Why Walter & Keenan

As I thought about those questions and got to know the team at Walter and Keenan, the firm stood out to me as a place where I could both answer and deliver on the answers to those questions. I joined Walter and Keenan because I believe we can deliver the type of client experience that I want to offer – one that is personalized and client focused, that leverages institutional investment experience to meet the needs of multigenerational clients and families, and is designed to meet the needs of clients in our local community.

Client Focused

The foundational question of everything we do at Walter and Keenan is “what is in the best interest of our clients?” This informs how we deliver advice to our clients and families, which we believe means:

• Understanding their unique values, goals, and objectives, and building a comprehensive and personalized plan to help achieve them.
• Customizing portfolios to the needs and objectives of each client, placing an emphasis on diversification, quality, and after-tax returns.
• Partnering with a client’s CPA and attorney to make sure we are working collaboratively to maximize a client’s tax situation and fulfill the legacy a client wants to create.

Deep Charitable Experience and Institutional Expertise

Walter and Keenan has its roots in helping manage trusts, foundations, and endowments. As a result, the firm has built relationships with best-in-class institutional managers across a variety of private asset classes. These relationships allow us to bring unique investment opportunities to our individual clients (if their needs and objectives allow) that are typically not available to individuals. Additionally, our experience in managing foundations and charitable trusts allows us to provide our clients advice on designing and implementing a charitable giving program or putting a charitable estate structure in place.

Serving the needs of multi-generational clients

One of the most important and, arguably, complex parts of managing wealth is dealing with the dynamics across families. Each family, and each generation within a family, is unique and can have different goals and objectives. At Walter and Keenan, we frequently work with multiple generations within families. This can mean helping older generations design and/or communicate their estate plan, creating an investment portfolio designed to impact multiple generations, or providing financial education to the next generation. Taking a multi-generational approach to wealth management can provide more planning opportunities from both a tax and estate planning perspective and allows for an expanded investment opportunity set. Our institutional investment platform together with our experience in assisting clients with family foundations and other charitable gifting strategies allow us to be truly comprehensive in serving the needs of families across generations.

Locally-Owned, Locally Focused

The past 20 years have seen tremendous growth in the wealth management industry. Increased asset prices and the “great retirement” of the baby-boomer generation have led to a huge demand for trusted and competent advice. It has also led to increased consolidation and a growing number of large firms. While Walter and Keenan has grown substantially over the past 15 years, the firm has remained locally owned and operated, and our team is deeply committed to the Michiana community where we work and live. I firmly believe our community is unique, and I believe we have a great understanding of how to best serve clients in our community because our team lives and works here. This is evident in our ability to connect clients with local private equity solutions or provide guidance on the impact of their philanthropy in our community.

Ultimately, Wealth Management is the space where financial markets intersect with the values, goals, and objectives of individuals. It is a sacred space where we advisors are lucky enough to develop trusted relationships with individuals and families. I couldn’t be happier to have joined the team at Walter and Keenan, where our team and our culture have a single focus – helping our clients live rich, full, and meaningful lives.