Meet Our Team
Ernest Hathaway, CFP®, Partner and Financial Advisor
A founding partner of FSI, Mr. Hathaway functions as the Registered Principal of the firm. He brings over 30 years of experience and an extensive background as a financial educator. Ernest has excelled at developing a unique educational focus for current and prospective clients enabling them to understand and address their financial needs, objectives and goals. His core belief is that the better informed a client is about the strategies necessary to realize financial comfort, the more achievable the client's goals become. He has authored a book on financial planning titled, The 7 Things You Need to Know Before You Retire. He has conducted hundreds of seminars and classes on financial topics over the last 30 years for corporations, professional associations, and the general public. Ernest has taught financial classes in a formal classroom setting at both the University of Utah and Weber State Continuing Education programs. He also advises on insurance matters and draws from his management experience in prior firms, including partner in Growth Management Systems, President of Harvard Financial Services Corp., and President of LDI Financial Services. Ernest attended Seattle Pacific University majoring in Economics and Business. He also successfully completed the demanding requirements to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional through the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. Ernest has been quoted in many national publications including The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, Business Week, Yahoo Finance, Investment News, Kiplinger's, SmartMoney, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, Financial Advisor Magazine, and the Salt Lake Tribune. He has been a featured guest on the nationally syndicated talk show, Money Matters, and has appeared numerous times as a guest on CNBC television.  Ernest has appeared nationally numerous times on CNBC Television.
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Bil Jeppson, CFP®, MBA Partner and Financial Advisor
Bil Jeppson co-founded Financial Strategies Institute in 1994 with a mission to empower people through professional advice and financial education. The goal: create. Bil has conducted numerous training courses over the past decade. He has taught financial planning at the Continuing Education Departments of the University of Utah, Weber State University, and other institutions. Drawing from his extensive background, Bil helped craft the firm's investment philosophy. Financial Strategies Institute believes that proper planning is the key to achieving a comfortable retirement and that each plan has three objectives: substantially reducing risk, producing reasonable growth and income, and addressing lifetime income strategies. Bil has been instrumental in guiding the firm to its position as a premier source for financial education on the Wasatch front. He specializes in serving clients' financial planning needs, including pre-retirement planning, retirement planning, and estate planning. Bil received his BS in Marketing from the University of Utah and his MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles. He also successfully completed the demanding requirements to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional through the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. A long-time Utah resident, Bil is a devoted family man who also commits his time to serving in various leadership roles in church and business communities. Practice Focus
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Thom Hall, CFP®, Partner and Financial Advisor
Thom is a senior partner and a financial professional who joined Financial Strategies Institute in 2005, has been advising clients on how to preserve and manage wealth for over 15 years. Thom excels at developing a uniquely customized approach for each client's planning needs, objectives and goals. With Thom, the entire process revolves around the client. Thom believes that financial planning is about a person's values and not just their money. His focus is on protecting someone's purchasing power, not simply their principal. He feels it is important to develop the right retirement plan for an individual's situation by utilizing tools that help manage taxes, market volatility, and risk. He has taught sound financial principles to a wealth of individuals over the years and currently teaches educational seminars to corporations and federal agencies. He shares strategies that assist his clients in overcoming emotional decisions and helping to ensure his clients' income in their retirement years. He successfully completed the demanding requirements to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional through the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. In an effort to provide timely advice to his clients, Thom regularly consults with leading experts including Ed Slott, CPA, who Mutual Funds Magazine called "America's IRA expert," and Harry Dent, one of the leading economists in the U.S. A resident of Draper, Thom devotes his free time to his family and enjoys a wide range of outdoor recreational activities. Practice Focus
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Ben Marshall, CRPC®, Financial Advisor
Since 2002, Ben Marshall has been helping clients work towards achieving financial success. As a financial professional, with a degree in economics and an extensive background in banking, he joined Financial Strategies Institute at the beginning of 2010. Medical professionals, corporate executives, and federal employees rely on him for expert financial advice. With his background in banking, Ben specializes in helping clients manage both sides of their balance sheet. He has developed a highly personalized approach for each client's planning needs, objectives, and goals. When all is said and done, it is the client's plan, not Ben's. Ben believes in a comprehensive financial planning process that begins and ends with the client. His role is to facilitate a process that will help prepare the client for financial independence. He has found that working together with other professionals, such as CPAs and Estate Planning Attorneys, allows him to provide a higher level of service and expertise to his clients and their families. Educating clients and helping them understand the key elements of risk management, investing, income planning, and wealth transfer, is one of the key tenets of his practice. It is Ben's objective to help serve and act as a resource for all of his client's financial needs. He successfully completed the demanding requirements to become a CHARTERED RETIREMENT PLANNING COUNSELOR™ through the College for Financial Planning, Inc. Ben provides education and training for federal agencies, corporations, and medical professionals. In 2009, Ben and his family moved back to Utah from northern California and currently reside in Highland. They greatly enjoy the fishing, camping, biking and other activities that the area offers. Practice Focus
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Mark Christensen, Financial Advisor
For the past 10 years, Mark has been involved in the financial planning business. With an extensive background in fixed income, he joined Financial Strategies Institute in 2010. He believes that financial planning is about a person's values and not just their money. His focus is on protecting someone's purchasing power, not simply their principal. He feels it is important to develop the right retirement plan for an individual's situation by utilizing tools that help manage taxes, market volatility, and risk. He has taught sound financial principles to a wealth of individuals over the years and currently teaches educational seminars for various types of groups. He shares strategies that assist his clients in overcoming emotional decisions and helping to ensure his clients' income in their retirement years. Mark believes in a comprehensive financial planning process that begins and ends with the client. His role is to facilitate a process that will help prepare the client for financial independence. He has found that working together with other professionals, such as CPAs and Estate Planning Attorneys, allows him to provide a higher level of service and expertise to his clients and their families. Educating clients and helping them understand the key elements of risk management, investing, income planning, and wealth transfer, is one of the key tenets of his practice. It is Mark's objective to help serve and act as a resource for all of his client's financial needs. |
Ernest was raised on a farm north of Seattle, Washington that produced and sold goats' milk. Working alongside his parents and brother and sister, he learned first-hand the value of hard work and the satisfaction of a job well done. He also learned that he didn't want to be a farmer when he grew up! 
He was a straight-A student in high school and college and got his first taste of the business world as a wholesaler where he first realized that his unique ability was helping other people understand complex issues. His love of working with people, along with his academic aptitude, combined to give him the passion to become what he is today – an insightful and caring financial advisor.
The most important thing in Ernest's life is his family. He enjoys spending time with his wife, Kim, and their children, whether on their big trip to Hawaii this summer, on a houseboat on Lake Powell, or playing Settlers of Catan around the kitchen table on a Sunday night. "There is no amount of money," he says, "that can compare with the value of a happy family."
In his spare time, Ernest enjoys reading books, researching the stock market, and gardening. He is also heavily involved in church leadership. Clients and friends who have known Ernest for years are often surprised to learn that he also has his pilot's license.
When asked where he most loves to go to get away for a few days, Ernest always replies, "In the mountains." He and Kim often go to their favorite getaway spots in the mountains in and around Utah just to relax and escape the hustle and bustle of the city. "We've been surprised on a number of occasions to bump into some of our clients at our mountain retreats," Ernest said.
The first thing you notice about Ernest is his listening attitude. He really pays attention to the details of your circumstances and is committed to finding solutions for your individual situations.Contact Info
6955 S Union Park Center, Ste 250
Midvale, UT 84047
Map and Directions
Phone: 801-316-4100
Fax: 801-316-4101