Ellenbecker Investment Group
Wins 2005 Torch Award

Milwaukee, Wis. – Ellenbecker Investment Group of Elm Grove is a winner of the 2005 Wisconsin Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Business Ethics & Integrity.

The award, which was given in the small business category (1 to 10 employees), was received Wednesday, October 19th at a luncheon ceremony held at the Italian Conference Center in downtown Milwaukee. The company was chosen as one of five winners from among more than 160 nominations throughout Wisconsin. The award was given by an independent panel of six business ethics experts and based on the following judging criteria: demonstrated excellence in ethical practices, service excellence, reputation, honest advertising, peer recognition, management practices and employee training in ethical behavior.

Randall Hoth, president/CEO of the Wisconsin BBB, said: “I congratulate Ellenbecker Investment Group for its strong commitment to ethics and for taking the time to document their ethical business practices.”

Hoth added: “The Torch Award program has been evolving with BBB’s throughout the United States and Canada for the past 10 years. We’re so pleased that Wisconsin businesses are stepping up and receiving this well-deserved recognition.”

For more information about the BBB or the Torch Award program, please contact the BBB at 414-847-6000 (metro Milwaukee) or 1-800-273-1002 (elsewhere in Wisconsin). Or log onto our website at www.wisconsin.bbb.org.


Ellenbecker Investment Group, Inc.
740 N Pilgrim Parkway, Ste 202
Elm Grove, WI 53122

Karen J. Ellenbecker
President
2005 Winner / 11-99 Employee Category


When Karen Ellenbecker decided to start her own investment firm nine years ago, she knew she wanted her company to be different.

“Our philosophy reaches out to individuals and not only looks at the bottom line of investing but the bottom line of their lives,” Ellenbecker said.

For example, Ellenbecker Investment Group isn’t just about taking a client’s money and investing it. Instead, it works with other professionals -- lawyers, accountants or even health care providers – to find out, collectively, what is in the client’s best interest. And, sometimes, she’ll discover that what is standing in the way of the client’s financial goals is an unresolved personal or family issue.

“Sometimes, they don’t know how to talk about it so it prevents them from taking action,” Ellenbecker said. “We help them determine what it is they’re not saying and to say it in a safe place where they’re not going to be judged.”

In fact, the company won’t even work with clients until they have an estate plan in place. An estate plan is really the starting point for building a quality investment plan, she said. Whereas, other investment firms might sell stocks or bonds to a client first, it’s the final step for the client at Ellenbecker Investment Group.

“Unless you do all of this together, you’re really doing your client a disservice,” Ellenbecker said.

Her second goal when she started her new company was to offer her employees a way to grow and find their passion in life, she said. Ellenbecker has created an environment where every employee has an equal voice and a sense of ownership within the firm. In fact, it was a group decision to apply for the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Business Ethics and Integrity.

“It had to be a company project,” she said. “And the overwhelming response when I asked if we should apply was ‘Let’s go for it’.”

Her third goal was to change the public’s perception of her industry. Not only has she accomplished that at Ellenbecker Investment Group, but as the host for the past 15 years of “Money Sense” on WISN radio, which is dedicated to helping people feel safe about making important decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their family, Ellenbecker said.

Written by, Susan Bach of the BBB