Offering 'New Means' for financial help

By Pamme Boutselis
NH Mirror Contributor

In the search for the right career for herself, Sherrill St. Germain created a business to offer the right financial solutions for her clients.

An electrical engineering undergrad, St. Germain began her professional career in the engineering field.

“I wasn’t in that role long before I realized that I would be better suited to a career where it was more important to see ‘the big picture’ as opposed to engineering, where a specialist was most prized,” she said.

Her role changed to software engineer, project manager and engineering manager as she strove to find the right fit.
In the mid ’90s, St. Germain had what she calls an “Aha!” moment while taking an investments class for her MBA. She considered becoming a financial planner but realized the majority of the jobs out there paid on a commission basis and were more of a sales role, which was not for her.

When the high-tech industry entered rough times, St. Germain chose to pursue financial planning on her own terms. Her business model would be one of a fee for service rather than the traditional commission model, and New Means Financial Planning was born.

“Most other planners work on commission or retainer and take a percentage of assets that they manage,” she said. “I offer financial planning on an hourly, as-needed basis. Clients tell me that, because I don’t sell financial products and am not beholden to any particular product provider, they don’t worry about a conflict of interest.”

Services include the traditional investment or insurance product recommendations, along with cash-flow planning, tax planning, and retirement and college planning.

Her initial clients in 2003 were seeking investment advice on competing college and retirement goals, both of which were a bit far off. Five years later, clientele has expanded to include many who are a bit older and want to know, “When can I retire and what do I need to do to make sure that my money will last as long as I need it to?”

“It’s extremely satisfying to connect with a client and watch as, over time, my advice helps them to build the wealth that is needed to allow them to feel financially secure, confident and independent, and to meet their personal financial goals, whatever they are,” she said.

In 2002, St. Germain and Lisa Allen, author of “Eating Clean,” formed the New Girl Network – a group of women entrepreneurs who meet monthly at the Holistic Self Care Center in Nashua. The women connect in a “not-so-formal, not-old-boy-network atmosphere.”

St. Germain also volunteers for the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literary, and is a committed road biker – a passion she picked up from her longtime partner, Greg Larkin, who raced bikes at a near-professional level for 16 years.

St. Germain advises women to get involved at all times with their finances.

“Statistics suggest that 80 to 90 percent of women will be solely responsible for their own finances at some point in their lives, often thrust into the role suddenly and abruptly as a result of divorce or widowhood,” she said. “If a woman has been involved with her family’s finances throughout, she won’t have this additional challenge to deal with during a difficult time.”

For more information, visit www.newmeans.com.