The late night hosts joked about it, the TikTok trends amplified it, and the headlines confirmed that, in the end, 2021 was another crazy year for a whole lot of people. For Financial Haus, this year was just the beginning of something crazy — crazy awesome.
Launched by San Diego financial advisor team and husbands, Kev & Andrew Baker, Financial Haus was a bold dream to bring access to financial services to a generation of millennials prime in their income generation years, as well as making the services accessible to populations otherwise left out of the traditional financial services industry.
“We decided to change up the industry a little bit,” says Andrrew. “We had a vision to work with millennials — the people who probably need financial help and guidance the most. But who also have the time still to build wealth and impact their family and future selves positively.”
Towards the beginning of the pandemic, the team was just three strong. And when the entrepreneurial duo approached their partner, associate Erica Cordova, she was all in. Sorta.
“They came to me with this idea to work with millennials,” she recounts. “Everything was shut down, we weren’t working in the offices, a lot was unknown and I was all…. ‘you want to do this now?’”
As it turned out the timing was perfect and the need for serious financial services education and planning for a new generation was very real. Many people’s priorities have changed during the ‘20/’21 time frame and, for many, attitudes around their values associated with work, money, and savings have shifted.
“It gives me goosebumps,” admits Kev, “now to think about how a team of millennials are not only helping other millennials with financial planning, but we stand for so much more. Financial Haus is about diversity, and inclusion, and bringing access to financial services to people and communities who have, traditionally, been excluded from or found it difficult to access such services.”
Officially rebranded in 2021 as Financial Haus, the team has grown from 3 advisors to more than 15 today. In the Spring, the firm opened their first studio office in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego, central to active and professional millennials. Their expansive second-floor studio allows the team to welcome clients for in-person consultations. Plus they bring in groups and the community for live financial education seminars called Financial Fitness Boot Camps.
“I saw this space as being something that was transformative,” says Kev. “We want to facilitate change and have people think differently about what a financial advisor, or team, or office might look like. We don’t wear a suit or tie to work every day and I think that helps us be more approachable to the people we’re working with.”
In July the Hillcrest studio was host to the grand opening, their “Open Haus,” which was a huge celebration in conjunction with gay pride where the firm invited hundreds of friends and clients for an afternoon of DJs, dancing, and drinks. San Diego’s Mayor, Todd Gloria, spoke at the event.
“It’s important to support local businesses, especially during this time. I’m really happy to be here to support this new local business in our community.”
As their first year in business begins to wrap, Kev & Andrew have their sights firmly set on the firm’s future growth.
“We believe so much in what we do for people that, if we want to continue and help even more people, that this team and firm is going to need to expand,” says Andrew.
“It’s insane to think that we built all of this,” admits Kev. “But what’s next…. Who knows. But it will always align with our core values. It will always have diversity and inclusion and acceptance and growth in mind. Because that’s what Financial Haus is all about.”