Alpen Wealth is dedicated to helping you meet your financial goals without sacrificing your values.
As a leader in sustainable investing, we are dedicated to helping you generate long-term, competitive financial returns while using sustainable investing to align your portfolio with your values.
What is Sustainable Investing and ESG strategy?
Sustainable, responsible and impact investing (SRI) is an investment discipline used to generate potential long-term, competitive returns while honoring your values. We use ESG criteria to screen your current portfolio and help you choose investments to support positive change.
Fossil Fuel Divestment
Using an exclusionary strategy, we can tailor your investment choices to limit or remove sectors that don’t fit your values such as fossil fuels. As governments place greater restrictions on the fossil fuel industry, we will review your portfolio to assess your potential future risk.
Renewable Energy
Using an inclusionary strategy, we can replace current investment holdings you see as negative with choices more aligned with your values such as supporting companies engaged in providing renewable energy sources.
ESG Investing
As a leader in SRI investing for 15 years, we use Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) criteria to customize your portfolio; identifying risks and growth opportunities while aligning your investments with your values.
Supporting Diversity & Women
Empower your voice with an investment foundation supporting companies that hire, mentor, and promote employees with a mind toward greater diversity and gender equality.
Strategy
At Alpen Wealth, we do not own investment products (proprietary). Your portfolio will be tailored to your specific needs and values without bias. You will be provided with cost-efficient products and strategies to help lower your expenses. Client assets are held with a Nationally recognized custodian.
Customized Portfolio Construction
As an investor, you have a unique situation; therefore, we use a 6-step process to construct, manage and monitor your portfolio. Your portfolio will be customized using our open architecture investment strategy to suit your specific needs and align with your values.
Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing using ESG criteria
Alpen Wealth is committed to sustainable, responsible, and impact investing (SRI). We help you develop a strategy that honors traditional investment management but tailors your portfolio to your moral code and in support of the causes most important to you.
Values Survey
Using our Values Personality Survey, we will review 10 important questions with you to determine your ESG personality and help you align your investment decisions with your values.
Risk Analysis
How much risk do you have in your current portfolio and your overall financial plan? We will help you identify areas where you may have taken on too much risk and provide a plan to adjust for that as well as help keep you on track in the future.
Pension and Retirement Plans
Why not also apply your values to your retirement investments? We will help you evaluate your current employee plan and align your investment options with the same values you support in your personal investment portfolio.
Contact us if you are an expat or have assets held outside of the U.S and would like to learn how we may help you.
Approach
Presenting unique financial solutions for you includes helping you reach short and long term, large and small, goals to reach your summit. We will work with you on a flat-fee basis for Financial Planning as we believe this removes bias, and as CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM, our advisors have a fiduciary relationship with you. The advice you receive will be in your best interest; we will disclose any potential conflicts of interest, and our fees will be clear and transparent.
Retirement Planning
Retirement can be both rewarding and daunting with many changes and unforeseen stresses caused by adjusting to life without your job and a steady income. We help you identify and prepare for your personal and financial goals to create a smoother transition to this next stage in your life.
Complete our brief survey to see if your current savings plan is on target to help you meet your future financial needs.
Goal Specific Planning
You may simply need help with one specific financial goal such as a wedding or buying a vacation home. We will help you clearly define your goal and the steps needed to be successful. We can also help you monitor your situation to make sure you stay on course over time to meet your goal.
Complete our brief survey to see if your current saving plan is on target to help you meet your goals.
Cross-Border/Expat Services
Through the leadership of Oliver Ernst, we understand the specific issues and complexities of investment management and financial planning across international borders; we maintain many connections overseas to assist you.
Photo by Joanna Huang on UnsplashClient Profile
Our clients are typically high-net worth individuals and families who have complex investment or financial planning needs and want to incorporate a Sustainable Investing philosophy into their portfolio. We most cost-effectively serve those with $500,000 or more in investable assets.
Ex Pats/Cross Border Individuals
As an expat himself, Oliver Ernst, CFP®, CSRIC™, understands the complexities of investment management and financial planning in this scenario, and maintains many connections overseas. Whether you are looking to expatriate from the U.S., immigrate to the U.S., or have already made the transition, we can help navigate your complex financial situation.
High Earner Not Rich Yet (HENRY)
We understand it takes time and effort to accumulate wealth, if you’re in the beginning of the building stage with high earnings but low investable assets, contact us to learn how we may help you.
