Oak Partners Hosts 10th Annual March Madness Event for Clients

Oak Partners Hosts 10th Annual March Madness Event for Clients

As March Madness highlights and live scores flashed from wall-mounted big-screens at Rosati’s Pizza in Crown Point, nearly one hundred members of the Oak Partners community, from financial advisors to the very clients they serve, came together to witness the college basketball action for the tenth annual Oak Partners March Madness Event on Thursday evening.

“When most people think of an event put on by financial advisors, they’re thinking of some kind of dinner seminar where they’re going to be sold a product, but that’s not how we work,” said Steve Kavois, a financial advisor at Oak Partners. “We don’t sell products, we actually advise our clients and have genuine conversations, and any chance we get to converse and connect with our clients is another opportunity to really build that relationship and learn more about them.”

Founded in 1993 with local offices in Crown Point and Valparaiso, Oak Partners is an independent wealth and retirement planning company that utilizes professional advice, education, and guidance to preserve their clients’ wealth and help them make informed decisions regarding their investments.

However, part of what makes Oak Partners so effective is the existence of genuine relationships between client and advisor that Kavois referred to. In fact, Kavois’ testimony on the organic nature of the Oak Partners advisors’ relationships with their clients was supported not only by agreeance from the rest of the advising team, but from the palpable feeling of fun and levity in a Rosati’s bar-area buzzing with constant laughter, cheering, and enthusiastic conversation.

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“This is an event that really started because we ourselves wanted to hang out and watch the games,” said Michael Hadt, another financial advisor at Oak Partners. “We thought our clients might want to do that too, so we created the event so we could all enjoy the games together.”

“Probably 20 percent of the clients that came out tonight are college basketball fans, so I guess they like us enough to come hang out,” joked Hadt. “But the intent of this is to get out from behind the desk and connect with our clients on a more personal level, and so a lot of our clients just come to enjoy everyone’s company.”

Local Dyer residents and Oak Partner clients Ray and Mary Rozin were one of the many attendees who were both enjoying the game and the company.

“March Madness is a big deal for us,” said Ray Rozin, who assured his entire table that he and his wife would be supporting all of the local teams throughout the entire tournament- including Purdue, Loyola, and Butler. “Oak Partners has a lot of social events in different time of the year, and they always invite us, and we try to come out whenever we can, because it’s always a great time.”

“Not only are they a financial planner for us, but they help us to get involved in the whole community, as well,” agreed Mary Rozin. “We love events like these, and some of our favorite events come in the fall or winter when they have the food drive for the local food bank, or when we donate gifts for kids on Christmas.”

Crystal DeHaven, Director of Client Experience at Oak Partners, was happy to see families like the Rozins having such a great time, and saw the positive energy throughout the restaurant as a sign of the company’s success in truly connecting with clients and standing out from the crowd.

“You’re not going to hear from us just once or twice a year, because we want to do more than just be your boring financial advisers," said DeHaven, who added that Oak Partners hosts nearly forty events a year for their clients. “Many of the events are educational, but we also like to see our clients having fun and connecting with us and each other in a different environment than the office. So tonight’s all about fun, and of course, basketball.”

Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC