A Gig Harbor financial advising firm will join a larger team with clients across the country.
Mission Wealth, headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, announced Aug. 1 they’ll merge with Brooks, Hughes & Jones (BHJ) Wealth Advisors of Gig Harbor to expand their presence into the Puget Sound area.
BHJ Wealth Advisors, founded in 2009, is a three-person financial advising team that has provided on-site services and virtual appointments to clients across the state.
BHJ Wealth has more than $180 million in assets under management, according to a Mission Wealth press release.
They are located at 7191 Wagner Way, Suite 301.
Mission Wealth manages $6.2 billion in assets, Crystal Collins, marketing content manager for Mission Wealth told the Gateway.
All three members of BHJ Wealth, (Gary Brooks, Allyn Hughes, and Herb Gebhart) will join Mission Wealth, Helena Gould, senior marketing manager for Mission Wealth told the Gateway.
“We are excited to welcome the entire team at BHJ to Mission Wealth. Gary, Allyn, and Herb each bring unique skills and expertise that reinforce our ongoing commitment to providing industry-leading services to an ever-expanding client base. Together, we are better equipped to serve more families across the United States, empowering them to achieve their financial dreams,” Dannell Stuart, president of Mission Wealth said in the press release.
Brooks joins as a partner and senior wealth advisor, Gould said.
Before getting into personal finance, Brooks began his career in journalism. Since 2008, Brooks has written a monthly personal finance column for The News Tribune.
Hughes is coming on as a director of risk management and part of the strategy team, Gould said.
“This is a differentiator for Mission Wealth,” Gould said. “Having people involved with estate planning, tax planning, risk management, and philanthropic strategies.”
Gebhart joins as a senior wealth advisor associate, supporting Brooks and Hughes with their clients and bringing on investment strategies, Gould said.
“By joining forces with BHJ Wealth Advisors, Mission Wealth fortifies its ability to provide exceptional client service in Washington and the wider Pacific Northwest, perfectly aligning with the growing demands of this region’s prospective clientele,” according to the press release from Mission Wealth.
BHJ Wealth is the third merger for Mission Wealth of 2023, Gould said. They will keep their local office space in Gig Harbor, Gould said.
“Merging with Mission Wealth really just adds resources for the team to better serve the community in terms of things like financial education, charitable giving strategies and retirement planning, which is one of our core personas that we serve,” Gould said. “Hopefully, we can also better serve philanthropic focused families by connecting them to nonprofits and community organizations. Having, a presence in Gig Harbor helps us connect in other ways that remote offices can’t by actually identifying needs and providing resources.”
About Mission Wealth
Mission Wealth is a nationally recognized financial planning and wealth management firm founded by Brad Stark and Seth Streeter in 2000.
Stark and Streeter’s vision for the company was “to empower families to pursue their financial dreams and for us to be able to serve our clients’ best interests,” Gould said.
They have 104 employees with 32 offices across the country, Gould said.
“Our firm is 100% employee owned,” she said. “We are known for our service model, which is driven by a technology stack that offers financial planning, investment council, tax strategies, estate planning, coordination, philanthropic advice and asset protection solutions.”
Typical clients Mission Wealth sees are those who might be getting ready to retire, who get a sudden inheritance, business professionals and family investors, Gould said.
“While we’ve really built a broader footprint, the small business mindset and personal connection is really still very much at the center of our client experience,” Gould said.
Aspen Shumpert is the reporter for The Peninsula Gateway. She grew up in Tacoma and graduated from Washington State College in Could 2022. She began working at The Information Tribune in March 2022.
