Reese Veltenaar, fourth from left, and Arie Veltenaar, eighth from left, both earned master’s degrees from the Gary W. Rollins College of Business at UTC.
Gary W. Rollins College of Business alumni Arie and Reese Veltenaar’s Acumen Wealth Advisors has been named a 2020 Small Business of the Year by the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.
Highlighting Acumen’s commitment to social responsibility, the chamber named Acumen Small Business of the Year in the 1-20 employees category.
After the chamber’s original plans for an April announcement were put on hold thanks to COVID-19, winners were named virtually in September.
Acumen founder Reese Veltenaar, who earned a Master of Science in Accounting at UTC in 2007, started the firm in Chattanooga when he recognized a need for client-focused asset management and financial planning in the Chattanooga area.
“We started to realize that there was a lot of money flowing out of the city into Atlanta, New York, some of those areas,” explained Reese, who currently works at Acumen as wealth strategist and managing partner
“I really feel like there’s a special place in Chattanooga for having someone local that can do some of the charitable planning and some of the bigger idea planning here locally and really understands the institutions that they’re helping,” he said.
“So for me, it’s about this whole idea of helping your community and bringing resources into the community instead of moving resources out of it.”
“We have clients who have been with us forever. They become more like family and not just a client,” -Arie Veltenaar
Arie Veltenaar, Acumen’s client ambassador who graduated from UTC in 2004 with a Master of Business Administration, said the firm’s client service and teamwork makes it stand out.
“We focus on what’s best for the client at all times,” she added. “We have clients who have been with us forever. They become more like family and not just a client. I’m really proud of everybody’s dedication and hard work. And I am proud that we do give back to the community because we love Chattanooga.”
“I think one of the things that we do different is we reinvest so much of what we earn back into our relationships with our clients,” Reese said.
Investing in relationships with clients is uniquely Acumen, Reese added. From focusing on client service to embracing technology and education, the firm works to reassure people that “their future has a pretty clear and bright path.”
“I think a lot of that helps our clients make really good, informed decisions.”
