Bridget Handke
CFP®, CAP®
Birchwood Financial Partners, Inc.
Principal – Financial Advisor
Bridget Handke
CFP®, CAP®
Birchwood Financial Partners, Inc.
Principal – Financial Advisor
As a fee-only financial planner, my focus is to offer unbiased financial advice to help you achieve your life goals. - Bridget Handke, CFP®, CAP®
Fee-Only financial planner located in Edina, MN, serving clients locally and across the country
Mary Bridget Handke is an Edina, MN fee-only financial planner. Birchwood Financial Partners, Inc. provides comprehensive investment management, retirement planning, and sustainable, responsible, impact investing to help clients organize, grow and protect their assets through life’s transitions. As a fee-only, fiduciary, and independent financial advisor, Mary Bridget Handke is never paid a commission of any kind, and has a legal obligation to provide unbiased and trustworthy financial advice.
Bridget Handke, one of the owners of Birchwood Financial Partners, has a personal mission to help people thrive. She does this by developing long-term relationships with clients that enables her to understand what is most important to them. Bridget strives to give clients a sense of confidence. She is able to translate complex financial concepts into plain language so their finances are understandable, flexible and helps promote peace of mind.
Bridget understands that for many, success means going beyond oneself and family to help communities thrive as well. Bridget helps interested clients with sustainable, responsible, impact investing, a specialty at Birchwood. For others she helps them craft and implement a philanthropic giving strategy. Bridget believes philanthropic giving can have such a positive impact on communities that she earned the CAP® designation – Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy.
Bridget has been quoted in publications such as the Star Tribune, Chicago Tribune and Wall Street Journal and has spoken on personal and women’s finance topics. She has developed a specialty in working with widows, who tend to have unique financial circumstances, and wrote the book Finances for One, a New Widow’s Guide to Managing Money. She is the Finance Chair of the Eastview Community Foundation, which provides scholarships for graduating seniors and works hands-on with BestPrep to teach financial literacy to high school students. For over twenty years Bridget has lived in Apple Valley with her husband, Dan. She has two wonderful daughters who inspire her to continue mentoring young people. During her off hours she enjoys the gym, hiking, reading and searching for the area’s best hot and sour soup.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Financial Planning Association (FPA)
Minnesota Chapter of the Financial Planning Association
National Association of Personal Financial Adivsors (NAPFA)
CERTIFICATIONS
Certified Financial Planner™ professional.
Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® professional.
AWARDS
2020 Selected as a Five Star Professional. The Five Star award recognizes wealth management professionals who provide quality services to their clients.
EXPERIENCE
Bridget was a general manager for a corporate travel agency when she was moved to change careers in order to help people more directly. After working briefly at another planning firm, Bridget joined Birchwood in 2004 as a Financial Advisor as she was drawn to the women-owned, collaborative team business structure. She became an owner in 2010. Bridget is dedicated to providing clients with the solutions and encouragement needed for them, their families, and their communities to thrive.
EDUCATION
Iowa State, B.S. in Family Environment
Santa Clara University
Bridget Handke is a Member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors - highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.
NAPFA members live by three important values:
- To be the beacon for independent, objective financial advice for individuals and families.
- To be the champion of financial services delivered in the public interest.
- To be the standard bearer for the emerging profession of financial planning.
Birchwood Financial Partners is a fee-only financial planning and investment management firm founded on the relationship we have with each and every client. Our team can help you identify how money intersects with your values and goals around family, meaningful work, lifestyle and giving back.
We help manage the complexities of your finances so that you can make informed financial choices. Many of these choices present themselves during times of life transitions such as marriage, retirement, inheritance, a suddenly single event and many more.
Our focus is your success now and in the future. Each person defines success differently. We spend time getting to know and understand what it means to you so that together we can help design a financial plan and investment portfolio to help you live your most meaningful life.
Fee-Only, Fiduciary, Independent: Three Important Criteria to Consider When Choosing a Financial Advisor.
Specialties
- Comprehensive Financial Planning
- Retirement Income Planning
- Investment Management
- College Education Planning
- Tax Planning
Ideal Clients
- Retirees and Near Retirees
- Growing Families
- Business Owners and Executives
- Sudden Money Situations
- Novice Investors
Working Together
- In-Office Meetings
- Virtual Meetings
- Clearly Defined Fees
- No Product Sales
- Complimentary Initial Consultation
Professional Designations & Affiliations
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Mary Bridget Handke is a NAPFA-Registered Financial AdvisorThe National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors—highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.
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Mary Bridget Handke is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional - Click for VerificationCFP® professionals are held to strict ethical standards to ensure financial planning recommendations are in your best interest. What’s more, a CFP® professional must acquire several years of experience related to delivering financial planning services to clients and pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Exam before they can use the CFP® designation.
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Mary Bridget Handke is a member of The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®)FPA® is the largest membership organization for CFP® professionals in the U.S. and supports high standards of professional competence, ethical conduct, and clear, complete disclosure when serving clients.
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Mary Bridget Handke Holds the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) DesignationThe Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) provides qualified financial professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to help clients articulate and advance their highest aspirations for self, family, and society. CAP® holders are part of a growing network of top planners who are working to make our towns and cities better places to live for generations to come.
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Mary Bridget Handke is the Author of Finances for One: A New Widow's Guide to Managing Money
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Bridget Handke is an Award Winning Five Star Professional (Multiple Years)
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Mary Bridget Handke is Published on Business Insider: "I'm a financial planner who sees even rich clients struggle with money - here's the advice I give them all."
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Mary Bridget Handke is Published on Nasdaq.com: "Do You Have a Retirement Timeline?"
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Mary Bridget Handke is Quoted in Financial Planning Magazine: "What a Ring, Pacifier and Diploma Mean for Family Financial Planning"
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Bridget Handke is a Member of the Financial Planning Association of Minnesota
Contact Bridget Handke
Office Locations:
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3300 Edinborough Way
Suite 610
Edina, MN 55435
