Loving the Art of Wealth Management: Businessman Alex Garner

Alex Garner is the founder of Garner Wealth Management and is a 4th generation Floridian. Alex was born and raised in Bradenton with deep family ties in the community. His grandfather and great grand uncle started Starfish Company, a commercial house and restaurant in Cortez Village in 1923. Alex graduated from Manatee High School and earned his business degree from the University of South Florida. After accepting a job opportunity with a financial advisement firm owned by a long-time friend and former church youth pastor, he began his venture into wealth management. Alex stated “I fell in love with the finance world” but left the firm once realizing the company’s culture was not a perfect fit. Afterward, he gained diverse working experience as a financial advisor from small independent firms to large international companies before starting his own business called Garner Wealth Management in September 2020. Alex stated, “I decided the time was right for me to launch my own business”. Garner Wealth Management is structured to provide all investing services. Alex stated “my main priorities as a financial advisor are to help families and young professionals begin with a solid financial foundation” and he offers continued education so all of his clients achieve their goals. Garner Wealth Management services accounts such as IRAs and 401ks for an individual that has separated from their employer, retired, or recently moved into the community.

When questioned if COVID affected his decision to start a company, Alex responded “COVID was very influential in the creation of my business because of being able to reassess aspects of my life during that time” to decide what direction to take his career. He realized that creating his own wealth management firm would allow him the opportunity to implement his preferred financial strategies to help his clients. Throughout Alex’s career, he has had many discussions on the “importance of having both a personal mission and vision”. Since he views Garner Wealth Management as an extension of himself, Alex decided to use his personal values as the business mission statement “My Mission: Help improve the lives of others and bring Glory to God and envision a world where more people live abundant lives.”

Alex has a regional office located in Tampa, however, most of his clients are in the Manatee and Sarasota counties area and conducts in-person meetings at local coffee shops, within a person’s homes, or on zoom. He has discovered the best marketing for his business is by “word of mouth”, referrals given to family and friends by satisfied clients, and uses all forms of social media to reach potential customers. Since Alex is an individual financial advisor and fiduciary, he can “always perform and make recommendations that are in the best interest of my clients because I am not incentivized to sell a particular product or service.” He is the only employee of Garner Wealth Management that is a sole proprietorship and partners with a broker-dealer for the purpose of trading and compliance. The most common feedback Alex receives from clients is “thank you” due to being pleased with their financial progress because of “doing what I love to do.”

If you are interested to learn more about Garner Wealth Management services, please schedule an introduction call at Garnerwealthmgt.com. Readers can also find Alex Garner on LinkedIn and Facebook: @GarnerWealthMgt.