About Harbour
Our History
Harbour was founded in
1987, in the beautiful city of Madison, Wisconsin by President and CEO,
Nick Sondel. Harbour has grown at a steady and manageable pace of 10% per
year since then. Current revenues have exceeded more than $20 million
annually and Harbour has a net capital of 8-10 times the required amount.
We currently serve approximately 200 Investment Representatives located in
14 states.
Our Structure
We are a privately held
firm without the presence of an insurance company or other affiliations.
Our Representatives are independent contractors, not employees of the
firm. With few exceptions, Harbour's home office serves as the OSJ for many of our branch offices. We are
licensed to do business in 45 states for securities and in most states for
insurance. Additional states may be added upon request.
Our Representatives
The Representatives we
attract take a long-term approach to managing their businesses—from their
client relationships to investments, they recommend their affiliation with
Harbour to others. They may utilize a variety of investment alternatives
to best serve their clients including: mutual funds, variable annuities,
individual stocks, bonds, fee based asset management or fixed insurance
products. But, they all have a similar goal in mind—a properly balanced
portfolio designed for their clients’ long-term financial success.
Our Culture and Philosophy
When Nick Sondel
established Harbour, he envisioned establishing a broker/dealer that truly
was different from all the others. One that values strong working
relationships, loyalty, personal connections, integrity and honesty. One
that gives flexibility for our Representatives to run their businesses the
way they see fit within the confines of prudent investing. Through our
office visits, conferences, annual tropical getaway and other social
functions, we make it a point to get to know our Representatives and their
businesses. Harbour is as much a family as it is a company where we try
to create an environment that “feels like home”. Handwritten cards and
hand delivered presents are a common occurrence, and just a couple of
reasons why we have attained a 98% satisfaction rating among our
Representatives. At Harbour, we take great pride in our honest,
straightforward, no-nonsense approach to our business. It is the way we
deal with our Representatives and the way we expect them to deal with
their clients. Representatives who are looking to push products that earn
themselves the highest commission, put their clients at risk or represent
the latest sure-fire investment “scheme”, are not a fit with Harbour.
Our Unique Value Proposition
Low cost technology and
information resources allow Harbour to offer virtually all the products
and services of the largest Wall Street firms, yet our size allows us to
provide a level of highly personalized service that larger firms cannot.
Knowing our Representatives on such a personal level gives us the ability
to serve our Representatives more efficiently and allows us to better
understand their points of view. Our privately held structure means we
can make decisions quickly and have the flexibility to provide customized solutions to meet our
Representatives’ needs.
Our Plans for the Future
We plan to continue to grow
at a responsible pace without sacrificing the very things that make
Harbour most unique—our flexibility and the personalized service and attention we provide our
Representatives. We intend to remain privately held. We are continuously
seeking cost-effective ways to employ technology and are working toward
developing a paperless office environment.
Fun at Harbour
Without question, we do
like to have fun at Harbour. Our Annual Marketing and Compliance
Conference is required for all Harbour Representatives, but even if it
wasn’t, you would want to come anyway. The two-day conference is
typically held at a top quality resort in Wisconsin. The conference
provides great opportunities for learning, networking, sharing ideas and
camaraderie. Many Representatives arrive early and stay late to enjoy the
activities and fellowship. Some of the fun activities we have enjoyed in
the past include fishing excursions, a treasure hunt, a Texas Hold ‘Em
tournament, golf competitions, on track auto racing and a western
barbeque. For many, the cost of the overnight stays and activities are
paid, compliments of Harbour. We also host several regional meetings
throughout the year. The regional meetings will typically consist of a
morning meeting with CE credits, lunch and a golf outing, followed by
dinner.
One of the most popular annual events at Harbour is our "Tropical Get-Away". Free for all Admiral’s Club members (based on top production) and offered at a significantly reduced cost to others, Harbour Representatives and their guests enjoy a one week adventure in a tropical location. It’s a great way for our Representatives to develop even stronger interpersonal connections and gain new ideas for their businesses.
