Esslinger Financial
Chad Esslinger
Wealth Management Advisor|CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, RICP®, AEP®
Bringing clarity to complexity to help others achieve their full financial potential.
About Me
If you want a wealth advisor who will give it to you straight, you can count on Chad Esslinger. Now in his 17th year, he has helped his clients overcome procrastination, focus on their goals, and build generational wealth. Because, as far as Chad is concerned, creating a better future for our loved ones is what life is all about.
Born and raised in Kansas, Chad earned a degree in Finance from Kansas State University. He started his career as a financial advisor in 2007 with HighPointe Financial Group and was nominated as a KC Business Rising Star by KC Business Magazine in 2010. He moved his practice to Northwestern Mutual in 2012, where he was named new advisor of the year 2013-2015.
In recent years, he has led the way in hiring, training and developing team members to help Esslinger Financial serve in the Kansas City community, as well as across the country. Additionally, he has recruited and mentored new representatives for Northwestern Mutual.
In 2023, Chad was named a Best-In-State Top Financial Security Professional by Forbes, showcasing his track record of preserving his clients’ wealth over the long term.
Chad was also featured in Fortune, Entrepreneur and Bloomberg Businessweek magazines. He also qualified for the elite Northwestern Mutual Forum, a huge honor designated for the most trusted advisors.
Forbes Top Financial Security Professionals list (July 2023), Research and ranking provided by SHOOK Research, LLC. Based upon data as of 12/31/2022. Northwestern Mutual (NM) and its advisors do not pay for placement on 3rd party rating or ranking lists. NM and its advisors do, however, pay marketing fees to these organizations to promote the rating or ranking(s). Rankings and recognitions are no guarantee of future investment success.
Chad is an active member in the finance community. He has been a member of the Million Dollar Round Table/Lives Leaders Summit since 2013, in the highly esteemed Court of the Table standing for the past few years. He has also received the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors’ Quality Award since 2012. In 2021, Chad was named an Accredited Estate Planner® (AEP®) by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. This prestigious designation is awarded only to professionals who meet stringent requirements of experience, knowledge and character.
It is important to Chad to be of service in his community, especially when it comes to lifting up children’s causes. In 2021, he and his wife, Kelly Esslinger, a real estate agent with Compass, took part in the Most Wanted campaign for Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City, in which they raised more than $1.1 million. The couple then campaigned for votes to procure an additional $15,000 donation for the organization. Additionally, Chad has previously joined efforts with Ronald McDonald House and Children’s Place, and is passionate about being involved in raising money for his children’s schools and volunteering on their sports teams.
On the weekends you can find Chad enjoying Brookside or traveling to new places with his family. He likes to take his three young children — Lola, Abe and Leo — to the zoo and movies. On a personal level, Chad loves golfing and reading goal-oriented books such as “Atomic Habits” by James Clear.
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) Quality award is primarily based on sales production. Advisors must be a NAIFA member and pay an application fee. Award is based upon production from the prior calendar year. For more information see: naifa.org/membership/awards/quality-award.
As Seen In Forbes, Entrepreneur and Bloomberg Businessweek Article
Bringing Clarity to Complexity
With innovative financial solutions, Esslinger Financial of Northwestern Mutual guides clients through procrastination and taxation to live their best lives—now and during retirement.
When wealth management advisor Chad Esslinger joined Northwestern Mutual 12 years ago, he found himself amongst supportive, vetted advisors who’d forged the path he was following. Today, he is the trailblazer at the helm of a growing practice that serves clients of diverse ages and incomes.
“We’ve built something meaningful,” says Esslinger, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, RICP®, AEP®, wealth management advisor at Esslinger Financial. “With the gift of foresight, we bring clarity to complexity to help families find balance as they save for retirement.”
The Gift of Foresight
After a personal finance class in eighth grade sparked his interest, Esslinger knew what he wanted to do for a living. By the time he’d graduated from college and moved to Kansas City, he was eager to jump into the financial industry.
But in 2007, as he was building his network, the housing market crashed, and Esslinger was laid off. A year later, he lost his mother to lung cancer. Compounding his family’s grief was the fact that his parents had done little to prepare for the day their income was halved. The experience opened Esslinger’s eyes to the consequences of failing to plan for the future.