Who We Best Serve
We will know if we can best help you by talking with you about your current situation. Our clients are diverse yet share a common bond. They are families, individuals and businesses who are passionate about making investment choices designed to influence the direction of change in our world. They are focused on generating long-term positive returns while supporting a variety of social issues such as climate change, diversity, and health concerns.
With over 40 years combined experience in the financial industry, our client leadership is dedicated to ensuring Alpen Wealth always has your best interests in mind.
(312)-840-8293
oliver.ernst@alpenwealth.com
Schedule an Appointment
Oliver Ernst has dedicated his life to supporting his clients and living with the good of all in mind. He has been a ground-breaker in using Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact investing in client portfolios; helping investors harness the power of their portfolios to positively support the causes and values most passionate to them. He is currently one of a handful of advisors in Illinois and approximately 100 nationwide to achieve the Chartered SRI Counselor™ certification. Learn more
Oliver thrives on helping others navigate complex financial situations and in aiding them on their financial journey. He has been a financial advisor for 17 years. A Swiss native, Oliver monitors the global market as well as the US economy, combing through the legal and financial intricacies of world markets to assist investors with cross-border needs. To provide comprehensive services, Oliver has obtained his CFP®, CSRIC™ and APMA™ designations, and operates on a fee-only basis.
Oliver spends his free time with his wife and three children. The family is extremely passionate about European soccer, and his kids are developing their own athletic talents. Oliver speaks English and German fluently and is conversational in French and Spanish.
Oliver loves to run and has completed several marathons and half marathons. He also enjoys volunteering.
Susan Renard finds her greatest career rewards in developing a foundation focused on creating memorable experiences for clients and team members. She joined Alpen Wealth with 15+ years of leadership experience in developing communications, administrative services, and events tailored to the professional services industry.
Most recently Susan was Client Services Director in a St. Charles, Illinois firm with $80mil in assets. She led efforts in servicing client accounts, enhancing one-to-one interactions, event and workshop development, and adding new technology to deepen relationships and loyalty. Susan also worked for 8 years as Associate Managing Director, Marketing at The PrivateBank, a ground-breaking boutique bank that had $2 bil AUM, and provided financial services to high-net-worth entrepreneurs and individuals.
Susan is a Chicago native and has lived in the western suburbs for over 20 years. She has been heavily involved her community and local volunteering. She enjoys the arts, and is involved in her church, creating lasting friendships with nuns in the School Sisters of St Francis; finding them to be a wealth of knowledge and spiritual encouragement. She spends time in Oklahoma to be close to family.
hoto by Krish ChaituTo maintain an impartial viewpoint, we are a fee-only firm with a holistic approach. We welcome the opportunity to work with professionals you currently use or help you find appropriate tax preparation and filing, estate planning and risk management (insurance) services.
Our comprehensive service covers all major aspects of your financial plan in a detailed process. The fee will be determined by your needs and discussed in advance. Our minimum comprehensive first-year fee is $2,500 and is typically appropriate if you have a net worth of $2mil or greater, or complex financial needs
$1,250 – fee waived if an investment account is established with us of $500,000 AUM or greater
$250/hour. Projects are estimated at time of request with a minimum charge of 3 hours
Investment Advisory Fees are annualized. Ancillary charges such as custodial fees, transfer costs, transaction fees, etc. are not included. Fees are charged on a tiered schedule, meaning a lower rate may be charged on assets above a designated breakpoint.
| Account Value | Current Fee |
|---|---|
| First $500,000 | 1% |
| Next $1,500,000 up to $2,000,000 | .75% |
| Next $3,000,000 up to $5,000,000 | .50% |
| Over $5,000,000 | .30% |
Fees may be subject to change. Our advisors are available to review the current fee structure with you when we discuss your investment options.
Alpen Wealth is a member of Advisory Services Network, LLC (ASN) which provides oversight to ensure that we are operating in your best interest and in compliance with current federal and state regulations.
ASN provides us with a network of advisors across the country so that we always have a plan of succession. And, importantly, we are able to maintain investment independence while being provided with the tools, technology, and support that helps keep our fees reasonable and we believe extremely competitive.
Alpen Wealth uses information and other connections to further our education and product offerings through such groups as US SIF, Earthday, Earth911, Green Money, Green America.
707 Skokie Blvd
Suite 600
Northbrook, IL 60062
Phone: (800) 730-3603
Mon-Fri: 8:00 am -5 :00 pm
Sat-Sun or Evenings: By Appointment
Email: info@alpenwealth.com
Note: No solicitations please. This site is intended for clients or readers in need of financial information and services.