joe.bertilson@missionbridgewealth.com

Joe believes in investing his time in understanding his clients’ goals and values before investing their money. Since 2012, Joe has used our established process to build personalized strategies to help his clients achieve their goals. He will partner with you throughout your life to help keep you on track. 

Joe draws from his years of experience to create tax efficient retirement income plans, estate plans and charitable giving strategies. He loves to take complex situations and make them easy to understand for clients. Because of his passion for non-profits, he ensures your charitable giving is as efficient as possible. In our office we say, “Friends don’t let Friends give cash!”  

Joe is married to his wonderful wife, Lauren, and is the proud father of three beautiful daughters Faith, Brielle, Sophie plus a Sport Retriever, Louie. His family enjoys serving at church, school and the community. When asked about what he loves about his career: “I love the opportunity I get to help my clients reach their goals and focus on what they are passionate about. If I can help my clients have the financial freedom to give back, that is a win for me and our community.”

In his down time, Joe likes to travel with family and friends, explore and learn about new cultures, play golf, smoke a good brisket, as well as rock climbing, landscaping, and enjoying the outdoors.
 
Whether you're planning for retirement, selling a business, or trying to protect the financial future of the ones you care for the most, we can work together to develop specific strategies to help you achieve your goals. Throughout it all, we're dedicated to providing you excellent client service. 

daren.halvorson@missionbridgewealth.com

As a Wealth Advisor Daren enjoys helping marriages become aligned in their financial vision. He believes money should be viewed as a tool and not the end goal. It’s more important to focus on what you do with it rather than how much you have of it. Through the formation of a financial plan, he helps his clients put their wealth on a Mission and Bridge the gap between where they’re at now and where they want to be.

Daren graduated from the University of Northwestern – St. Paul with a bachelors in Applied Mathematics. In his studies he focused on finding trends, solving difficult problems, and analyzing outcomes. He’s been in the Financial Services industry since the beginning of 2019 serving clients and their families.

He was born in Prescott, Arizona but his family quickly decided cooler weather apparently made more sense so he spent most of his life in the city of South St. Paul here in Minnesota. That’s where he first dove into a personal relationship with God, where he grew in his enthusiasm for sports (baseball, football, and basketball), where he met his now wife (Abigail), where he currently resides and watches his son Asher sprout up before his very eyes.

When he’s not in the office, you can find him enjoying quality time with his family and friends, taking part in anything containing the word ‘game’ in it (whether it be board, yard, card, or video), being active in an assortment of sports (slow-pitch softball, golf, basketball, mountain biking on trails, or the latest in tennis and pickleball), and marveling the outdoors.

nick.bednarczyk@missionbridgewealth.com

Nick has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry and focuses on providing a client-centered process of working together to understand each client’s needs and to educate them on their financial options. He prides himself on working with clients to establish long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationships while keeping the client’s goals and objectives at the heart of his advice. His expertise lies in pre-retirement, retirement, and education planning by setting realistic expectations with clients through open and honest lines of communication. He is passionate on helping people navigate through their financial needs to develop a personalized plan for their families.

Nick is born and raised in Andover, MN and is a graduate of Totino Grace high school. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of St Thomas and completed education coursework from Bemidji State University. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and holds his Series 7, 66, 9, 10 and MN Life & Health insurance licenses.

Community Involvement is a passion of Nick’s and is highly active in the community through his involvement in the Coon Rapids Rotary, where he has served as President, and recently served as chairman on the Emma B. Howe YMCA Community Board. He is also active with Stepping Stone Emergency Housing in Anoka, and St. Stephen's Catholic Church where he and now his children attend school.

Nick continues to live in Andover with his wife Kari, Executive Director of the nonprofit GRACE Inc.; their two children, Bennett and Andrew; and their black lab, Gilda and cat, Oppie. His hobbies include supporting his children's baseball, soccer and golf ventures, snowmobiling, fishing, hunting, boating, bicycling, golf, and planting/landscaping.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Siri.rustad@missionbridgewealth.com

As the Client Service Associate, Siri provides the administrative, clerical, and customer service support for the office. She comes with years of experience in an office setting and always strives to provide a professional and timely experience to our clients. She has a passion for training and is committed to ensuring each client has a personable and memorable experience.

Siri was born and raised in northwest Minnesota and moved to the Minneapolis area after graduating college with a Bachelor of Science degree from Minnesota State University, Moorhead. She is an active mom to twin boys and 5 family pets. In her spare time, she enjoys sporting events, time at the lake with friends and family, traveling, antiquing, listening to music, and is a state fair enthusiast.

denise.spleiss@missionbridgewealth.com

To say Denise has experience working in the financial field might be an understatement. Denise has served in a variety of roles over 30 years including time as a Securities Administrator, an Equity Trader, and most recently as a Branch Administrator alongside Joe Bertilson (since 2013). 

In addition to her experience, what makes Denise great in her role is her heart of service. Denise credits much of this to one of the most difficult times anyone could ever go through; the loss of her husband, Brad, to cancer in 2020. It is through this period that Denise and her family learned to appreciate each other more, and in turn found a new passion to help others. This passion has even inspired two of her daughters to pursue degrees to become a nurse and a surgeon! 

Denise was born and raised in the north metro and loves to spend time with her kids and family, Brandon, Angela, Katlin, Elizabeth, Jacob and Braxton (as well as her Golden Pyrenees, Toby). Additionally, in her free time she enjoys reading, quilting, and supporting her favorite charities; the Cancer Foundation, and Alzheimer’s Foundation.    

At MissionBridge Wealth we have the opportunity to work with people as they are planning for the exciting highlights of life as well as the toughest moments of loss. From Denise’s personal experience she has shared “Our paths have been changed tremendously and we are still trying to find our way, but God is good and our faith is strong.” Know that we are here to help you to not only set a plan, but to walk with you, even through the toughest times. 

steve.landau@missionbridgewealth.com

As Director of Community Outreach, Steve embraces the role of aligning our own mission with meaningful outcomes. He is committed to ensuring we serve our clients, community and team at the highest level.

Before joining the Raymond James team, Steve served over 12 years in the nonprofit world, most recently serving as Executive Director of the Emma B. Howe YMCA in Coon Rapids. Steve has a heart for supporting others doing good work in the community, which makes him a great fit for growing our philanthropic impact.

Born in New Jersey, raised in rural Wisconsin, and now living in Blaine with his wife Katie and two children, Bryce and Kenna, Steve enjoys connecting with people from all different walks of life. In his free time, Steve enjoys family game nights, biking, playing basketball and following his Wisconsin sports teams.