Today, he draws upon those lessons while helping clients realize their full financial potential-- and that means holding them accountable. “Life doesn’t get less complex as we get older, and procrastination is natural,” he says. “People will put off what they know they should do today—not because they don’t care, but because they are busy and lack clarity and direction.”
After procrastination, clients’ biggest hurdle is often taxation. “We try to generate tax-efficient, after-tax income that can last through retirement as well as withstand recessions and unexpected life events,” he says. “We want our clients to wake up well-positioned for the best outcomes.”
With the median age of financial advisors upwards of 60, Esslinger Financial stands apart for its relative youthfulness. A member of Ingram’s 40 Under Forty Class of 2022, Esslinger and his energetic team boasts technological fluency and flexible thinking, which can be helpful when serving multiple generations. “We can share the experiences and insights of older clients with those who are just starting out,” he says. “At the same time, we’re young enough to help clients to and through retirement.” Rather than being siloed as asset managers or insurance brokers, Esslinger’s advisors work the full financial plan to advise on risk management and wealth accumulation.
Known for the energy and vitality he brings to his work, Esslinger attends trade shows, invests in staff, and makes time to connect with clients. Outside of work, he can be found enjoying Kansas City with his wife, Kelly, and their young children, Lola, Abe and Leo. He’s passionate about giving back to the community, recently curating a live auction for Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City that raised more than $1.1 million.
For Esslinger, there’s no time to procrastinate. “I’m constantly learning and growing,” he says. “I truly believe the best is yet to come.”
Here are my areas of expertise
Financial Planning
Insurance Protection Strategies
Life Insurance Strategies
Retirement Planning & Income Strategies
Estate Planning
Education Planning & Funding
Disability Planning
Multigenerational Planning
Lending a hand in my community.
We are passionate about giving back to the community. Here are some of the organizations we partner with:
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)
ALSF funds cancer research, raises awareness, and supports the families of children with cancer. Since 2012, Northwestern Mutual, its employees, and financial professionals like me have donated more than $20 million to support ALSF and fund over 400,000 research hours.
Beads of Courage
Beads of Courage is an art-in-medicine program that helps kids with cancer tell their unique treatment story through colorful beads that are symbols of their courage.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City
RPS Financial Group, Inc. and Esslinger Financial are proud to announce that Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City is a recipient of the RPS Cares donation! Through our fundraising efforts and in conjunction with this gift from Philip and Heidi Sarnecki we have raised almost $25,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City.
How Northwestern Mutual helps you live the life you want.
When people feel better about their money, good things happen—they become more confident and feel more secure. For more than 160 years, Northwestern Mutual has helped people achieve the financial flexibility they need to live more and worry less.
Being a mutual company means Northwestern Mutual reports to its clients, not Wall Street. They don't believe in chasing fads or taking undue risk for short-term gains. Instead, they take a long-term approach—both in the way we help people plan to reach their goals, and in the way they do business. This has served their clients (and mine) well through all kinds of economic ups and downs, including wars, recessions, even the recent pandemic.
It's why I'm happy to be part of a company that's in it for the long-haul and prioritizes clients over profit.
Get a financial plan that prioritizes your priorities.
I’ll take the time to listen to what’s important to you and understand your needs. Then drawing upon a broader perspective and financial expertise, I’ll tailor your financial plan to fit your priorities and goals. From planning to implementation, my recommendations always follow a fiduciary standard, so I’ll act in your best interests, not mine. I’ll be transparent about what my planning services will, and will not include, so you’ll know exactly what you’re getting upfront. And when it comes to the cost of our services, I’ll let you know upfront about that, too.
Here's how I’ll build your personalized plan:
Look at where you are today
Your plan will help you make the most of what you already have, no matter where you're starting from, and give you a snapshot of your financial big picture.
Identify where you want to go
Whether it's shorter-term goals like managing your debt, or longer-term ones like saving for a new home, or retirement, your financial plan will show you how you're tracking, help you understand what's working, and point out any gaps you might have.
Put together range of options to get you there
Looking across all your goals, you'll get personalized recommendations and strategies to grow your wealth while making sure everything's protected. And I'll help you determine the right moves to make today and later on. And as your priorities change throughout your life, I'll shift the financial strategies in your plan, too. So your plan always stays flexible, and you stay on track to consistently meet goal after goal.