Lemont's Earnest Selected As Forbes Best-In-State Next-Gen Advisor

LEMONT, IL — Kevin Earnest has never been one to allow accolades to define how he goes about his daily work life. But after more than 15 years of serving a collection of clients as a wealth advisor, the Lemont native has earned a reputation for putting his clients first.

Earnest was recently honored as one of Forbes’ Best-In-State Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors, which honors working financial professionals under the age of 40. Earnest, 39, has spent his career with Northwestern Mutual and currently leads a team in Downers Grove that has been recognized by Forbes for doing things the right way.

The Best-In-State Honor recognized more than 1,400 wealth advisors from around the country based on criteria that include the quality of relationships with clients and other factors that set wealth advisors apart from their competition. The honor targets wealth advisors under the age of 40 after J.D. Power found that the average age of wealth advisors working across the country is 56, meaning that clients are searching for next-generation professionals who may be able to assist them after their current financial advisors look to retire in coming years.

For this honor, Forbes partnered with Shook Research, which studied factors such as client retention, client satisfaction levels, growth, compliance records, and other criteria to determine who would be honored.

For Earnest, the responsibility is one he does not take lightly.

“It was exciting and humbling to get named,” Earnest told Patch this week. “This was really a culmination of more than 15 years of a lot of hard work and having a client-first approach.”

Earnest works with a small staff of 4-5 financial professionals that work out of the Northwestern Mutual Downers Grove office. According to Forbes, Earnest’s team handles assets valued at $495 million with the average net worth of each relationship being worth between $2.5 million and $10 million.

While many honors allow professionals to nominate themselves or provide financial incentives to be named, the Forbes Best-In-State award – which placed Earnest’s team at No. 78 in Illinois – relies only on the metrics used by Shook Research in determining the top wealth advisors under the age of 40.

Earnest said that the standards set by the nomination process are a reflection of the work his team attempts to do on a regular basis to best serve its clientele. Earnest said his team prides itself on listening and providing quality solutions to client problems while also offering clients peace of mind, knowing that their money is in good hands as they move through their lives.

Earnest said that in many instances, he and his staff become de facto family members who end up sharing in many of the life celebrations experienced by clients they serve.

“It really goes to the trust our clients place in us,” he said. “A lot of what this list is measuring is metrics that we feel like are the most important — helping people and helping people for a long period of time.”

He added: “What’s most humbling is people trusting us with their story and what they care most about.”

Much of the work that Earnest’s team does is relationship-building by understanding what matters most to clients. That envelopes what values clients hold, what legacy they want to leave behind as well as where they want to see their money distributed. Building and maintaining trust, Earnest said, becomes paramount in his team doing its best work.

Earnest, a former Northwestern soccer player, says he knew a long time ago that he was in the right line of work based on the satisfaction he receives from doing right by clients and their money. But he also wanted to be part of a collaborative effort in which everyone working toward the same goal produced winning results. But at the end of his work life, he wanted to be able to look back and knew he made a difference in the lives of those he served.

He said while the Forbes honor provides validation that his team is going about its business the right way, Earnest said that it is also motivation to keep serving his clientele in the best way possible moving forward.

And while Earnest’s name may be the one on the Forbes honor, he says he couldn’t do it without the rest of his team. Yet, while teamwork is essential, the former college athlete who has always understood the value of togetherness also knows doing the right thing has to come from the top.

“When you lead, you have to lead from the front,” Earnest told Patch. “Because I’m the one primarily interacting with the clients, developing a plan and meeting (with clients), that sets the tone for how we want to have our team then treat clients.”