Brandon Thiesse

The Importance of Trust

Through the Investment Partners Program donors can establish funds at the Mankato Area Foundation while they continue to invest those funds with their trusted advisors.

 

Brandon Thiesse feels completely comfortable recommending the Investment Partners Program with the Mankato Area Foundation to his clients at US Bank. It fits well with their overall philosophy.

“Our approach is relationship driven and goal based,” says Thiesse, a Wealth Management Advisor with US Bank Wealth Management in Mankato. “We work very hard to earn our clients’ trust because people don’t share their personal goals and dreams with people they don’t trust.”

That includes philanthropy as well. Many of the people who Thiesse meets with are interested in charitable giving and are looking for advice about how to best include charitable goals in their plan.

“We take an all-encompassing approach to wealth management,” Thiesse explains. “We don’t believe it is our job to push the idea of giving on our clients. However, when it comes to philanthropy, our experience tells us that many clients have charitable goals, but they just don’t know how to get started. So we are very proactive in asking our clients about their charitable intent as part of our planning process.”

When he brings up the Investment Partners Program, the fact that he will continue to manage his client’s assets is a strong selling point. “Our clients, like the idea of being able to stay in touch with the gift that they have made as a routine part of our planning and review process” he says. “We can continue to show them how their fund with the Foundation is doing, how it’s growing, how it’s helping to accomplish their charitable objectives as well as how it continues to fit in with their long-term financial plans.”

From US Bank’s perspective, the partnership is positive as well.

“We love having the Mankato Area Foundation as a partner,” Thiesse says. “They’re on the front lines of what’s coming up in our community. The Foundation is able to help us match our clients’ charitable interests to the needs of our community. It is able to identify initiatives that align with our clients’ passions and interests.”

“The Foundation and the work they do is part of what makes this community great. I think people recognize that. I’m pleased when my clients attribute their success to being part of this community,” Thiesse says. “I often hear things such as, ‘This community has been good to me, to my business, to my family.’ They want to give back to the community, and we can help facilitate that with the help of the Mankato Area Foundation. And when we do that, everyone wins. Honestly, it makes me proud to live and work here."