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Soren Christensen

Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Advanced Investment Management

It was a simple idea. After Hurricane Irma hit his hometown of Naples, Florida, in 2017, Soren Christensen decided the most effective way he could give back to his community was to offer free financial plans and advice to those whom local residents had turned to for help — first responders, health care workers and law enforcement professionals. His Plans for Our Protectors program continues this pro bono work for public servants and military personnel in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Christensen, 35, grew up in the Detroit suburbs and moved to Naples in 2012 to start his own planning and investments firm. Building the business was slow at first, but Christensen’s wife, who had become active in local charities and civic organizations, helped spread the word.

By the time he added his own RIA to the business in 2017, “things had really started to take off,” Christensen said, noting an increase in referrals, especially from the many female clients he has helped in the wake of divorce and widowhood. He has opened a second office in Fort Myers and wants to grow organically, “keeping integrity in every client interaction.”

Evan Cooper