WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The new Green River Financial Services is bringing more than a century of experience to its clients, offering a more personalized and customized service.

 

Principals Robert Abel, Jason Dohaney and James Durand parted with MountainOne Financial Services in early October to establish Green River. Together with other employees, they hold more than 140 years of experience.

 

"We have a lot of really good thoughts and feelings about working for that organization for a long time, building a financial services division almost from scratch, and growing it significantly over time," said Abel. "It was not an easy decision to leave for any one of us. You know myself, 25 years at MountainOne, Sue [O'Neil] and Kellie [Dubie] both had over 30 years at MountainOne in some way or another."

 

The new company is currently ensconced on the top floor of the Williams Bookstore on Spring Street, the former offices of Overland. It's a lot of space for seven people but they soon will be moving into new quarters on Water Street, right on the Green River.

 

"It's been one of the most exciting times in my career, and certainly one of the hardest and trying to be in touch with as many people as we can, trying to get the story out to as many people as we can, trying to do the right thing, as we've been taught by our mentors, do the right thing for the client," Abel said. "So yeah, it's been an absolute whirlwind."

 

Abel, a Williams College graduate, joined in 2001 what was then True North Financial Services, founded by Richard Lamb and Henry Pierpan four years earlier. He was named president and CEO in 2011, when Lamb stepped down. The firm was part of an acquisition by Hoosac Savings Bank, which through further consolidations and acquisitions became MountainOne. 

 

The decision to leave was difficult but it was changes being made internally that determined the path forward.

 

Abel explained that they were employees of MountainOne but were registered representatives of Commonwealth Financial Network, a boutique broker/dealer that held their licenses and provided technology compliance and support.

 

Commonwealth was the real business partner, he said, but it was sold to a larger organization, providing the impetus for Green River's principals to consider their future after nearly a quarter-century under a banking umbrella.

 

That's an unusual arrangement, Abel said, as most of his colleagues at Commonwealth were independent.

 

"Banking and investment services don't necessarily always have the same goals or have the same mindset, so we've always thought of ourselves as being a little bit different under the bank umbrella," he said. "So it's always been on our mind that if there was an opportunity to get out from underneath that umbrella and run our own entity that we would possibly do that."

 

The firm will now be able to control its advertising, sponsorships and succession plans. It's partnered with another boutique broker, Kestra Financial of Austin, Texas, which will allow it to continue its personalized touch for customers.

 

"We thought for us and for our clients, staying in that small world of broker/dealer made a lot more sense," Abel said, adding, "when we moved, we were able to reach out to clients, tell them what we're doing, and again, most importantly, tell them that they had a choice to make, and it was their choice."

 

The firm offers investment service, portfolio management, life and long-term care insurance.

 

"We're 'The Little Engine That Could.' We grew out of very small beginnings," said Abel. "The amount of growth we've had over the last 25 years is mind-boggling. Most of our clients are local. That said, we have clients in over 30 states, so people move away but have family connections. Other than that, most of our business is local. 

 

"We have very loyal and good clients, I think, through Commonwealth and now through Kestra, we can offer a lot of solutions for all our clients and keep them going in a way that they want into retirement and thinking of estate planning and all that."

 

The office is open weekdays from 8:30 to 4:30 or by appointment at info@greenriverfs.com or 413-884-6262.