BOX FINANCIAL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Coordinator
- Client Service Associate
Amber joined Box Financial Advisors in September of 2014 with a strong background in customer service and client management.
After graduating with a degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin - Stout in May of 2005, Amber pursued her passion for hospitality. Working as an event coordinator with a high-end caterer for over five years, she enjoyed creating that "wow" event. After her time in the hospitality industry, Amber moved on to carry further roles in customer service and administrative support always striving to bring unique and superb attention to detail.
In Amber's free time she enjoys spending quality time with friends and family both here in the cities and back in Wisconsin where she grew up. Amber is a " foodie" at heart and enjoys checking out new restaurants, living in the North Loop, downtown Minneapolis, and exploring all the cities have to offer.
As a client service associate, Amber is the main point of contact for all of Chris and Matthew's clients and can assist with any client service needs. Her responsibilities include:
Scheduling of Appointments
Processing and Tracking of Investment & Insurance Business
Handling Service Needs (check requests, address changes, changes to beneficiary designations and many other similar requests)
Marketing Activities
Special Projects
In addition to her client service associate duties, Amber serves as the primary coordinator of the firm's client events. Should you have any questions about the firm's client events, please feel free to contact Amber.
Job Titles:
- Business Processing Consultant
Bekah came to Box Financial Advisors in June of 2007. Bekah is a graduate of Maranatha Baptist University where she received a BS in Office Administration in 1998 and has pursued further education through insurance licensing courses as well as project management courses.
Before coming to Box Financial Advisors Bekah spent three years living on the island of Guam working for a private school ministry and then five years working back at her alma mater as an office manager. As a world traveler Bekah has also visited Japan, Australia, and Hawaii.
When not working Bekah enjoys being the favorite auntie to 11 nieces and nephews, helping raise money for Metro Women's Center, volunteering at Amazing Grace Home, and greeting at her church's reception desk for Sunday services.
With only three of her nieces and nephews in the Minneapolis area, traveling to warmer weather to maintain her favorite auntie status with the rest of her nieces and nephews is a must. Six of her nieces and nephews are adopted through foster care so both foster care and adoption have a special place in her heart.
After 10 years as a Client Service Associate and 4 years as Business Process Specialist, Bekah worked with part of the BFA team to develop a Business Process Unit. In 2021 Bekah transitioned to full-time Executive Coordinator for Doug Box, CEO. Her responsibilities include:
Executive Coordinator duties as assigned
Internal and External Newsletter editing and proofreading
Onboarding of New Hires
Business Processing Consultant
Compliance Projects
Special Projects
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Financial Advisor
- Member of the Blaine / Ham Lake Rotary Club
- Member of the MetroNorth Chamber of Commerce
Chris Hasling has been with Box Financial Advisors since September 2014. His career in financial services began while still attending college at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. After graduating in December 2004, Chris pursued his mission to help business owners and high net worth individuals realize their hopes, goals, and dreams through customized financial plans. To further that mission, Chris has obtained several professional designations including CFP® - Certified Financial Planner, MSFS - Master of Science in Financial Services, RICP® - Retirement Income Certified Professional, CAP® - Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy, ChFC® - Chartered Financial Consultant, and CLU® - Chartered Life Underwriter, and AIF® - Accredited Investment Fiduciary.
Chris is committed to the professional and ethical advancement of the financial services profession and attends meetings with various industry associations - National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA ), National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA), and Financial Planning Association are typical association meetings on Chris's calendar.
Chris is also involved in numerous community activities. Chris served as Chairman for the Mercy Hospital Foundation Board of Directors. Chris continues leading fundraising efforts and community engagement for Mercy Hospital. His passion for healthy, educated, and thriving communities fuels his resolve to stay involved.
Chris and his wife Niomi continue supporting the Panther Foundation where he once Chaired that non-profit board of directors. The Panther Foundation is a successful fundraising Board whose mission is to empower and support world class learning in Spring Lake Park Schools.
Chris is an active member of the MetroNorth Chamber of Commerce. In cooperation with other chamber leaders, Chris was part of the group that brought quarterly business council meetings to the city of Blaine. Prior to joining MetroNorth, Chris was a member of the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce.
Chris is a member of the Blaine/Ham Lake Rotary Club. Chris has been a Rotarian since February of 2011. Chris appreciates the Rotary motto - "Service Above Self" - and their mission - "Do Good in the World". Chris served as the Blaine/Ham Lake Rotary President for the 2013-2014 year. Chris and his family hosted a Rotary Exchange student from Argentina in 2013, and Chris and Niomi traveled with Rotary to Guatemala on a service trip in 2017.
Chris and his family live in Blaine. Chris finds his greatest enjoyment in spending time with Niomi and their children - son Bentley (age 12) and daughter Addyson (age 10). Chris enjoys watching Peewee Hockey games where Bentley is skating and watching dance competitions where Addyson performs.
