Our culture

Transforming the lives of our financial professionals, team members, and clients

41

office locations

365

financial professionals
and team members

4.1

rating on
Glassdoor.com1

3X X

winner of the BBB of Minnesota and North Dakota Torch Awards2

Our mission

As a firm, we believe to serve our clients to the best of our ability, we must first build a positive culture among our financial professionals and team members.

Whether you are a recent college graduate or an experienced business professional, you want to join a team you can be proud of.

We work to build a culture that is unequivocally goals-driven and team-oriented. We are a national firm, yet our financial professionals and team members form a close-knit community invested in each other’s success.

1Information is accurate as of January 2024

2Awards are based primarily on criteria relative to leadership, achievement, recruiting, management practices, community service, team unity and education. Sales are not a consideration. There is no fee associated with this award. Companies must be in good standing with the Better Business Bureau for consideration. Working with this advisor or firm is not a guarantee of future financial results. Investors should conduct their own evaluation.

Our values

As our company grows, we rely on our strong set of values to unite our teams and guide every decision we make so that we can continue to serve our clients with a high level of care.

“When values are clear, decisions are easy.” —Roy Disney

Phrase commonly used by our founder and chair, Phil Richards.

Responsibility

We have a responsibility to honor our creed of Changing Lives, Forever®. Through changing a client’s financial situation, we strive to create healthier, wealthier, and happier lives. We are responsible for providing financial security and dignity to our clients.

Faith

We have faith in each other, our organization, our independence, and our partners. We have faith in the goodness of people to do the right thing. We have an obligation of loyalty and fidelity to our promises and to our actions. We have faith in the work of our clients, financial professionals, and team members to improve lives and futures.

Integrity

We strive to work together to provide ethical solutions of the highest standard for our clients and their families. We are committed to lead with integrity and ethical conduct in all our relationships. We do what we say we are going to do, and we tell the truth.

Growth

We must continually grow in our ability to serve our clients, to serve each other, and to grow new financial professionals to reach more people who will benefit from our ability change their lives forever. The people who are part of the North Star family evolve together and become better than when we first met them.

Gratitude

We are grateful for the clients we serve and our ability to contribute to them reaching their financial and life goals. Our work is made possible by our colleagues, our organization, and our industry, and we are grateful for all the support we receive. We willingly share our gifts by giving back to deserving causes.

Service

We strive to provide an exceptional client experience through a personal connection that is supported by wisdom, knowledge, and information. First and foremost, we seek to understand our clients, our financial professionals, and our team members. We then craft long-term solutions that foster enduring relationships. Technology supports our service delivery, yet it cannot replace a valued human connection.

Helping financial professionals grow and succeed

Whether someone joins us right after college graduation, from a career in another field, or after years in financial services, it’s our responsibility to set them up with the professional skills and ethical frameworks they can carry through their career with us.

Succeeding in this career isn’t easy, but with our four-year training program, mentorship opportunities, and team of experienced financial specialists to support them, our new advisors can earn a competitive income and establish a strong foundation in their first years in business for themselves.

We also offer enhanced resources for experienced financial professionals transferring their practices, allowing them to provide comprehensive care to their clients and build their practice rapidly in their established market.

Learn about transitioning your practice

Changing Lives, Forever®.

At North Star Resource Group this is more than a tagline.

The need for financial guidance is not limited to one group of people. We believe that Changing Lives, Forever® means we have the responsibility to help change the lives of all people in our communities.  Our values are the cornerstone that help guide our decisions based on a shared sense of responsibility to all who entrust us—our clients, advisors and our team members.

We believe in integrity and respect.

The financial services industry has not done enough to hire and develop people from diverse sources. We can and must continue to do more, and we are actively working hard to do so. Through increasing awareness and renewing our commitment to hiring, recruiting, and advising individuals of all backgrounds, we are able to bring our differences and unique perspectives together in a positive, authentic and meaningful way that can truly change more lives, forever.

Recognizing the value of every member

We measure our firm’s success by the growth of each of our financial professionals and team members. We acknowledge their achievements in a variety of ways, from nominating standout peers for monthly recognition gift cards to celebrating excellence in over 100 individuals at our annual award ceremony.

