While it now has offices throughout the Midwest, Oak Partners can trace its origin to the Chase Bank building in Merrillville, Indiana where Founder Fred Ruiz started the business 30 years ago. Inspired by their father’s client-focused approach to wealth and retirement planning, Senior Partners and Wealth Advisors Mario Ruiz and Marc Ruiz decided to follow in his footsteps.
“Oak Partners was started by our dad, Fred, who was in a similar partnership with another local firm and had an idea of how investment services and financial planning could be delivered focused on the client. That was the idea that started the firm,” Marc Ruiz said.
Once the idea was born and the firm gained momentum, it moved to a permanent location in Crown Point, Indiana, and expanded to include offices in Valparaiso, Indiana; Cincinnati, Ohio; Lafayette, Indiana; Auburn, Indiana; and South Haven, Michigan.
With more offices and the need for more people to run those offices, Oak Partners has expanded from three advisors to 18 advisors and a support staff of 25. Ample locations and staff members working together allow Oak Partners to fulfill Fred Ruiz’s desire to put clients first.
“The way the advisors work together is what’s different and unique about Fred's vision,” Mario Ruiz said. “Part of Fred’s vision was that there would be synergy between the different advisors even though they worked on the same books of clients. He wanted them to still have synergy and have a common goal moving the firm forward. We evolved from there and actually started teaming up. We have multiple advisors on my team with different skill sets to better serve clients.”
Once Oak Partners began to work in teams, Wealth Advisor Clint Henry shared that it enabled them to not only serve clients better but also faster.
“One of the things that makes us different from other financial firms is that if someone is not here, we’re all on the same page; clients can always talk to someone,” Henry said. “There’s always someone here, so we have that team atmosphere.”
Working together with other advisors leads to a camaraderie the advisors can depend on inside and outside the office. To ensure everyone is able to do their best work, Oak Partners supports its staff and enables them to have a healthy work-life balance.
“There's something special about the group of people that we work with, and they're incredibly flexible and family-oriented. That flexibility was great for me, especially as a young mom,” said Director of Client Experience Crystal DeHaven. “Oak Partners is incredibly accommodating, and there's something to be said for that. It's a testament to who we are.”
Having that great work-life balance established, DeHaven and her co-workers feel empowered to come to work every day and put forth their best effort in assisting clients. This commitment to excellence places Oak Partners in the top 10% of its peer offices, and it has been awarded the title of “Best in the Region” for many years. Since Oak Partners’ advisors are able to rely on each other and give their best to their clients, that same camaraderie between advisors extends into developing long-term, close-knit relationships with clients.
“We've worked with some clients for over 25 years through their working years and retirements,” Mario Ruiz said. “We’ve seen their kids become clients, and sometimes their grandkids become clients. It's great to be with somebody throughout all those years and see them through their different life cycles. It's rewarding.”
Oak Partners recently had its 30th-anniversary party with 600 people in attendance and hosts events throughout the year to grow its relationships with clients.
Over the years, Oak Partners has not only cultivated strong relationships with clients but also with the community. DeHaven revealed that this is in large part due to the type of people Oak Partners attracts to its staff. Many of Oak Partners’ staff plug into the community in a capacity that interests them.
“Some people love to cycle, so they are involved at Creekside Trails. Clint loves baseball, and he’s a coach of our high school and the list goes on… just about everyone is naturally involved in the community through their passion,” DeHaven said.
In the future, Oak Partners plans to bring all it has to offer to even more communities. Oak Partners is currently early on in the process of opening a new office in St. John to bring its resources closer to some of its existing clients along with the future clients that the location will attract.
Marc Ruiz revealed that Oak Partners is about to hire its fourth generation of employees, which is a great asset in securing the continuity of Oak Partners’ current relationships along with its future relationships.
For more information about Oak Partners and its 30-year history, visit oakpartners.com.
