Highlands Investors marks first year in business

Robert R. Rodgers spent four years as a financial adviser for Edward Jones, but left in November of 2004 to start his own business, Highlands Investors at 2124-A Chesterfield Blvd., Ste. D-201. At his new company, Rodgers offers 401(k) planning and insurance, and sells about 14,000 mutual fund families.

When Rodgers left Edward Jones, he said, most of his clients followed. He currently has more than 400 clients in 23 states. About 80 percent of them are private investors, and about 20 percent are small-business owners or members of a small-business 401(k) plan.

With the support of AIG’s American General, Highlands Investors offers investing, retirement planning and insurance to individual clients and small businesses.

Although he only specializes in investing and 401(k) planning, Rodgers is able to offer more services through his association with E3 Consultants Group, a consortium of independent financial planners, accountants, attorneys and insurance professionals.

Through this network, individual AIG agents throughout the Midwest can offer a wide variety of services by outsourcing portions of the workload and sharing the commission.

Rodgers said his new business has been much more successful than he expected, pulling in about a quarter million in revenues the first year.

“I didn’t think I’d do more than $100,000 my first year,” he said. “ I was fully expecting not to make as much money this year as I did my previous two years at Edward Jones. But I have been blessed.”

Bringing in help

Rodgers, who works alone in his Chesterfield Village office, said he plans to add five to seven full-time partners to Highlands Investors by February.

“I could only take on about 20 new clients next year,” he said. “I’m at maximum capacity right now.”

Rodgers said his new partners would function as independent contractors.

“They’re going to work under the Highlands Investors banner, but each broker that works out of this structure is independent,” he said.

In 2006, Rodgers plans to begin offering investor services to small community banks.

Small banks without their own in-house brokers will be able to offer mutual funds and insurance by outsourcing them to Highlands Investors.

“They set an appointment, and I meet with them at that branch to offer investment services,” he said. “Then we share the fee income and the commission income between the bank and the adviser.”

Client connections

Wanda Dixon and her husband, Charles, have invested with Rodgers since his days at Edward Jones. Wanda Dixon said the customer service provided by Rodgers was an improvement from her previous financial advisers.

“Every quarter he calls us for a review and goes over everything with us, so we don’t have to wonder,” she said. “We really enjoy that, because we know he’s working for us.”

Rodgers said his business allows him to get more involved in the lives of his clients.

“I’m from a Christian background,” Rodgers said, “and I really felt that a lot of my clients were investing in things that they didn’t morally believe in – (things) that violated their moral values.”

All new clients of Highlands Investors are asked to fill out a comprehensive questionnaire, Rodgers said, which evaluates their financial goals and risk tolerance, as well as their views on various issues such as the environment, federal defense and moral values.

“They mark down in there if they’d like to exclude or include these particular areas,” he said.

Rodgers then uses a computer program, eVALUEator, to filter out investments that might offend his clients. Since many of his clients are Christians, he also uses research from the Timothy Plan, a Christian mutual plan company, to evaluate businesses.

“What they’re looking for are companies that violate the main things of a Christian’s life,” Rodgers said, citing pornography and alcohol among other issues.

Ashleigh and Richard Moen have been clients of Rodgers for four years. Ashleigh Moen, who recently started a Christian ministry in Branson, said that Rodgers’ understanding of moral issues is one of the main reasons she invests with him.

“I know that he takes very seriously the investment of the Lord’s money,” Moen said. “Because my money does not belong to me – it belongs to God. And I only want to use it in those businesses that I know are scripturally based and scripturally sound. And I know (Rodgers) stays on top of that … and I really appreciate that.”