PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Marcus Barresi, a local financial and retirement adviser for nearly 40 years, will take his own advice and retire at the end of 2017 — although, as people who know him will attest, he is a workaholic, so he will remain on as a consultant for the foreseeable future.
Barresi founded Barresi Financial, Inc. in Presque Isle in 1979, a business which has evolved to include an employee benefits division and a staff of nine at two Maine locations.
“I certainly had to put in long days and make sacrifices, but I enjoyed the work. I loved working with the clients and with my staff,” said Barresi.“I was able to witness a lot of change in the industry and in the economy. I learned new things every day and was able to help people navigate their personal and business lives.”
One of his largest concerns was to make sure that his clients were taken care of, so he hired key people to assist him, including Margaret Ellis and Nancy Brewer. About 20 years ago, he hired two interns, Scott Boucher and Nathan Berry. After working together for years, he came up with a succession plan to ensure that his clients would still be taken care of after he was no longer with the firm. Boucher and Berry became partners in the firm, opened the Bangor office, and grew the benefits division to what is known today as Barresi Benefits Group. Jennifer Haas and Beth Williams are employees in the benefits division.
“I saw too many advisers and too many business owners struggle with finding people to replace themselves, and often that led to clients being left out in the cold. I didn’t want that to happen to my clients, so we put a plan into action long before I was planning to retire,” said Barresi.
“About 10 years ago, we felt we were still missing a piece. We still needed someone to work with our individual clients in Presque Isle. So we recruited a Presque Isle native who was working in New Hampshire.”
Scott Violette moved back home, joined the firm in 2007 and worked closely with Barresi for four years.
“We did a lot of joint meetings, went on the road together meeting with individuals and business clients, and worked together to find solutions for our clients. It was the best learning experience I could have hoped for,” said Violette, who became a partner in 2015.
With Violette on board, Barresi decided to move south and work out of the Bangor office to grow the firm’s presence there. “In some ways, it was like starting over, but it was a great challenge and I have met many great clients,” he said.
Over the past year, Barresi has cut back his schedule a bit, while hiring and training a new adviser in Bangor, Bowen Leary. But he’s often still at the office before 6 a.m. and responding to messages late into the night.
“It’s been tough to even consider retiring, but I think we have built the right team and put the right plan of action in place, so now I am looking forward to the next stage,” said Barresi. “Plus, who wants to get retirement advice from someone who can’t retire himself?”
A retirement celebration will take place at the Presque Isle Country Club on Thursday, Aug. 17, from 4-7 p.m. All who would like to wish good luck to Barresi and his wife, Marlene, are welcome to stop by and visit.
“I’m proud of what we were able to build,” Barresi said. “I’m happy that the firm has transitioned to a new group of owners who will be able to continue providing services to our existing and new clients for years to come. I’ll certainly miss the day-to-day work, but look forward to my role as a consultant.”
