By Taran Lucker
CTLatinoNews.com
As a first-generation American from Colombia, Andre Jimenez said he has attained success and served the Latino community thanks to hard work and support from his family. Jimenez, a financial advisor for Charter Oak Insurance & Financial Services in Farmington, serves the community both through his firm and through multiple Latino organizations in the area.
Specifically, he specializes in assisting Latinos with retirement income needs, fixed and variable annuities, long term care insurance, and much more.
Can you introduce yourself and explain your connection to the Latino community?
Among belonging to many organizations within my field, I serve as a member and officer within several Latino organizations such as NSHMBA (National Society of Hispanic MBAs) and ALPFA, which is the largest Latino association for business professionals and students. My mission is to provide guidance and to help the Latino community achieve financial freedom in a complex and constantly changing world.
I’m a financial advisor and services professional out of Farmington, CT. My company is Charter Oak Insurance & Financial Services. With the backing and support of MassMutual, my agency has grown to become its largest financial planning group in the country with offices throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts. I attended Southern Connecticut State University to study Computer Science, but later on graduated from Albertus Magnus College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. I hold all my FINRA investment & securities licenses, as well as a Connecticut Life & Health Insurance Producer’s License.
How has your past inspired you to become involved with the Latino community?
Being born and raised in Colombia, I moved to the United States at the age of 14, where I had to quickly adopt the language and assimilate myself into the culture while facing a lot of the adversities that many immigrant families encounter. In high school, while other kids enjoyed sports and after school activities, I joined my mother, aunt, and two cousins in spending our afternoons cleaning banks and office buildings. This quickly gave me an insight on the reality of what many Latino families in this country face on a day-to-day basis. This realization later on became my biggest driver and inspiration to achieve nothing less than excellence. Ever since, it has been my mission and fiduciary responsibility to inform and provide assistance to the Latino community, giving them much needed piece of mind towards a fair chance in achieving financial freedom.
Can you explain what your financial practice is involved in and how it has developed over the years?
The financial industry is constantly evolving, and so is our approach to keeping people informed and up to date with the ever-changing events. My practice has literally evolved from a one-man show, where the support, training, and overall morale was lacking. We have now grown into a self-sustainable practice that is thriving due to superb customer service, efficiency, trust, and bottom line results. This being the cusp of my success as a financial planner, it truly has been a blessing and a journey from where and when I first began. My expertise with financial products, services, and solutions has been extensive since my days as a bank manager. Therefore, I have really taken my passion of helping people from a transactional approach, where I viewed people as customers, to forming long-lasting relationships built on trust, respect and building long-lasting client relationships.
What advice for success do you have for Latinos?
First and foremost, I truly encourage more young Latinos to look into and get involved in this exciting and rewarding career, where you wake up every day proudly knowing that you are truly making a difference in people’s lives.
The second piece of advice, and more so a call to action, is to encourage the Latino community to seek the advice of a financial professional; it is proven that those who work side by side with a financial planner are either on their way or are in a financial secure place where they can comfortably sleep at night. Preconceived notions and reservations created around working with a financial advisor, along with the “I can do it myself” mentality, have been some of the predominant reasons why I see such a disparity among the five percent of the U.S. population that control all the wealth in America and the 95 percent that are broke.
Lastly, it is our habits that define what and who we are, so I highly encourage the Latino community to really be mindful of your expenses, create a budget, and get into a habit of saving. Whether it’s $10, $20, or whatever amount you put away every time you receive income, it will eventually condition your mindset to save and, with time, it will become a habit… a habit that, with the right knowledge and tools, can help you really protect and grow your wealth.