Benjamin F. Cummings, PhD, CFP®, is a partner and the Chief Compliance Officer at Blue Barn Wealth as well as the director of the Masters Program in Personal Financial Planning at Utah Valley University, which is one of the top personal financial planning programs in the country.

Benjamin has completed award-winning research, including the best paper of the year in the Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning. He has also published research in the Journal of Financial Planning, the Journal of Financial Service Professionals and the Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance. He is the new editor of the Journal of Personal Finance and he has been quoted in national media, including MarketWatch, Forbes and USA Today.

Benjamin is a recognized thought leader in financial planning.  While working on his PhD at Texas Tech University, he led a team of his colleagues to win the national iOMe Challenge, resulting in meeting with members of Congress to discuss ideas to improve the retirement outlook of younger Americans. Benjamin also testified at a Department of Labor hearing about the regulation of professional financial advice.  Benjamin has contributed to projects funded by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA).

Previously, Benjamin was an associate professor of behavioral finance at the American College of Financial Services. Prior to that he was an assistant professor in the finance department at Saint Joseph’s University and the program director for the CFP Board-registered undergraduate financial planning program. He also worked as the scholar in residence at the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board), and for FJY Financial, a fee-only, financial-planning firm in Northern Virginia.

Benjamin received a B.S. in psychology from Utah State University, where he was the valedictorian of the psychology department. He later received a PhD in personal financial planning from Texas Tech University.

Benjamin served as the director of career development for the Financial Planning Association—Philadelphia Tri-State Chapter, where he organized its first career day, now in its fifth year. He currently serves on a committee under the CFP Board Council on education that is focused on future issues facing the profession. When not working, Benjamin enjoys spending time with his wonderful family and volunteering for his church.

Jeff is a managing partner at Blue Barn Wealth, where he enjoys working with clients to simplify their life and master their finances. Jeff recently served as the Chairman of the Utah Chapter of the Financial Planning Association, and taught in the Personal Financial Planning Program at Utah Valley University one of the top personal financial planning programs in the country. Prior to Blue Barn Wealth, Jeff worked as a Senior Advisor at Soltis Investment Advisors and acted as interim CEO of Ampelis, a corporate and family consulting company, focused on successful transitions of culture and assets between generations.

Prior to joining Soltis, Jeff was an award-winning faculty member in Finance and Economics at Case Western Reserve University, an equity analyst in National City Bank’s Private Client Group, an analyst at Lee Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor in Dallas, TX, and an analyst at Crow Holdings.

Jeff earned a Doctorate degree in Economics from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas along with a Bachelors of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Jeff is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Hyrum is a managing partner at Blue Barn Wealth, LLC and has a PhD in personal financial planning from Texas Tech University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Utah and a bachelor’s in accounting from Utah State University. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. Prior to the merger of Financial Planning Office, LLC and Blue Barn Wealth, he was the managing partner at Financial Planning Office, LLC.

Hyrum has also taught and published research related to financial-planning topics since 2009—first at Virginia Tech, then transitioning in 2013 to teaching tax planning and retirement planning in Utah Valley University’s (UVU) Personal Financial Planning Program, which is one of the top financial-planning programs in the country. In 2018, he was awarded the Most Outstanding Professor of Year in UVU’s Woodbury School of Business. He uses his passion for teaching to simplify complicated financial topics for others and educate them so they feel more empowered in what they do.

On a personal level, Hyrum enjoys spending available time with his wife and five children, whether that be working in the yard, going on hikes, watching a sporting event, running a half marathon with his daughter, attending a good play or musical concert with his wife or cheering the Yankees on to hopefully another world series! He also enjoys working with youth in the community, whether at church or helping to coach a basketball, football or baseball team.

Scott H. Garbutt, CFP®, has worked in the financial industry since 1978. Scott received his designation as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional in 1983. He was a co-owner and executive vice president of Strategis Financial Group since January 1991 before partnering with Blue Barn Wealth in 2024.

Scott spent more than 10 years as a financial consultant with Foster & Marshall, Inc. and Sherson Lehman Hutton before starting Strategis. He has a bachelor’s degree in business from BYU’s Marriott School of Management.

