A Legacy of Customer-Focused Business Sets the Stage for a Bright, Independent Future
Chad Nielsen learned the principles of service and integrity from his father and grandfather, who were business owners in the great American 20th century. Since Chad entered the financial services industry in 1993, he has been able to share some of these lessons with clients while building the infrastructure and alliances to create a wealth advisory firm that helps clients across the Mountain West achieve their financial goals and build lifestyles in their retirement that they otherwise would not have thought possible. He incorporated the company as Gateway Financial in 2007.
Chad’s grandfather started their family owned furniture business in the mid-1900s. His father continued operating the business and launched multiple new ventures and subsidiaries. From his participation in these businesses, Chad learned about finance and operations, but also something invaluable: listening to customers and helping them define and achieve what they want.
With loyal clients in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and beyond, Chad knew that in building Gateway Financial, he had created a wealth advisory business that had the ability to outlast his own career. He thought about his clients that were younger than him who would need Gateway’s services for decades before their retirement. He knew that his clients enjoyed the personal, independent culture of Gateway; selling the firm to a large, international investment firm would go against the customer-focused spirit he worked so hard to create.
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Fortunately, two of his five children, his sons Payton and Carson, who work at Gateway Financial, are willing and able to succeed Chad as the leaders of the firm for the next generation with the same ethics and principles that have made Gateway so successful in its first decade.
Payton Helps People Plan for Retirement In Arizona and Beyond
Payton Nielsen serves clients across the state of Arizona, helping people identify their goals, establish corresponding financial goals, and then put strategies in place to achieve these goals.
Payton, like his dad and his brother, makes sure that he gets to know his clients and understands their full financial picture and family situations before implementing specific strategies for wealth building.
Like his father and grandfathers, Payton has always had an entrepreneurial spirit geared towards the service of others. He says, “I owned and operated a roofing company, started another that built race trucks, and was involved in the home security industry. When I discussed with my dad about the possibilities of joining him at Gateway Financial, I was drawn in by the aspect of building long lasting relationships with my clients. Up until this point, all of my ventures were purely transactional. Once the roof was done, the truck was built, or the home was secured, the relationship didn’t proceed much further. I really was excited by the prospect of being able to build long-standing relationships where I would have the ability to deliver value for my clients over several years.”
Gateway Financial offers an online service to clients: access to a Generational Vault© account, which allows clients to upload important financial and legal documents in digital formats to a secure account to which only they, their advisors, and their family have access. Generational Vault also has the ability to generate wealth-building projections and other helpful tools for tracking clients’ progress towards their goals.
Carson Nielsen Serves People Along the Utah Wasatch Front
While Carson was pursuing a degree in biochemistry with the intent of becoming an anesthesiologist, he also worked for his dad at Gateway Financial.
“Through that experience of working at Gateway Financial,” Carson says, “I changed my career path from medicine to financial planning.”
Always seeking more knowledge and expertise, Carson is currently continuing his education at Utah Valley University’s financial planning degree program, which is not only accredited by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., it is also ranked as the #2 personal financial planning program in the nation. In the coming year Carson will complete his education and graduate with a degree in personal financial planning and the Certified Financial Planner(R) certificate.
Carson is interested in making education a priority for the foreseeable future and leveraging his education to deliver the best strategies for Gateway clients.
Focus on Federal Employees
One area where Gateway has been particularly focused over the years is helping Federal employees make the most of the benefits available to them.
Chad, Carson, and Payton regularly teach seminars to Federal employees, helping them use their Thrift Savings Plans (TSPs), social security, and government pensions to plan for a secure retirement.
They have created a Facebook page along with their website to help federal employees learn about upcoming seminars and changing topics within the government. You can learn more about them by visiting “federalbenefitsadvice.com” or searching “Federal Benefits Advisory Group” on Facebook.
“There is a lot of joy and satisfaction in helping people throughout the process and enjoy the lifestyle they wanted,” Chad says, “We have had clients tell us, ‘I’m so glad I met you when I did and that you helped me through the retirement process. Now here I am 5 years into retirement and I am able to do everything I want to do.’”
Advisory services offered through Gateway Financial & Estate Planning Inc. Insurance services and products offered through Gateway Insurance Services, Inc., an affiliated company.
This content was provided by Financial Service Directory. Kiplinger is not affiliated with and does not endorse the company or products mentioned above.
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