The Strategis Investment Committee

With more than 70 years of collective experience in finance, market analysis and research, and estate, tax, and retirement planning, the Strategis Investment Committee understands the myriad complexities of financial success. The goal of the committee is to match your assets with the best investment strategies, products, trading tools, and consultants.

The investment committee selects and monitors investment strategies from among highly skilled independent investment professionals. Our process for evaluating investment managers allows us to identify those who provide the most added value. The sole focus of the strategy consultants is to generate superior investment returns while attempting to limit risk exposure. The investment committee constantly monitors those consultants and strategies to ensure they continue to work toward meeting your performance objectives.

Richard M. Oveson, PH.D

As a specialist in econometrics and statistics, Dr. Oveson employs economic theory to investments, pricing and production decisions in the private sector, and resource allocation in the public arena. His expertise is invaluable to clients' portfolio management and the market analyses he makes on the Strategis investment committee. Before joining Strategis, Dr. Oveson was a senior vice president at the Faneuil Group and a partner at Bateman Jackson and Oveson (now BJO Capital Management). He spent time as a faculty member at the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University and at the United States Air Force Academy. He is a retired United States Air Force Colonel. Dr. Oveson holds an MPA and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.     

Mark T. Sumsion  

Mr. Sumsion is the president and CEO of Strategis Financial Group. His expertise in annuities and his in-depth investment experience are critical to Strategis' investment committee. He has served as one of 20 members of the Fidelity Executive Advisor Council in the U.S. Mr. Sumsion, formerly a financial consultant investment manager at Shearson Lehman Hutton during the 1980s, is a registered principal and is licensed in securities (series 7, 65, 63 and 24), options, annuities, and insurance. Mr. Sumsion has worked for Xerox and was national sales manager for a small equipment manufacturer. He holds a business management degree from Brigham Young University.

Scott H. Garbutt, CFP ^®

Mr. Garbutt is a Strategis co-owner, executive vice president, and chief compliance officer. His experience in securities and his certification as a financial planner give him a unique perspective on the Strategis investment committee. Mr. Garbutt spent more than 10 years as a financial consultant at Shearson Lehman Hutton before joining Strategis. He is a member of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., and the Financial Planning Association (FPA). Mr. Garbutt is a graduate of Brigham Young University's business school. His securities licenses include series 7, 65, 63 and 24.

Flint J. Stephens

Mr. Stephens is director of marketing and sales for Strategis. In addition to more than a dozen years of work at Strategis, his investment background includes several years of writing and editing a variety of investment publications. These included The Ruff Times, On The Money, The Trester Compleat Option Report, Finance Over 50 and more. For several years Mr. Stephens was vice president of a company that taught free market business principles to Communist officials and aspiring entrepreneurs in the former Soviet Union. He also spent more than 10 years as a journalist working as an editor at daily papers in Illinois and Utah. He has a master's degree in communications from Brigham Young University.