After nine years as a subsidiary of a bank, a local wealth management firm is set to become an independent entity – again. 

The transition promises opportunities for growth.

Founded in 1983, HFG Trust teamed up with Community First Bank in 2016. In October 2024, HAPO Community Credit Union announced that it was acquiring Community First Bank, with HFG Trust remaining separate.

The deal hasn’t closed yet, and William Wang, managing director of HFG Trust, said it will likely be finalized around late July or early fall. At that point, he’ll be the CEO of HFG Trust.

Internal changes

William Wang

Drew Westermeyer

HFG Trust’s leadership will stay the same, with Wang and director of operations Drew Westermeyer managing day-to-day operations. They just won’t be reporting to Community First Bank any longer, Wang said. 

“It’s been a good partnership,” Wang said. “Community First Bank in many ways helped HFG grow and mature … and so I think HFG is better prepared for this new road because of the partnership with Community First Bank.” 

HFG Trust and Community First Bank together have more than 150 employees, and HFG Trust will end up with 35 when the deal is finalized. Community First Bank will move out of its shared office space at 8131 W. Grandridge Blvd. in Kennewick, giving HFG Trust plenty of room to expand. 

Although HFG Trust is not a part of Community First Bank’s acquisition by HAPO, it will maintain a strategic partnership with the credit union, Wang said. Part of that will be facilitated by Eric Pearson, Community First Bank’s current CEO, who will remain on HGF Trust’s board of director.

HFG Trust’s founder, Ty Haberling, will remain on the board as well. “There’ll be a lot of the same players, same leadership, but very much just focus on the wealth management business,” Wang said.

A name change isn’t planned, though HFG Trust will get a new website once the deal is finalized.

Growth plans

HFG Trust is specific about the ways in which it wants to grow, Wang said. One way is organic growth, or bringing in and mentoring young advisors. 

“I think we might have some of the youngest employee base in this industry,” Wang said. They help to bring new ideas and life to the organization.

Then there’s inorganic growth, or growth through acquisitions, Wang said. As an independent entity, those would be “a little easier and more prevalent in the future for HFG,” Wang said. 

That’s because without the bank’s involvement, HFG Trust will be more narrowly focused on wealth management, he said. With fewer priorities to balance, certain projects and acquisitions will be easier to handle.

HFG Trust is selective when it comes to acquisitions. Wang said that while they’re always looking, the company wants to select likeminded organizations for acquisition – that’s more important than just growing. 

The company is proud of the way it takes care of clients’ resources, Wang said, “and so any opportunity we get to kind of partner with someone that thinks the same way, we feel like we’re stronger together.”

That was what happened with Professional Investment Management Services, a Kennewick-based company HFG Trust acquired in January. 

“(It) really felt like from a cultural standpoint, Garrick (Russell) and his team really fit with what HFG was trying to accomplish in the future, and how we view fiduciary management of clients,” Wang said, “and so it just seemed like a really good fit.”

HFG Trust plans for strategic growth through both organic and inorganic avenues. The company recently acquired Professional Investment Management Services. Garrick Russell, right, of PIMS stands with HFG managing director William Wang.

| Courtesy HFG Trust

Client services

HFG Trust primarily offers financial planning and portfolio management services. Under the financial planning side are services like managing money, managing investment accounts, estate planning, tax planning and risk management. Portfolio management includes retirement account management.

On top of those services, HFG has a 401(k) department which manages those plans for businesses, as well as trust services, which can help with legacy planning for people in more mature stages of life.

The company also offers private banking, which can be convenient for clients to have access to in the same place as their wealth management and retirement accounts, Wang said. 

With a partnership with HAPO, which has strong consumer lending and online banking, Wang expects that HFG Trust’s private banking will be enhanced. 

“To be able to take what Community First Bank did really well, which was the business relationship and the business lending side and be able to partner with HAPO’s consumer lending side and consumer banking side, I think it really forms a really good banking experience for HFG clients, potentially,” Wang said.

Although the separation from Community First Bank will mean a heavy lift for HFG Trust in terms of operational services, Wang has regular meetings with Pearson to plan for what things will look like next. 

With the leadership team and building remaining the same, clients should experience a fairly smooth transition. They’ll continue to work with the same advisors. And until the deal is closed, it’ll be “business as usual,” Wang said.