Brian H. Hensen, CFP®, ChFC®
Senior Partner
Client account access
Awards and recognition
2026 Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors
#35 in Wisconsin
2026 Forbes Top Financial Security Professionals Best-In-State
#37 in Wisconsin
Brian H. Hensen, CFP®, ChFC®
Senior Partner
Comprehensive financial planning. Customized wealth solutions.
Brian’s mission is to provide authentic guidance and real conversations to help clients and their families move forward with clarity and confidence.
About
Brian has been a financial advisor with North Star Resource Group since 1992. Working out of the firm’s Madison, Wis., office, he specializes in working with physicians and other medical professionals. Brian is also a member of the North Star Medical Division, where he collaborates with other advisors who specialize in working with medical professionals to share best practices and the latest trends in medicine.
Brian is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. He has an MBA in finance and currently lives in Waunakee, Wis., with his wife, Mindy. In his spare time, Brian enjoys biking, traveling, and avidly supporting the Wisconsin Badgers.
What to expect from Brian
A teacher
“The part of my job I enjoy the most is playing the role of a teacher. My clients will be able to make sound financial decisions if they fully understand topics like tax implications, risk/reward trade-off, liquidity issues, and financial product nuances. The majority of the time that I spend with clients is ensuring that they have the financial knowledge to make informed decisions. I enjoy being a resource when clients are searching for information or just need a sounding board.”
Quantifying your goals
“In addition to identifying your financial objectives, we must also quantify them. I use a written comprehensive financial strategy and analysis to make sure that clients understand how much they need to save to help them actively pursue their retirement, college funding, and other important financial goals. Everyone wants to ‘retire comfortably someday.’ Let’s quantify, ‘What is comfortable?’ and ‘When is someday?’ to bring you one step closer to making it happen.”
Holding you accountable
“Identifying financial goals is important, but it will not matter unless you make sure the strategy is executed. Through regular reviews you should expect me to hold you accountable on following through with the decisions and savings necessary to help you work towards achieving your goals. In addition, you should expect that I help you make adjustments to the strategy as goals and/or financial conditions change. The end result will hopefully be a transformation where you replace your financial insecurities and stress with financial confidence.”
Advisor team
Brian is joined by fellow Madison-based financial advisor Matthew Suarez, ChFC®, in a multi-generational financial planning practice. Together, they offer tailored financial planning solutions to a wide variety of clients across the nation, and their work is driven by a shared commitment to excellent service.
Matthew Suarez, ChFC®, RICP®
Associate Partner
Support team
Kerri Bonnell
Client Relations/Insurance Coordinator
North Star resource team
Chase Brakke, DIA, DIF, CEPA®
Senior Vice President
Chris Sitek, CLTC®, CASL®, CLU®, ChFC®, RHU®, REBC®
Vice President Life and Long-Term Care
Jeff Landt, CFA®, CFP®
Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer
The Forbes ranking of Best-in-State Wealth Advisors, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative data, rating thousands of women wealth advisors with a minimum of seven years’ experience and weighing factors like revenue trends, asset under management, compliance records, industry experience, and best practices learned through telephone and in-person interviews. Portfolio performance is not a criteria due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK receive a fee in exchange for rankings. Listing in this publication and/or award is not a guarantee of future investment success. This recognition should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor by any client. No compensation was provided directly or indirectly by the recipient for participation or in connection with obtaining or using the third-party rating or award.
2026 Forbes Best-In-State Financial Security Professionals, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on last year’s data. The algorithm is designed to fairly compare the business practices of a large group of financial service professionals (FSPs) based on quantitative and qualitative elements. Data is weighted to ensure priorities are given to dynamics such as best practices, business models, recent business activity, among others. Each variable is graded and represents a certain value for each measured component. The algorithm measures thousands of FSPs against one another. The listing is prepared by SHOOKTM Research and is based primarily on commissions and premiums generated from insurance products and other criteria relative to years of experience, credentials, client retention and servicing, business model, community involvement, financial professional and peer interviews, and compliance background. Listing in this publication and/or award is not a guarantee of future investment success. This recognition should not be construed as an endorsement of the financial professional by any client. No compensation was provided directly or indirectly by the recipient for participation or in connection with obtaining or using the third-party rating or award.
Registered representative of Cetera Wealth Services, LLC. Securities offered through Cetera Wealth Services, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory Services offered through Cetera Investment Advisers LLC, a registered investment adviser. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity.