail Thomas received our 212° Award, Kathy Lalone was given the Service to Others Award, Sloan Smith was the recipient of the Bill Fender Mentorship Award, and our top award, the Founders Award, was given to Christine Hudek. We are privileged to work with such outstanding professionals.
Our due diligence group, led by Sloan Smith, had a very strong year. We believe that on-site due diligence is a crucial element of our research process. We have learned that we are one of the only firms in the country that continues to do on-site meetings. Most firms are resorting to virtually meeting – to the detriment of their clients.
We continue to be thought leaders in our industry. Our professionals gave nearly 20 speeches to industry conferences, with varied topics ranging from our thinking about the Capital Markets to Best Practices for a Fiduciary. In addition, our thoughts were published 18 times in magazines, journals, and blogs.
Philanthropy is an important component in maintaining our culture of stewardship. Innovest is not just an investment firm. We are stewards to our clients (legal fiduciaries), to our employees and their families, and to the community. We encourage our team to attend formal monthly volunteer events during working hours. In 2021, we collectively gave 1300 hours in the community, which, according to the Denver Business Journal, is in the top 25 in Denver and shows favorably even when compared with firms substantially larger than ours. Our professionals averaged over 24 hours working for the community in 2021, supporting charitable organizations like Project Cure, Project Angel Heart, Annunciation Catholic School, Brothers Redevelopment, and Christ in the City. We are also honored to have a special relationship with Arrupe Jesuit High School as corporate work-study partners. Innovest employs four interns from Arrupe and their pay goes directly to offset tuition. The success of students at Arrupe is unprecedented, where every student attends college – unheard of outside this incredible school.
We expect that 2022 will be another good year for us. Themes include Adding More Value to our Clients, Enhancing our Team Development, Recasting the Innovest Vision, and Enhancing our Culture.
Our just-completed annual client survey reflected the best scores ever received in our history. Overall, our clients gave us a 4.8 on a 5.0 scale for their overall satisfaction.
Above any accolades, accomplishments, or advances, we owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to our clients. For 24 years, the primary source of our growth has been client referrals, and the result has been a fulfilling journey. Our clients have prospered and our young employees have grown to be wise and trusted colleagues. I owe a debt of gratitude to my co-founder, Wendy, who leads with an unflagging work ethic, undivided loyalty and dedication, and a steady hand that has made Innovest successful.
I wish you all a peaceful and prosperous 2022!