TOP FINANCIAL ADVISERS
Trudy Haussmann boasts more clients than nearly everyone else on the Business Journal’s list of the top financial advisers here.
Haussmann and her team count about 1,800 households as clients. Unlike others on the list, most of Haussmann’s clients are employees with 401k accounts, not the newly rich on stock options or company sales.
Some clients seek her advice on their children’s college savings, others to plan for a sailing trip around world. But for most, it’s all about retiring comfortably.
With about a half billion dollars under management, Haussmann specializes in conservative investments such as stocks, bonds and annuities.
Mutual funds managed by American Funds Distributors Inc., Oppenheimer & Co. and Pacific Investment Management Co. are the typical holdings of her clients.
Trades are made through Omaha, Neb.-based Securities America Inc.
With about 70% of Haussmann’s business coming through referrals, service is a key part of her work, she said.
“Every client’s experience has to be a positive one,” Haussmann said.
As an independent, Haussmann claims she’s able to give more personal service than advisers at larger companies.
During the bear market in the early 2000s, clients demanded twice as much attention from her than usual, Haussmann said.
The declining market also was a boon as she brought in clients seeking a more conservative approach.
Haussmann got her first experience in finance while working for financial advisers in college. By the time she graduated she was licensed and ready to start her career.
But that doesn’t mean her career was ready for her.
“I was 25 and blonde,” she told Registered Rep., an industry publication. “I got a lot of dinner invites, but not a lot of business.”
In 1991, she started her own business, living off her savings and a loan from her parents. Haussmann worked out of her bedroom.
She got a break in 1994 when Securities America’s top adviser called Haussmann about working together, according to Registered Rep. She ended up running retirement workshops for employees of Pacific Bell, now part of AT & T; Inc.
Haussmann is married with four kids, ages 4 to 10. She likes to spend her free time with horses.
6. Trudy Haussmann
– Company: Haussmann Financial Inc.
– Location: Newport Beach
– Years in business: 22
– Education: bachelor’s, University of California, Los Angeles
