Welcome to “Show Me Your Stack,” a series from Financial Planning in which we interview those who deliver financial advice to learn what tools they rely on to make it happen. Rising client expectations are driving the need for more powerful tech tools, and we’re digging deep to find out why advisors prefer certain solutions.
Christopher Hensley, president and CEO of Houston First Financial Group, in Bellaire, Texas, serves a very unique niche.
Hensley focuses on retirement planning for state employees. His clients generally work either in health care, for the University of Texas Health Science Center or in higher education and are covered under the Teacher Retirement System of Texas or the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s optional retirement program.
“I help them coordinate their Social Security and their pension,” he said.
Typically, his clients are five to 10 years away from retirement or are on the other side, living off their distributions after decades-long careers.
READ MORE: Advisor tech choices for the long run: Show Me Your Stack
Hensley, who entered the financial services industry after graduating from the University of Houston, worked with Merrill Lynch, UBS and other firms before founding Houston First Financial Group more than a decade ago. He has also worked with the nonprofit Money Management International and has delivered financial literacy seminars to dozens of Houston and Gulf Coast companies. In 2012, he began hosting the KPFT radio show and podcast, “Money Matters.”
Today, Houston First Financial has two employees and $72 million in assets under management. With such a small staff, Hensley said he has intentionally built “a streamlined, tech-driven practice that keeps operations lean” and that can be run by only himself and an assistant at all times. But when his assistant left the firm in October 2024, he saw an opportunity instead of a setback.
“Rather than rehire right away, I challenged myself to reexamine my tech stack— making sure I fully understand every tool I pay for and that all integrations are turned on,” he said. “When I do bring someone in, they won’t be stuck in busy work like data entry. Instead, they’ll focus on building deeper relationships with clients.”
READ MORE: Marrying tech to advisor minds: Show Me Your Stack
Hensley said now integration is a “moving target.”
“A lot of advisors will just get in their comfort zone, where if it’s worked for many years, they’ll just keep doing it,” he said. “But in the last three years, so much stuff has rolled out. I’m taking this as an opportunity to go back and make sure that we’re using everything.”
Scroll down the slideshow to see what Hensley feels are some of the most important pieces of Houston First Financial Group’s tech stack and why — and which tools didn’t work out.
