- May 10, 2024
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Hackney and Associates has been helping Palm Coast residents navigate their retirement since the mid ’90s. Now at an age when many people are contemplating their own retirement, Fred Hackney is expanding his business.
Hackney is opening a second office in Newark, New Jersey, on July 15.
“I’m 66 years old and most guys are thinking about retiring, but I’m too busy and I enjoy what I’m doing, and I’ve got too many people that depend on me,” he said.
Hackney, who moved to Palm Coast in 1994, had been a stockbroker for 20 years with several Wall Street firms before deciding in 1997 to move all of his clients out of the stock market because he didn’t want them losing money.
His hunch proved prescient as his clients were able to avoid the volatility of the market starting with the tech bubble bursting in 2000, followed by 9/11 and then the 2008 financial crisis.
In 2010, Hackney got involved with the Portuguese community in Palm Coast through Ivone and Fernando Carneiro, who own Palm Coast Signs. Hackney joined the Portuguese American Cultural Center of Palm Coast and became a sponsor for many of its events. Through his contacts in Palm Coast, he was able to expand his business.
“(There are) so many people that are from New Jersey who live in Florida, and they have relatives up there,” Hackney said “I got involved with the four labor unions up there to help their members when they retire and make sure their money is protected and their estates are protected when they pass away and make sure their children and spouses don’t have a loss of assets or income.”
Hackney had planned to open his New Jersey office last year before the pandemic hit. One year later, he’s ready to open his office doors at 401 Chestnut St. in Newark.
“I hired a full staff that speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese,” he said. “And I’ve got a lot of business coming up there because they need somebody to help them. Most of my business concentrates on the retiring and retired union members in the Newark area where about 40% of their population is of Portuguese descent. I mostly do the 401(k) rollovers when they retire so they don’t lose any money. I also (work with) attorneys up there that can do all their estate planning work. And then I have disability attorneys to help them get their disability benefits.”
Hackney is planning on spending one week a month in New Jersey to oversee the operations there. But he won’t be ignoring his Palm Coast office. Next year he is planning on building a new office in The Hammock.
“I don’t want to spread myself too thin, because everyone now is in home consultation, but I’m getting too busy for that, and it puts me on the road a lot,” he said. “So I’m going to build a new office in The Hammock on AIA.”
