Get to Know: Luke Bruns

Luke Bruns grew up on a farm between Frederick and Hecla, but Aberdeen has always been a special place to him.

“Although I didn’t grow up in the city of Aberdeen, I have always felt like I have been from here,” Bruns said. “I moved to Spearfish to attend Black Hills State University for my first two years of college, but realized that the Aberdeen area was the place for me and moved back to finish my education at Presentation College.”

Bruns started his career as an intern for Northwestern Mutual in 2009 while he was attending Presentation College.

“I enjoyed each of those schools in their own way,” Bruns said. “However I liked finishing at Presentation College because it had the same small class size and close-knit culture as Hecla and Frederick that served me well later in my career as I grew connections and built a team.”

After graduating in 2010, Bruns started his own wealth management practice and 13 years later merged with Steve Ford to form True North Wealth Management in June of 2022, where he now serves as the Managing Director/Wealth Management Advisor. In addition, Luke serves as the Managing Director for Northwestern Mutual in northeast and central South Dakota helping new entrepreneurial financial advisors start and grow their own wealth management practices. They have offices in Aberdeen, Watertown, Mobridge, and Pierre and will be expanding into Huron in 2024. //

Q: How does your work reflect your passion?

My work as a financial planner directly connects with my passion for teaching and coaching. Before switching my major in college to business I was majoring in education with a minor in coaching. I was grateful to find a career that balanced my passion for these areas with the business industry by owning a practice that focuses on teaching and guiding others to live their best life now while planning for the future.

Q: What is something that you love about the Aberdeen community?

Something I love about Aberdeen is that it is small but big at the same time. Small enough that it’s easy to get around, everyone seems to know everyone which leads to having a more broad scope of relationships, and the community really comes together to rally around common causes. However, it is still big enough to have plenty of opportunities for business, schools, family activities, and dining!

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

In my free time I like spending time with family, friends, and anything related to sports. I’m fortunate to have grown up 35 miles from Aberdeen and my wife Maggie grew up here in town. So we have both sets of our parents close by and are very thankful we, and our four boys, get to spend time with them often. We love hanging out with our friends, traveling, and spending time at the lake. Lastly my passion for sports has thankfully rubbed off on my children so we spend most of our family free time watching, playing, and traveling to sporting events.

Q: What is your favorite places to go in Aberdeen?

Perfect segue from the question above as Northern Athletics is one of my favorite places to go with my family, friends, and colleagues. We have season tickets and rarely miss a football or basketball game!

Q: Why is community involvement important to you?

Being the owner of a small business, I can directly see the impact that we can make on the community. One of our values at True North Wealth Management is “Impact”. That can mean to our clients, to our colleagues, to our families, and of course to our community. We take great pride in supporting our local schools, businesses, and community members in need. Our favorite event each year is our Links for Lemonade Golf Scramble, where we’ve raised over $10,000. We have been able to donate to Alex’s Lemonade Stand and their mission to find a cure for pediatric cancer and support local families in our community that have been impacted.

Q: What is one word you would use to describe yourself?

The best word to describe myself is passionate. Whether it’s regarding my family, my profession, or my favorite sports teams, you know where I stand.

Q: How did you decide to get involved in your line of work?

I was lucky that a lifelong friend of mine, Derrick Dinger, introduced me to an internship with Northwestern Mutual. He was the Managing Director for NM at the time here in Aberdeen and gave me the opportunity to test drive a career in financial services. I immediately fell in love with the unique impact we were able to provide to clients, the team culture Northwestern Mutual and Derrick had created, and the entrepreneurial nature that the opportunity provided me to own my own practice, to be in control of my own trajectory and build something that can last generations.

More information about Northwestern Mutual and True North Wealth Management can be found at truenorth.nm.com. Photo by Troy McQuillen.