Peter K. Hoover Marks 30TH Year
On: February 3, 2011 
Filed Under: Member News 
Tags: Hoover Financial Advisors
Malvern, PA – When Peter K. (Pete) Hoover, CFP® began his career as a financial planner, he was one of a handful of professionals in the field. It
was 1981 and the nation was on the cusp of a recession that began that summer. Several industries, including housing, steel manufacturing and automobile production, were in the midst of digging out from a mild decline the previous year.
Hoover graduated that year with a degree in finance from Shippensburg University and continued to polish his skills at Ostrom & Associates, a
small King-of-Prussia-based consulting company. He helped launch the local Institute of Certified Financial Planners chapter where he served as president and chairman of the board over the years of his membership. Early on, he was singled out as Certified Financial Planner of the Year by his chapter and also worked on a national level with ICFP.
The financial advisor, who has been independent since day one, next spent 17 years with American Financial Group (AFG) before founding Hoover Financial Advisors, PC in 2005. During his tenure at AFG, he was named among the best financial planners in the U.S. three times by Worth magazine. Since opening his own firm, honors have accumulated. Last year, he was named by Goldline Research and seen in Forbes magazine as one of the 2010 Leading
Providers Wealth Managers of the Northeast.
Hoover admits that there were challenges as he grew his practice. “Financial planning is a very difficult business to get started,” he admits. “People don’t want to deal with an advisor with little experience, so crafting a client list was not easy. I was fortunate to learn from people who
exhibited a strong work ethic and were reliable.”
Despite stumbling blocks, Hoover persevered and built up a solid base. Many of his clients have been with him for more than 20 years and he reports that his average tenure of service is 11. Since its inception, HFA has doubled in assets and continues to thrive. Even in 2008, his most
daunting year, he lost only three accounts. “I talked to clients constantly,” he recalls. “We had more meetings, more phone calls, and more correspondence than ever before. In bad economic times, increased advice is critical. We got through the turbulence because a safe cushion of assets
had been established in prior years. By withdrawing profits in past healthier times from stocks to CDs and bonds, we were able to keep our clients’ cash flows steady.”
