Josh Harmon ChFC®, CLU®, RICP®, WMCP® is the quintessential life of the party. Always happy to see you, million-watt smile, just wants everyone to have a great time. You would never know that underneath his happy-go-lucky exterior is a secret, super nerd who actually likes learning about tax codes. Gross. Luckily for Josh, his wife Michelle and kids Jack and Grace love him anyway.

At Harmon Smith Financial Group, Josh is the Bossman. The Fearless Leader of this dynamic group of hardworking know-it-alls. As a young finance enthusiast, Josh began working at Northwestern Mutual on the recommendation of a family friend. He took Josh out to lunch and ordered a bottle of wine. It doesn’t take much to impress Josh. This friend's sage advice resonated with him, “it’s not all about the Benjamins baby.” Or something like that. The point is, Josh was looking for something more, something that married his altruistic nature with his weird finance obsession. And it dropped right into his lap. Annoying right? Read on, it gets worse.

In the early years of his career, Josh worked his tail off, building a business that valued team culture and trained young advisors to have emotional intelligence along with their analytical skills. For Josh, the boring finance stuff is a small piece of the pie. What really matters are the long-term relationships created with clients. When you transition from working to retirement, Josh will be there to walk you across the finish line AND handle all the pesky details so you can celebrate a job well done.

Randy Smith is never going to retire. Do you hear that, rest of the team? Never. And why would he? After almost 40 years in the financial industry he still loves his job. Randy watched his own father's transformation going from a retail career to a finance career. Suddenly, Dad was happier, he was around more, and what stuck out most to Randy, Dad developed life-long friendships with his clients. After a very brief sojourn into pre-med, Randy pursued an Accounting degree at Boise State University and did an internship with Northwestern Mutual. He has been with the company ever since. And that was in 1885. Or was it 1985…

At Harmon Smith Financial Group, Randy is the SMITH so he’s basically the boss. Which is great for Randy because he has no other employable skills. Unless you count being awesome. Randy has mastered the art of taking all that financial lingo and making it digestible for his clients. He has also figured out that fine line of being approachable AND confident so as a client you feel like “YES. This is the guy I want handling all my money, and also maybe a disk golf buddy.”

Randy most enjoys the moment he gains a clients trust and knows he has made a life-long friend. When he’s not at work you can find Randy participating in road rally’s with his wife Traci and going to Grateful Dead stuff. Your old financial advisor will never be this cool.

Robert Shannon knows where he is going in life. Except for that one time, as a kid, he rode his bike into a parked bus and knocked himself out. Brutal. As a man of extremes, Robert doesn’t just run, he runs 100 mile races. And he and his wife don’t just have kids. They have five. But don’t start questioning his sanity yet..we’ve got more to cover.

At Harmon Smith Financial Group, Robert is a very dedicated financial advisor. He has genuinely been interested in this stuff since high school (See? Told you there would be more questionable behavior). Allegedly, Robert graduated from Southern Oregon University in Business. He has approached his work life with the familiar tenacity he approaches everything else...as a marathon, not a sprint. It’s that mentality that makes Robert so valuable to his clients. He is here for the long-haul and he loves a challenge.   

At the end of the day, it all comes down to one question -  will your money outlive you or will you outlive your money? You don’t want to be left wondering what side of that question you land on. And with Robert you won’t have to worry about it. He has your goals in mind, a solid plan to meet them and probably a playlist too. Robert can literally run circles around your old financial advisor.

PERSONAL

A lifetime resident of Idaho, I attended the University of Idaho. In 1996 I moved back the Boise valley and married my wife Kristine, and we have two beautiful children, Adeline and Collin.

Our family enjoys anything and everything that the beautiful Idaho outdoors has to offer.

I typically focus my time fly fishing the many waters of Idaho and hunting big game in the high-country.

PROFESSIONAL

After 11 years of managing and training sales teams in the Tech Sector, I knew there was something more meaningful out there for me. Purely out of desire to develop others I began my Masters work in Adult Learning and Development. Still there remained a void.

After losing my father to a very aggressive form of cancer in late 1996, I became all too familiar with the need for a financial plan for the family. I got involved in the planning that my father had done and was introduced to the Network of Specialists at Northwestern Mutual. Little did I know this was my first step in making a career change as a Northwestern Mutual Financial Representative.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing and Finance from the University of Idaho.

Nick Brown is here to win. You know how every kid either wants to be a professional athlete or a magical unicorn when they grow up? Nick became both. Not only did he become a professional golfer after completing his education at New Mexico State University, but he’s also a well-rounded, kind, thoughtful person. See? Magical Unicorn. But really, this guy from Cody, Wyoming is headed straight to the top so you probably want to hitch your wagon to him now, before he gets famous.

At Harmon Smith Financial Group, Nick is a Financial Planning Specialist. He works directly with clients to help them achieve their financial goals. He measures his success by his clients success and overall happiness. Truly. That’s not just jargon getting tossed around like pizza dough.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Nick relishes the continuing education opportunities available in the industry. He believes the more he learns, the more valuable he is to clients. No matter the task, Nick is on it. Full of tenacity, Wyoming grit and an oddly charming fashion sense (probably because of that whole golf pro thing).

Rich Freer is one fascinating person. Underneath that warm exterior is a big-brained, deep thinking dude. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Rich and his family are growing deep roots in Idaho. As a kid, he was an early pioneer of understanding financial growth and valuing your assets. In second grade, Rich packed up his comic books and at recess he let his friends read them, for the bargain price of $.25 per book. TINY. EVIL. GENIUS.

At Harmon Smith Financial Group, Rich is an associate financial representative. That sounds cool, but what does that actually mean? Like that DNA test you got for Christmas, Rich helps prepare strategies to create a comprehensive financial plan specific just to you. His innate sense of compassion fueled by his studies in sociology helps Rich guide his clients to the heart of their financial goals. 

Rich is one of the most genuine and empathetic people you will ever meet. No matter where you have been or where you are going, he is ready to meet you where you are. Eventually, Rich would like to use his financial knowledge to educate underserved communities on wise financial choices and build multi-generational wealth for their families, just like he is building for his. Don’t you wish everyone was this awesome?

Nicole Cantrill is an expert negotiator. With two young boys and feisty girl dog, Nicole, and her adoring partner Matt, have mastered the art of navigating life with as few meltdowns as possible. While at the University of Colorado, Nicole honed her super nerd skills (budgeting and planning) and has been putting them to good use in the finance industry ever since.

At Harmon Smith Financial Group, Nicole manages the planning and investment department. Her laser-like focus helps clients (and her coworkers too because let’s be honest) set realistic goals for their financial future. She’ll give it to you straight - every time. She’s like the Russian judge at the Olympics, but cuter. 

Nicole’s passion is telling people what to do, especially those young professionals. Helping them sift through the noise and mess of life to create a manageable path to their financial goals fills her with all the warm fuzzy feelings.