Mark T. Sumsion has worked in the financial industry since 1987. He was a founding owner, officer, and director of Strategis Financial Group. Mark also served as one of 20 members of the prestigious Fidelity Executive Advisor Council. He was formerly a financial consultant investment manager at Shearson Lehman Hutton. He also earned a business management degree from BYU’s Marriott School of Management.

Stanford specializes in income tax planning, wealth transfer and estate planning, philanthropic planning and asset management for families and entrepreneurs. Stanford graduated from the S.Q. Quinney School of Law (University of Utah) and then received his LL.M. in Taxation from UC Irvine. He currently serves as the Treasurer Secretary of the Tax Section of the Utah State Bar. Stanford received his bachelors degree from Utah Valley University in Personal Financial Planning with a minor in Business Management. During Stanford’s undergrad, he worked to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. Combining his CFP® with his LLM in Taxation, Stanford is well-equipped to be an asset for his clients in planning around their personal finances and in navigating their tax picture.

Stanford is entrepreneurial oriented and started several businesses while in college. Stanford loves spending his free time with his wife skiing, mountain biking, scuba diving, canyoneering, and playing sports.

Justin is an Associate Advisor at Blue Barn Wealth, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, and just completed a Masters Degree in Financial Planning and Analytics at Utah Valley University.

Justin enjoys the world of finance and helping individuals succeed. He believes that the most important things in life are spending time with the ones you love and enriching the lives of others. In his down time, Justin loves to spend time with his wife and siblings. His favorite activities include tennis, snowboarding, singing, and playing board games. Justin, his wife, and their dog live happily in Fairview, UT.

Wyatt graduated from Utah Valley University (UVU) in 2024 with a degree in Personal Financial Planning and a minor in business management. Wyatt has enjoyed the application of personal finance in his life and has a passion for helping others reach their own financial goals and pursuits. While at UVU, he served in leadership for the personal financial planning student association and recruited students to the university through the honors program.

Outside of work, Wyatt can be found golfing and playing pickleball. He enjoys the outdoors and backyard BBQ games such as spikeball and cornhole.

Nathan graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, in 2022 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, concentrating in Financial Management and Accounting. Passionate about personal finance, he is dedicated to helping others manage their financial journeys and reach their goals. Nathan approaches both his professional and personal life with enthusiasm and initiative and is guided by the motto “Engage in life”.

Outside of work, he enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, camping, skiing, hunting, and fishing, as well as spending quality time with family and friends. 

Siria graduated from Utah Valley University (UVU) in 2022 with a degree in Personal Financial Planning. Siria is passionate about helping individuals and families achieve their financial goals. During her time at UVU, she volunteered at the Money Success Center where she helped students learn about budgeting, credit, and student loans.

During her free time, Siria loves to spend time with her family and friends. She enjoys playing pickleball, learning how to play new board/card games, and watching shows that make her laugh.

Jacob is an Operations Director committed to empowering individuals and teams by providing tools and systems needed to help them succeed. He has a Bachelor’s degree from Utah Valley University in Personal Financial Planning and over 10 years of experience in financial planning, operations, and client support. Jacob and his husband enjoy home projects, caring for their yard, and traveling.

What brings Cindy the most happiness is serving and helping others in her family, her church, and her community. She graduated from BYU-Idaho with a degree in Business and Human Resource Management. She has four adult children and eight grandchildren. Cindy and her husband live on a small farm raising fainting goats and growing alfalfa. She also loves spending time with her kids and grandkids, traveling, hiking, and working at Blue Barn Wealth.

Quincey is an intern at Blue Barn Wealth and is a student in the Personal Financial Planning Program at Utah Valley University (UVU). She was first inspired to study financial planning by attending UVU’s Financial Planning Academy for high school students, where she was awarded the Charles Schwab Scholarship.

During her free time, Quincey loves to spend time with her family and friends. She loves to dance, and has been instructing dance for the past 6 years. Quincey is excited to keep working towards her goal of helping others find financial success.