Personal Story

Sustainability isn’t just a trend for Christian – it’s a lifelong interest. He had the great fortune to study under the famous ecologist and educator Dr. Bill Hammond as part of the “Monday Group,” while just in high school. He learned not only about the unique ecology of his Florida backyard, but also about how that understanding could be used to enhance the community.

 

After a career in the Air Force, Chris went back to his roots, doing research on sustainable communities for the US Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He specialized in projects that coordinated housing, environmental, and transportation policies to create more efficient, more livable communities.

 

Chris ultimately retired from his role at HUD, but his passion for public service never left him. So he took on a new challenge – gaining financial planning credentials to advise others on planning their own financial futures. Initially, he focused primarily on providing service to military and government personnel. Over time, he brought more of his own knowledge and experience with sustainability issues into his practice and opened it up to anyone with an interest in thinking about the future.

 

Christian’s experience has taught him important lessons that help define the way he advises clients:

• Today’s success loses value quickly if it compromises your future.

• The best long-term solutions build off the strengths of what came before.

• Sustainability is mostly about striking a balance between the needs and concerns of those affected by your decision.

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Profits, Planet and People

Chris’ long history at the intersection of sustainability and planning is an important asset as he works with clients. There is ample proof that sustainability has value, but experience gives him insight into where that value comes from and how it can be unlocked.

“Governments and companies both have lots of great ideas and plans on paper about sustainable practices,” he says. “But none of this is useful until there is action.” In guiding clients, Christian looks for investments that offer the right combination of profits, planet, and people:

• Does the investment provide sufficient return to meet the client’s financial goals?

• Does it look to reduce the risk of harm caused to its community and the wider environment?

• Does it prioritize the needs of the people it relies on for success?

• Even better, does it improve the environment, community and peoples’ lives?

Chris’ background has also shown him many examples of how long-term sustainable thinking benefits people financially. “When you’re investing, you’re not investing in the value of a company today, you’re investing in the value of the company in the future. So the key question for our clients is, what investments are the future? In our view, this approach is how you benefit not only yourself, but the wider world.”