2022 Trusted Advisers Wealth Manager: Jeff Lenhart

When it comes to ensuring clients are confident they’re receiving the best financial advice, Jeff Lenhart positions himself as their quarterback and chief financial officer. It comes down to making sound financial decisions, all within the context of reaching goals, he says.

“Life doesn’t always move in a straight line. Goals change, needs change, desires change and the plan needs to be able to change with that,” says Lenhart, a principal with FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC. “All clients are different, so it’s important that I truly know each client and know what matters most to them. I strive to be a true trusted adviser who they know cares about them and their families.”

Lenhart serves as director of the firm’s wealth adviser offices in Springfield, Branson and Joplin and is a member of the private client financial advisory team of 18. The client total for the southwest Missouri unit grew to 431 in 2021 from 367 in 2019, while assets under management reached over $1.8 billion last year. That’s a jump of 1,364% from two years prior.

“As a trusted adviser for my team, I am responsible for their growth and development as trusted advisers for their clients,” he says. “The coaching, experience and education for our team that I provide makes a direct impact for every client we serve in southern Missouri.”

Prior to his 2014 start at FORVIS, formerly BKD LLP, Lenhart worked for five years at Edward Jones, where he served as a financial adviser and reconciliation specialist.

In his role at FORVIS, Lenhart helps clients set goals and use the financial planning process to quantify what is needed to reach them. He says financial planning and investment management go hand in hand, as his firm monitors clients’ progress toward goals such as retirement or college for children, modifying them as needed.

“The impact I make as an adviser to my clients goes beyond their business,” he says. “We help our clients envision life at its best and provide the strategy to go achieve that, whether in business, in retirement, or other. We help our clients thrive.”

Looking after the best interest of clients is at the heart of everything the firm does, he says. After one of his clients recently died, the spouse was left alone to settle his estate.

“I organized every meeting, sat at the table with the attorney, (certified public accountant), even the funeral planner,” he says. “I was the ‘easy button’ for our client.”

Within the industry, Lenhart is involved in the Financial Planning Association, a national membership organization representing certified financial planners. He also is a 2021 alumnus of the Charles Schwab Executive Leadership Program, which prepares participants to manage and grow registered investment advisory firms.

Outside the office, Lenhart is involved in the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and The Network, the chamber’s group for young professionals. He also is a graduate of Leadership Springfield Signature Class 39.