Karen J. Ellenbecker, President
karen@ellenbecker.com

I enjoy helping my clients understand what is most important to them; helping them nourish and grow through relationships that allow opportunities to unfold gracefully. You could say that the one principle above others that governs my life, helps me make decisions and keeps me caring on the tough days is summed up in the following quote by Marilyn Ferguson.

" Life sends us many opportunities, brilliantly disguised as problems."

I founded Ellenbecker Investment Group, Inc. because I was fortunate to have mentors in my life who saw in me what I often failed to see in myself. Most importantly, these mentors encouraged me to listen to my intuition and follow my dream.

I began Ellenbecker Investment Group, Inc. in 1996 to build a company on the principle that we care about the whole person; not just financial performance. My company has established guidelines around financial fitness, physical fitness and spiritual fitness. After all, what good is your wealth if you don't have the overall well-being to enjoy life?

I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the oldest of four children. My parents who are both living in Mequon, Wisconsin today modeled a strong sense of family pride and work ethic throughout my life. My father, an entrepreneur and business owner, and my mother a stay-at-home mom with a very entrepreneurial spirit, influenced my desire for a balanced life of family and career. I have three grown children of my own and seven beautiful grandchildren.

My first work experience set the stage for my career today. While living in Glendale and going to Nicolet High School I found working at the Glendale Nursing Home a great fit. In my job description I was able to spend hours assisting and talking with older individuals and learning about their lives from a very compassionate and safe place. My connection and comfort level with older individuals developed the tools and positive attributes that help my business today. Appreciating the importance and unique nature of each individual was a byproduct of learning to take time and listen to the needs and wants of others. Time is something you give from your heart and carries no monetary value.

When I began my financial career at Robert W. Baird Company I immediately found my niche working with retired individuals. In my first year as a stockbroker I was honored with "Broker of the Year." Shortly after that the M&I Bank made me an offer to become a Vice President in their personal trust department. As a single mother raising three young children I was enthusiastic about the opportunity to stabilize my income and learn something new. It was here that I realized the importance of looking at the whole picture and incorporating estate planning with investment planning.

At Robert W. Baird Company I was a traditional stockbroker compensated by commission based transactions. The M&I Bank exposed me to a completely unique and different way of being compensated for the services I was providing, fee-based. My responsibilities were a blend between estate planning and investment planning; a more whole-life approach. My experience at Robert W. Baird taught me about the investment world, and my experience at the M&I bank taught me about people. I witnessed the power of relationships and the value of comprehensive planning. I very much enjoyed what I was bringing to clients at the M&I Bank, however, I missed not using my expertise in investment planning. In order to incorporate everything I loved to do and to bring a new service to my clients I followed an old friend and boss to Dain Bosworth and really began to develop a way of doing business that would naturally lead to beginning my own company.

Dain Bosworth provided me the opportunity to develop a unique practice in a very traditional setting. It was here that I started to fully engage my skills in working with individuals from a holistic approach rather than from a sales approach. The last piece of the puzzle was incorporating a fee-based practice into the way my business was being done. Because Dain Bosworth truly believed my dream was impossible I founded Ellenbecker Investment Group, Inc. to fulfill that dream. At the time I initiated this new way of conducting business everyone thought I was crazy. Today, ten years later, the investment industry has embraced the whole-life concept and fee-based planning is becoming more sought after by investors.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our company. For more information please visit our Company History page. I look forward to meeting you soon!