Firm “uniquely situated” to be a one-stop shop for business owners

There’s a new leader at Aldrich Wealth, a Portland, Oregon-based RIA.

Heather Wonderly, a 20-year veteran of the firm, has been tasked with elevating Aldrich's position as the go-to wealth management partner for privately held business owners. She succeeds co-founder Scott Barchus as he transitions to director of Aldrich's family office.

“We’re really focused and going deep on serving business owners specifically,” she says. “Being able to be very capable with all their needs and speak their language was really exciting to me and was a new challenge that I was ready to take on.”

As Aldrich’s recently appointed president and CEO, Wonderly is laser-focused on leveraging Aldrich's unique capabilities to become the premier wealth management destination for privately held owners and businesses as they move into the next phase of their life.

"We have what I like to think of as the life cycle of the business owner," she says. "We have experts at every single stage to uniquely serve them. Whether it's helping with a liquidity event, transitioning the business to the next generation, or managing their personal wealth."

She believes that Aldrich is “uniquely situated” to be a one-stop-shop for business owners, which is what makes Aldrich stand out from other firms, who typically have one or two areas of financial planning.

"Maybe [the clients] don't need wealth. Maybe they just need a financial statement. Maybe they just need the 401(k) plan or fiduciary advice at that point in time. But that leads to, 'Hey, now I've got this new need and Aldrich Wealth is the place to go.’ I think that really does differentiate us a lot in the market."

Wonderly says the industry gets “really shy” when it comes to talking about the soft skills.

“Usually, business owners have spent their life pouring their blood, sweat and tears, into their business and into their employees. Once they sell, there’s a void, and we can help them with some of that soft stuff that we don't really talk a lot about.”

With the liquidity, Wonderly added, comes a lot of “good problems” that business owners haven't faced before.

Over her tenure at Aldrich, Wonderly has spearheaded Aldrich Wealth’s Corporate Retirement Plan (CRP)’s strategic initiatives, successfully leading the division’s year-over-year revenue growth of 10 percent. She recalls when she first took over leading the CRP team, Aldrich had already established some success and had around $170 million in assets.

However, Wonderly was initially "afraid to take risk and to articulate a clear vision” for how they would serve clients.

“Once I said, ‘This is what we're going to do. We're going to exit record keeping, we're going to exit the third-party administration business and this how we're going to serve our clients’, it took a little bit of swimming upstream and was different than what the market was doing, but it ended up being a success. I'm so grateful that we marched in that direction."

Anticipating and addressing the evolving needs of business owners is a key priority for Wonderly in her new role. Over the next 6-12 months, she plans to track metrics like growth in business owner clients, client satisfaction, and the expansion of tailored services and solutions.

Ultimately, Wonderly's vision is to cement Aldrich's reputation as the premier wealth management firm for privately held business owners across the country.

“I learned a lot from wearing all those hats and leading that team that served business owners and plan sponsors. It’s brought me to where I am today,” she says. “I’m making sure that we can keep on serving our clients first and foremost and putting their needs first.”

Name: Heather Wonderly
Position: President and CEO
Company: Aldrich Wealth
Founded: 1998
AUM: Over $6 billion