2012 W. Curtis Strube Small Business Award Finalist: Pension Consultants Inc.

In April, officials with Springfield-based Pension Consultants Inc. announced that the 18-year-old company hit a notable benchmark, recording more than $2 billion in assets under advisement for its clients.

That’s not bad, given the company is in an industry that took a significant hit from the economic downturn. “We have seen growth at a time when the financial industry as a whole has been devastated,” said founder and President Brian D. Allen, who estimated the financial services industry is down at least 20 percent as a whole from its peak in 2007.

Pension Consultants, 300 S. Campbell Ave., posted a 5 percent drop in revenue in 2008, but the financial services firm rebounded in 2009 and 2010, posting 15 percent growth in both years.

The company’s growth streak seems to be continuing. Already this year, the company has hired two more employees, bringing the total to 18, and Allen, who declined to disclose revenues, is projecting revenue growth between 10 percent and 15 percent for 2012.

Pension Consultants offers investment advice and federal regulations guidance to human resources professionals and other corporate leaders who weigh in on retirement plan decisions.

The company’s work provides assistance for more than 75,000 employees at companies in Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Nebraska. Among its clients are Springfield-based CoxHealth and Positronic Industries, as well as Freeman Health System in Joplin and Columbia-based MFA Inc., Allen said.

He credits the company’s business model, which brings together teams of professionals  – those who can address legal and regulatory compliance and investments, as well as retirement advisers and vendor specialists – under one roof.

All of the teams meet with Allen at least monthly at an off-site breakfast meeting dubbed “the huddle” to share key initiatives from each department. Allen also keeps employees in the loop about the state of the business.

“We’re also completely transparent,” says Allen. “All of the compensation we earn is fully disclosed.”

Click here to read more about the 2012 W. Curtis Strube Small Business Award.