No matter what your role or tenure at the company, we seek to honor your efforts and reward progress at every opportunity.

“I’ve worked at many financial organizations, and I’ve never had the transparency that I’ve received here. If you work hard, you will be rewarded.”

Anonymous feedback from Best Places to Work survey (2020).

Making a North Star difference

A focus on giving back to our communities has had a significant impact on the culture of our firm.

In 2004, North Star established a foundation to maximize our charitable contributions and support causes close to the North Star team. Since its founding the Scott Richards North Star Foundation has donated 10% of profits annually to nonprofits throughout the U.S., totaling $6.8 million.3

Outside of this annual contribution, in 2020, amid the civil unrest in Minneapolis, we donated $50,000 to The Twin Cities Rebuild for the Future Fund and We Love Lake Street to help rebuild over 1,500 commercial properties and small businesses.4

We allow each financial professional and team member to contribute to organizations they personally believe in, empowering those within our firm to carry their ethics into their neighborhoods and around the world. We offer matches up to $500 in charitable contributions for each team member or donate $500 to organizations where employees volunteer over eight hours.

We also incorporate giving back into the daily habits of our headquarters with food drives, school supply drives, on-site blood drives, and our monthly Casual Day for a Cause, when advisors, associates, and team members can choose to donate $5 to a select charity to wear jeans for the day.

Throughout the year, we host volunteer events to build community around our key causes, including Feed My Starving Children packing events, fundraising bean bag tournaments for Stop Alzheimer’s Now, golf tournaments for BestPrep and Habitat for Humanity, Bikes for Kids holiday event and giveaway, and so much more!

3As of December 2023

4Penrod, J., Sinner, C.J., & Webster, M. J. (2020, June 13). Buildings damaged in Minneapolis, St. Paul after riots. Star Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-st-paul-buildings-are-damaged-looted-after-george-floyd-protests-riots/569930671/

Learn more about the causes we support

Connecting across the nation

“This organization has a good synergy that is felt even by the satellite offices.”

Anonymous feedback from Best Places to Work survey (2020).

From San Diego to Philadelphia, Seattle to Fort Myers, Fla., we prioritize connection and communication to ensure our 41 offices always feels like one united company.

We send biweekly newsletters to the firm celebrating news of engagements, births and adoptions, birthdays, and anniversaries.

We curate a quarterly Navigator with a letter from our CEO, insights from our specialists, and interviews with financial professionals and team members.

Our team members throughout the nation meet monthly to share kudos and to share relevant information about the firm.

Financial professionals and team members gather twice a year for motivational and educational conferences, punctuated by the summer awards ceremony recognizing notable anniversaries, community service work, and high-achieving advisors and associates.

Joining a team that feels like family

“Most importantly, North Star is able to have a very positive impact in people’s lives. We make a real difference.”

Anonymous feedback from Best Places to Work survey (2020).

We are comprised of people who want to devote their professional lives to something as vital as helping individuals and families prepare and provide for the people and causes that are important to them.

These are people of strong values who are motivated by the opportunity to change someone’s life forever, and when your values and beliefs run this deep, it extends to everyone around you, including those you work with.

We are proud to have a culture where our financial professionals who have been with us since college become our top producers, where team members spend the weekend celebrating each other’s weddings, and where our annual conference feels more like a family reunion than a corporate event, and we hope this investment in each other spills out into the lives of our peers, families, clients, and communities.

“One thing that is meaningful to me is whenever I’ve had a big life moment (new baby, health issues, family loss, etc.), our CEO has reached out directly to me.”

Anonymous feedback from Best Places to Work survey (2020).

Becoming a financial professional

If you are looking for a career offering independence from the nine-to-five rigidity, impact on your community, and uncapped income potential, North Star can provide you with the resources to build your practice from the ground up.

Learn more

Join our team

Our corporate and administrative team members are essential for making our clients’ financial goals a reality, and we’ve worked hard to develop a culture where growth, belonging, and recognition are prioritized at every level.

Learn more