Al Hanser talks softly, but carries a big stick in the financial world

Al Hander COURTESY PHOTO “Try not to become a man of suc cess but rather a man of value.” — Albert Einstein

Einstein’s quote, prominently displayed on The Sanibel Captiva Trust Company’s Web site, seems to illuminate the life and philosophy of its founder, Al Hander.

In 2001, Mr. Hanser opened the Sanibel Captiva Trust Company with nothing more than a folding chair, a card table and a half-century of financial knowledge and know-how. During a recent interview Mr. Hanser, a soft-spoken man with a warm sense of humor, chatted about the Sanibel Captiva Trust Company.

At the time he started the firm, he said he didn’t have much choice. He had just retired with his wife to Sanibel after a long and successful career in the banking and finance industry. With not much else on his schedule, he worked around their home. But apparently he cleaned the garage so many times that his wife asked him to find something else to do.

He looked around Sanibel and noted there was not a trust company and put his experience to work.

Mr. Hanser’s resume includes serving as chairman and CEO of Resource Bank and Trust Company in Minneapolis, Minn.; being a senior executive at Dain Rauscher, a securities and investment firm; and chairman, CEO and board member of USB Merchant Bank. Prior to creating The Sanibel Captiva Trust Company, Mr. Hanser served as chairman of Hanrow Financial Group Ltd. He and his family also have an ownership interest in the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.

These experiences helped shape the work Mr. Hanser does for his clients today.

In nearly a decade of doing business, Mr. Hanser and his company — comprised of savvy bankers and staff — have turned the financial institution into a $500 million business.

The company is a state-chartered independent trust company regulated by the Florida Office of Financial Institutions. It provides wealth-management services including investment management, trust administration and financial counseling for individuals, families, businesses, nonprofit organizations and endowment funds.

The client-centered business features annual family meetings that allow customers to bring their lawyers and accountants to make sure all of their personal affairs are being managed, including wills, health care proxy and, of course, finances.

“We bring all of the pieces together,” Mr. Hanser said.

The company has clients from 22 states and three countries who count on Mr. Hanser and fellow company executives such as Donald “Chip” Lesch, an experienced banker who once served as chairman of Indiana Federal Bank and vice chairman of Pinnacle Banks of Michigan, work to build money for clients through fundamental investing and service.

They stay with the tried and true such as Proctor and Gamble and Colgate — no risky fly-by-nighters for this conservative-based company.

“We don’t do derivatives,” Mr. Hanser said. “We’re very disciplined through our investing.”

Future plans include increasing assets under management providing deeper service and re-branding their products from portfolios to wealth management.

And their practices seem to work. Mr. Hanser said the firm’s clients fared fine during last year’s economic downturn.

“We had an early sense that things weren’t right,” Mr. Hanser said. “We were prudent.”

Prudence and smart finance management has led to growth, including expansion to Naples. And though Mr. Hanser is working hard to grow the business and help people maintain sizable portfolios, he also has a mission to help those who do not have portfolios, accounts or in many cases money to pay basic bills.

Mr. Hanser is chairman of the Good Neighbor Community Foundation of Sanibel-Captiva, a director of the Sanibel Captiva Kiwanis, a director of the Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, and past chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

The Good Neighbor Foundation helps needy people pay for vital services and necessities such as food, rent and electricity. It is a division of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.

“I think being part of the fabric of the community is vital,” Mr. Hanser said. 