Money-Minded Business Puts People First

Innovest earns title of Colorado's Top Company in the Financial Services field

Suzie Romig //August 29, 2018//

Money-Minded Business Puts People First

Innovest earns title of Colorado's Top Company in the Financial Services field

Suzie Romig //August 29, 2018//

Speaking in dollars and cents, the finalists and winners of the 2018 Top Company – Financial Services – awards put the bottom line at the top of the list and work to put you in the black. These professional services – credit unions, banks, tax preparation firms, insurance providers, etc. – encompasses investing, lending and management of money and assets and these companies mean business. Don't believe us – see for yourself what the best of the best looks like in this money minded category.


WINNER

INNOVEST PORTFOLIO SOLUTIONS

DENVER

The most important cultural component of this 22-year-old company is the emphasis on hiring and developing high-character professionals.

Innovest Portfolio Solutions invests in hiring talented people as they become available even before a position is open. Despite higher payroll, this policy of attrition-based hiring works to improve the firm’s performance and client experience. Employees participate in a formal mentoring program where both mentors and mentees receive training from a mentorship coach.

“We have an intentionally flat corporate hierarchy, and consequently our professionals are empowered to make Innovest a rewarding experience for both clients and employees alike,” CEO Richard Todd says. “Our model also forms our stewardship culture that creates an intense dedication to our clients, professionals and their families and community.”

The company of 47 full-time employees provides custom investment-related consulting solutions to assist retirement plans, foundations, endowments, nonprofit organizations and families.

Innovest budgets 1.5 percent of firm revenue each year to support charities and has given nearly $1 million through the past decade. With its focus on improving inner-city education, Innovest serves as a corporate work-study partner for Arrupe Jesuit High School where four students job share and receive partial tuition funding in return.

The company’s Charitable Donations Committee plans quarterly service days and two “Weeks of Giving” throughout the year. In 2017 the firm supported some 90 nonprofit organizations ranging from Project Angel Heart to Food Bank of the Rockies through financial or volunteer help.


FINALISTS

ALPINE BANK

GLENWOOD SPRINGS

With the mission of a community bank committed to giving back and staff members empowered by employee ownership, Alpine Bank continues to grow from one location in Carbondale in 1973 to 39 branches across Colorado.

This summer, the company opened its third Denver branch at Denver Tech Center and reached 657 employees. The company organized a donation campaign toward a $250,000 bank match for the Red Cross to help people affected by Colorado fires. Customers within a fire disaster zone could defer loan payments up to three months.

The Loyalty Debit Card program donates 10 cents to causes each time a customer uses a personal debit card, and last year that meant $1,140,000 to nonprofits.

The bank pays each employee to volunteer 24 hours each year.


BELLCO CREDIT UNION

GREENWOOD VILLAGE

As a not-for-profit, member-owned financial institution with an 82-year-history in Colorado, Bellco Credit Union has the flexibility to do things a bit differently.

The organization offers employee perks such as student loan assistance and sabbaticals. Bellco donates to 100 local community organizations and sponsors 50 community events each year. Its Bellco Gives Back campaign also has a street team that goes out into the community to perform random act of kindness. The team surprises people at stores to pay for groceries or gas or provides free entry for adults to the Denver Art Museum.

The credit union has 24 branches in metro Denver and one in Grand Junction serving some 321,000 members. Profits go back to customers as lower rates on loans and higher interest on deposits.