Few wealth managers bring the level of unbridled joy that Hudock Capital Group’s CEO and Founder Barbara Hudock, CIMA®, CPM® and her team bring to the work of creating plans that help clients achieve their dreams.
Led by a profoundly generous and purpose-driven founder, Hudock Capital Group is a team of enterprising professionals who are enlivened and inspired each day by helping people achieve their dreams
Passionate Founder, Dedicated Team
Few wealth managers bring the level of unbridled joy that Hudock Capital Group’s CEO and Founder Barbara Hudock, CIMA®, CPM® and her team bring to the work of creating plans that help clients achieve their dreams. Fortunately for Hudock Capital Group’s clients, Barbara has designed a seamless business model built to not only stand the test of time but also be nimble and adaptive in ways that will serve the firm’s clients, and future generations of clients, well.
Five minutes with Barbara will show you that she is not like other financial advisors. Her dual passion for serving clients and building the best possible infrastructure make her a standout among her peers. This is reinforced by Hudock Capital Group’s recognition in Barron’s1, Forbes2, and wealthmanagement.com3. Her ebullient personality, genuine smile, and tireless interest in building a business around what is most important to her clients are evident from the moment you meet her. This is to say nothing of the culture of philanthropy she has built across her company, and how she has enabled exceptional generosity for deserving causes across her clientele.
Talking about money and financial plans can be stressful, but when the expert is as personable and earnest as the team members that work at Hudock Capital Group, the conversation becomes more comfortable.
Welcoming Clients With A Sense of Purpose—Regardless of Financial Comfort Zone
Whether clients have a deep knowledge of “the Market” and the myriad of modern financial wealth-building mechanisms or they have never worked closely with finances, the Hudock Capital Group is committed to meeting clients in their personal comfort zone—no matter where they fall on the financial knowledge spectrum.
Throughout a client’s journey with Hudock Capital Group, Barbara and her team develop a dynamic relationship with each client—one that is centered on a highly personalized and principled approach. They ask about each client’s priorities and what gives them purpose.
Barbara often says, “Almost anybody can put a basic retirement plan together, or a balanced portfolio, but not everyone is willing to spend the time to get to know someone and their family and what’s unique about them and what gives them purpose. We do that first: We start with a client’s life and plan their money around it.”
The diversity of situations Barbara and her team have helped their clients navigate by using this approach has positioned them to serve a vast array of client needs across a broad spectrum of disciplines.
The Right People in The Right Place
Having the right people in the right place is essential to building the sort of sustainable, forward-looking wealth advisory firm that she believes her clients deserve. For Barbara, building a strong team of wealth advisory professionals is inextricably linked to her deep-rooted commitment to exquisite customer service.
“We have 18 full-time employees, including my son, Michael J. Hudock, Jr., CPM®, President & Founding Partner, Jane Hawkins our Coordinator of First and Lasting Impressions and a dedicated team of financial advisors and professionals, all devoted to helping our clients achieve their dreams.” Although Ms. Hawkins is admittedly well beyond retirement age, she comes to work the front desk of Hudock Capital Group each and every day because she has developed meaningful relationships with those who walk through Hudock Capital Group’s doors and loves to see the positive impact the firm has on the lives of its clients. Wayne Dieffenderfer started with Barbara as an intern from Lycoming College in 1998 while still a student; he is now our Chief Compliance Officer, Branch Office Manager, and Senior Wealth Consultant.
The Williamsport, Pennsylvania-based independent firm features relationship managers with expertise in financial planning, including at least one of each: Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA)®, Certified Financial Planner (CFP)®, Certified Portfolio Manager (CPM)®, Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional™, and Preparing Heirs (PH)® designated professionals.
Barbara and Michael have taken a unique approach with respect to their employees and recently established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)—something that is rarely done in the world of independent wealth management firms. As Barbara puts it, “We take a long-term view of our firm, just as we help our clients take a long-term view of their investment portfolios. In a highly competitive, ever-evolving industry, we know that it is important to do all we can to strengthen our local roots and best position our firm to maintain its independence for years and years to come.” And she sees an ESOP as an innovative way to do just that. “By giving our employees an opportunity to participate in the ownership of the firm, we believe that we are aligning incentives in new and meaningful ways to continue to not only do what is in the best interests of our clients but also ensure the long-term success of Hudock Capital. We are certain that this decision is the right one for our firm, our employees and most important, our clients.”
Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Barbara has lived in Williamsport for 47 years. And yet the cold Pennsylvania winters have not chilled her Southern hospitality. Each year, Hudock Capital Group clients are invited to a diverse series of events meant to entertain, educate, enlighten and celebrate the vibrant communities that Hudock Capital Group’s clients call home. As Barbara puts it, “it’s about engaging our clients at all levels, developing deep, long-lasting personal relationships and delivering our unique brand of purpose-driven client experience.”
Finding Solutions Because They Care About People’s Dreams
Barbara offers one example of a purpose-driven client experience by discussing a couple in their early 50’s who were working very hard with the goal of retiring at 65 and moving to a lakeside property in another state, and buying a home there.
“After much analysis,” Barbara says, “we advised them to go ahead and buy a smaller home on that same lake they could use for their vacation home within the next year. And then, when they retire, they can sell that home and use the proceeds as a down payment on the larger home... and along with the sale of their primary home, they would have a very small mortgage and would be able to live... happily ever after.”
“They have been going down to their lake home at least once a month... taking their family and creating beautiful family memories. They are enjoying the journey, not just the destination.”
The feeling of helping people enjoy life immediately and in the long run is what keeps Barbara and her team working to serve people every day.
Barbara likes to quote one of her favorite authors, Danny Meyer, when she describes the joy of helping people. She likes to see the work of Hudock Capital Group as “...creating positive, uplifting outcomes for human experiences and human relationships.”
She also cites another favorite quote from Stephen Covey: “The more deeply you understand other people, the more you will appreciate them, the more reverent you will feel about them.”
To sum up Barbara and Hudock Capital Group, though, Barbara Hudock’s own words may say it best: “Our core purpose— our passion—is to make a positive and profound difference in the lives of our clients and in the communities we serve. ”And there’s no doubt that Hudock Capital is doing just that.
1Barron’s Magazine’s a weekly business periodical published by Dow Jones. Rankings are based on assets under management, revenue generatedfor advisors’ firms, quality of practices and philanthropic work.
2Forbes Top Women Wealth Advisors, April 29, 2019, https://www.forbes.com/top-women advisors/#4ff7124051f4.
3Wealth Management.com Registered Rep Top 100 Independent Advisors in America List, August 1, 2007 and August 1, 2009.
Hudock Capital Group, LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor. Certain representatives of Hudock Capital Group, LLC are also Registered Representatives offering securities through APW Capital, Inc., Member FINRA / SIPC. 100 Enterprise Drive, Suite 504, Rockaway, NJ, 07866(800-637-3211). Check the background of this firm on FINRA’s BrokerCheck. (07/19)
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