Andy Kaiser: Investing Himself in Educating Children and Professionals

FEATURED PHOTO: Andy Kaiser | CREDIT: Carmela Caracappa Photography

Almost hidden from view by the curtains dressing a nearby window, these words are faintly inscribed on a small, red sign that hangs behind Andy Kaiser’s desk in the second story office of his barn. It’s a normal barn, mostly, outfitted on the first floor with tractors and hay bales, goats, sheep, and even a pony. But it also houses miniature furniture designed for multiple small children and an office on the second floor that contains a Bloomberg Terminal and a company that handles multiple million-dollar accounts for its clients. Welcome to Mountain Hill Investment Partners, Mountain Hill School, and the Andrew and Lauren Kaiser 12-acre farm in the hills of Atlantic Highlands.

A prominent and successful Wall Street investment advisor that worked for both Dillon Reed and UBS, Andy traded in his long commute and the excitement of Manhattan when the Mountain Hill School and farm went up for sale nearly fifteen years ago.

“We had to buy it,” said Andy in his open and welcoming way. “My wife, Lauren, was upset with me for about a year, but then it all worked out.” And it has worked out very well. The school has been redone and expanded, modernized, and enjoys full enrollment with a waiting list for new students. Mountain Hill Investment Partners is growing and poised for even more success with a laser-focus on 401k investments. And the Kaisers have a beautiful log-cabin dream home they custom built in a town they adore. But the “had to” in Andy’s comment is where the story begins.

What prompts a wildly successful, suit-wearing Wall Street guy originally from Long Island with absolutely no background in education to trade his work life in for mowing the lawn and feeding the goats on a farm that comes with a preschool? And how did he manage to get his likewise successful wife to not only go along with this, but agree to run the school? The answer is found as you enter the Mountain Hill School and look to the welcome mat displaying its logo.

“The logo is our three children, that’s Jack and Jamie and their big brother Ryan in the middle,” said Andy pointing. “Ryan has a red heart, for heart disease. Most people think the heart means love, and that’s okay too. But Ryan died from heart disease, so we gave him a red heart.”

The Kaisers lost their son when he was six years old, a former student of the original Mountain Hill School. A year after their loss, the school went up for sale. Andy insists had they not purchased the property a developer would have come in and turned it into a neighborhood, and he didn’t want to see that happen. And perhaps that’s true. But instead of another farm gone the way of so-called progress, Ryan’s parents have created a unique and subtle legacy and two successful businesses. Lauren is perpetually surrounded by bright and loving five-yearold’s who benefit from her attention and a specialized pre-school and kindergarten curriculum that incorporates life on a farm. Andy has found a way to bring Wall Street to Monmouth County and the chance to work steps away from his family and animals on a farm for which he personally caretakes.

“This could have gone the other way,” explained Andy as his voice cracked ever so slightly. “A lot of people don’t survive losing a child. They get divorced, or self-medicate, or they just don’t make it out the other side. When someone dies, if you don’t do something to remember them, they’re just dead. You have to find a way to keep them alive. This has kept Ryan alive. And it may have saved our lives too.” If you didn’t know the story, you would never guess there is a great loss behind the smiles and positive attitude. Andy and his staff run a professional and proficient operation with all the bells and whistles of a Wall Street firm.

“A few years ago, you wouldn’t see a Bloomberg Computer outside of Manhattan,” said Andy. “But with technology changing the way things work, a business like ours is able to connect seamlessly with thousands of 401k participants and clients and we have ready access to the same resources as those in a big office in New York.” A Bloomberg Terminal is a computer software system that is leased by the financial data vendor Bloomberg L.P. enabling professionals in the financial service sector to monitor and analyze real-time financial market data and place trades.

By adding state-of-the-art technology and software, sound proofing, and a good deal of insulation to the structure of the 4500-square-foot barn built by Amish builders, Mountain Hill Investment Partners functions just as any other bustling financial office. Only instead of honking cabs and shouting traders, with the windows open, you can hear the sounds of goats and sheep out back mixed with the delighted voices of children playing in the school’s new playground. It offers a relaxed vibe that seems to suit the casually dressed Andy and his partner Mike Meyers and combines the most fast-paced business possible with an air of grounded, country good-sense. A visit leaves one somewhat confused by what your senses take-in but delighted and encouraged to have stepped into one man’s vision of what life can grant and how the art of simplification can extend to helping others simplify their own lives.

A perpetually forward thinker, Andy has found a new passion to build upon that is reaching thousands who would normally never get the opportunity for guidance from an advisor of his stature. A Registered Investment Adviser, he manages investment portfolios for individuals and families, but he has taken that and expanded it from just those who can afford to hire him, to almost anyone who has a full-time job. As the complicated world of retirement changes and investing for a future that may no longer include a pension becomes more a reality than not for most, HR managers are no longer equipped to handle employee needs when it comes to their 401ks.

“I wouldn’t have my lawyer do my taxes, and I wouldn’t have my accountant represent me in court,” said Andy. “It’s important to have the right person advise on the right topic. In the corporate 401k advisory space, we are great at educating and encouraging employees to use their plan to improve their retirement outcomes. We help companies control risk and drive down costs in the 401k plan to keep them ERISA compliant, and we spend considerable time with Corporate CEO/CFO types ensuring they are providing the best plan to their employees. But we also work with each employee, individually, as part of our service.”

By offering his guidance across the spectrum to his corporate clients, whether working with the CFO or the new hire just out of college swimming in student loan debt, Andy is using his approachable and articulate style to simplify complicated and often scary financial decisions for the masses. Exuberant in his excitement for what comes next for his company, and all the people they will be able to help, Andy seizes every moment.

“Carpe Diem,” said Andy of his favorite quote. “When I stopped my crazy commute to NYC, I ended up saving 60 hours per month, that’s a full week of extra time to seize! This allows me many more touchpoints in all the things that are important to me – work, family, reading, investments, real estate, exercise, visiting my son in college, client interactions, etc. My advice is to take advantage of the time you have and to create time in your life to do the things that are important to you. Get up early and seize the day.”

Aware of how quickly time marches on, Andy has found ways to enjoy the moments as they happen. He spends a lot of his free time at their family cottage in Vermont, skiing with his wife and children. He uses his time mowing the grass or feeding the animals to unwind from the cares of the day and finds his ability to help at the school when needed a perk for which he would not have had the time with any other office location. When asked about future plans or where he sees their lives going, he circles back to how education has become so important to him. Not only being able to help his wife with the development of young minds, but his growing love for being an educator himself and the thousands of lives he is touching and changing by offering solid financial guidance. Grounded in the moment, he leaves both the past and the future to fend for themselves.

“Work hard, play hard, repeat,” shared Andy. “I would add something most of your older readers already know – life moves very fast. My wife and I went from having kids in diapers to kids in college in a flash, proving that life happens while you are waiting for life to happen.”

Work hard, play hard, and if you can manage to have it all happen on your own 12-acre farm, with a school and a log cabin, all the better. Having found what many would call a personal paradise, certainly a personal triumph through challenge, Andy loves his work, his commute home is a walk down the hill, and he does it all on his farm, and in his barn, following his own rules.