John “ Jay” Hutchins, M.S., CFP®, AIFA®, CDFA™
Quoted by ABC News, Forbes, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, News Week, the Associated Press, Businessweek, Bloomberg, Investment News, MSNBC, CNNmoney.com, Morningstar, Dow Jones Newswire, and others, Jay Hutchins is a nationally sought-after source of expertise on investing, personal financial planning, and wealth management. (Google "Jay Hutchins Financial Planner" for a sampling of quotes.)
Experience: Mr. Hutchins is a twenty-five year veteran of the financial services industry. He founded Comprehensive Planning Associates, Inc. (corporate owner of The Wealth Conservatory trademark) in 1995, following a ten-year career as a Vice-president and Trust Specialist for the brokerage firm A. G. Edwards & Sons. His background also includes having held licenses in property-casualty, life, and health insurance.
Education: Mr. Hutchins holds the Certified Financial PlannerTM mark and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™ (CDFA) designations, a Master of Science degree in Personal Financial Planning from the College for Financial Planning in Denver, Colorado, and he has earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst® (or AIFA®) professional designation, awarded by the Center for Fiduciary Studies, which is associated with the University of Pittsburgh.
Memberships and Affiliations: He is a National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) Registered Financial Advisor, and is a member of both the Garrett Planning Network (GPN) and the Financial Planning Association (FPA).
Outside the Office: Mr. Hutchins serves as Trustee of Trust Funds for the City of Lebanon, Past-trustee City of Lebanon's Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center Fiscal Impact Fund, Chairman Lebanon Board of Assessors, Past-Chairman Lebanon Board of Zoning and Adjustment, Past member Board of Directors for the Lebanon Opera House, Past board member Stepping Stones/Next-Step (local mental health agency), Treasurer Emeritus Upper Valley Youth Services, Treasurer Lebanon Rotary Club, and is a past-Trustee for his church.
Jay is also the father of five grown children and husband to Jeanette, who serves as School Nurse for the White River School and Coordinator of Health Services for the Hartford School District. With children currently scattered across the country from New Hampshire to Chicago to Dallas and Salt Lake City, Jay and Jeanette hardly find time for their golfing, skiing, hiking, and boating between flights to visit the kids and grandchildren.
Michael A. Babcock, CFP®, CPA
Before becoming a financial planner, Michael worked as an accountant for almost six years. It was during this time that he saw first-hand how seemingly “small” financial decisions can have an enormous impact on whether someone reaches their long-term financial goals. He came to realize that people don’t deliberately sabotage their goals with poor financial choices; they simply lack the right information, tools, and guidance to make better decisions.
Seeing a tremendous need for unbiased financial guidance, Michael earned the prestigious Certified Financial Planner® practitioner designation and began delivering such advice in his own Fee-Only financial planning firm. He enjoys providing advice that focuses on the “big picture,” makes a real difference in peoples’ lives, and gives direction and meaning to their day-to-day financial choices.
Michael has been a resident of Springfield, Missouri since childhood. He lives in a restored 1913 bungalow home in the city’s historic district with his wife, Gayle, and daughter, Linnea.
Experience: Senior Advisor at The Wealth Conservatory, May 2009 – Present; Founder of and Personal Financial Advisor at Financial Planning Advocates, December 2003 – April 2009; Senior Accountant at Elliott, Robinson & Company, LLP - January 1998 - September 2003
Education: Certified Financial PlannerTM practitioner 2004; Certified Public Accountant, 2000; Bachelor of Science, Accounting, 1998, Missouri State University
Memberships and Affiliations: National Association of Personal Financial Advisors; Garrett Planning Network; Financial Planning Association; American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants; Greene County Estate Planning Council
Outside the Office: Michael acts on his passion for preserving local architectural landmarks by serving as a member of the Downtown Springfield Association and as a member of the City of Springfield Landmarks Board.
Steve Bell, CFP®, MBA
As a senior cost and schedule controls systems analyst at a large aerospace company, Steve Bell learned how to sort through, organize and analyze the volumes of information needed to efficiently convey the current cost and schedule positions of large space projects to their respective program managers. As a process improvement facilitator at the same company, he leaned how to walk key participants through an efficient approach to reducing the cost, while improving the output, of complex processes.
Today, Steve uses these organizing, analysis and communication skills, plus his nine years of experience as a personal financial advisor, to convert member conversations and information into logical and actionable financial plans.
Experience: Steve became a Certified Financial PlannerTM practitioner and opened his own Fee-Only comprehensive financial planning firm in 2001. He has been an active participant in our advisor’s study group since 2006, where he has been instrumental in our efforts to continually improve the quality and efficiency of our Board of Directors approach to wealth management. In April of 2009, he accepted our invitation to join the Conservatory as a Senior Advisor. His financial planning experience follows a 20 year career as a senior cost and schedule control systems analyst and process improvement facilitator at a leading aerospace company. Steve also served honorably and proudly as a commissioned officer and aviator in the U.S. Army.
Education: Certified Financial PlannerTM practitioner 2002; CFP® Professional Education Program, College for Financial Planning, Denver, Colorado, 1996; Masters in Business Administration, California State University, East Bay 1982
Memberships and Affiliations: Steve is a National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) Registered Financial Advisor, and a member of the Garrett Planning Network (GPN), the Financial Planning Association (FPA), and Tri-Valley Estate Planning Council.
Outside the Office: Steve is the Finance Committee Chairperson and member of the board of directors for the Mario Pedrozzi Scholarship Foundation. He is also an active participant in several ministries at his church. He and his wife Jean love walking California’s many beaches and rugged mountain trails. They also enjoy spending time with their family, especially their three adult children and two grandchildren.
Barry Seaver, Member Services Manager
Barry brings to our team a quarter century of experience as a private business owner. His managerial and organizational skills are instrumental in our ability to juggle the multitude of tasks we perform simultaneously and continually for all of our members in concert with all the other professionals who make up each member’s individual Board of Directors. Of course, what you experience when you interact with Barry is his superb interpersonal skills, wonderful sense of humor, and genuine compassion for others.
As manager of Member Services, his voice will generally be the first you hear when calling The Wealth Conservatory; and he is the person to whom you will most frequently turn for timely and attentive assistance with administrative matters.
Outside the office: Barry has extensive experience in, and connections to, the local entertainment community, appearing in many local productions over the years. He is best known and beloved, however, for thrilling audiences throughout the twin states with his "Tribute to the King" that you do not need to be an Elvis Presley fan to enjoy.