Chris also enjoys water skiing, downhill skiing and running races of all distances. Chris has completed marathons in New Zealand, Fargo, Duluth, and Minneapolis. Chris has partnered with other community leaders to form a workout group in Blaine under the title of F3 (Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith).
Cyrus S. Shabaz CFP® has been a financial advisor with Box Financial Advisors since attaining his CFP® (Certified Financial Planner™) designation in 2002. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Financial Management in 3 years from Hamline University in 1992.
Cyrus began his financial services career in 1993 working with institutional money management firms across the Twin Cities as an investment analyst and trader. He started out buying and selling commercial paper and treasury bills. Before long, he was added as an assistant to a private placement team. Cyrus was fortunate in his career to be on the Municipal, Corporate, Options and Securities Lending trading desk as a trader. His thorough understanding of such a wide variety of investments has created a great foundation for his career as a financial planner. As an advisor, Cyrus practices in the areas of retirement, investment and estate planning. More specifically, Cyrus seeks to help people who are in "transition." People in transition are those who are planning for or in the middle of a major change in their life, such as retirement, the loss of a spouse, selling a business or estate planning for the next generation.
Cyrus was born and raised in Minnesota and now calls Lakeville, MN home. Growing up with strong Minnesota values, he combines practical advice with a conservative mindset to guide his clients.
Cyrus finds his greatest enjoyment is spending time with his two children, Sophia and Austin. Sophie is in her second year at Liberty University studying to be an FBI agent and on track to graduate with a bachelor of science in three years. Austin took his senior year of high school and enrolled in college at North Central University claiming a major in business.. Cyrus' motto with his family is to "Make Every Day Count". Cyrus enjoys being an active member of River Valley Church. When Cyrus is not with his kids or involved with River Valley you may find him on the golf course at BrackettsCrossing "enjoying the whole course". Cyrus' golf motto is: "Golf is God's way to keep us humble."
Since joining Box Financial Advisors in 2013, Eric has helped families live their exceptional lives. After receiving his B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Bethel University, Eric obtained his CPA designation with an emphasis in Personal Financial Planning (PFP). Eric has also earned the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation
His time with Box Financial Advisors has provided Eric with a vast depth of knowledge and experience through being responsible for all the firm's trading activities to assisting Douglas Box with his clients and their plans. Eric has learned the wealth management business from the ground up. Now with clients of his own, Eric enjoys helping individuals and families with more than $1,000,000 of investable assets with their complex financial planning needs.
Eric's responsibilities also include running the day-to-day operations of the firm as integrator. Using Gino Wickman's book, "Traction", he is working to implement the entrepreneurial operating system throughout the company to create excellent systems and processes that our clients can trust.
Faith, Trust, Excellence, and Care define the culture at Box Financial Advisors and align with Eric's own values. He married the love of his life, Emily, in December of 2017. Eric and Emily currently live in New Hope with their three children, Olive, Henry, Hazel, and goldendoodle, Axel. You can find them enjoying family time at the cabin, playing a round of golf, taking a family walk and being involved at their church.
PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS
Box Financial Advisors is committed to the ongoing education of our advisors. All of our financial advisors maintain certain professional designations. The designations maintained among the advisors include:
Jeff Severtson has been helping clients invest money and plan for retirement since 1984. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Jeff acquired an established financial services practice which allowed him to be mentored by one of the industry's top achievers.
In 2004, Jeff affiliated with AdvisorNet Financial to grow and expand his resources. After 15 years, Jeff joined Box Financial Advisors to gain full-service support for his business and expand the offerings that he is able to provide to his clients. Embracing new technologies provided by the firm has proven to be especially valuable in 2020.
Jeff lives with his wife, Janet, in Plymouth. They have two adult children, Kiersten and Bobby (Lera), and two beautiful grandchildren, Kaliya and Alexey. Jeff's family enjoys cooking together and hosting friends. A particular passion for Jeff is year-round outdoor cooking using his Big Green Egg. He is also an avid outdoorsman, fisherman, skier, and waterfowl and upland game hunter with his beloved dogs.
Jessica joined Box Financial Advisors in May of 2021 as a client service associate. She is the main point of contact for all of Cyrus Shabaz's and Jeff Severtson's clients and will assist with any client service needs. Her primary responsibilities include:
Fostering Exceptional Client Relationships
Facilitating Service Needs - initiating new accounts, check requests, address changes, changes to beneficiary designations and many other similar requests
Scheduling of Appointments
Maintaining Client Records
As a graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, Jessica has a strong background in relationship management and administration including 10 years of client service in the wealth management industry. She is also a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner (ELI-MP) through the accredited programs at iPEC - the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching.
With a passion for learning and people, Jessica spends her free time reading, connecting with friends, traveling, being in nature and around water. She enjoys living in south Minneapolis with her two teenagers, Justin and Kelsey, and visiting her parents in Alexandria, MN.
Jessica joined Box Financial Advisors in May of 2021 as a client service associate. She is the main point of contact for all of Cyrus Shabaz's and Dan Harrington's clients and will assist with any client service needs.
Job Titles:
- Financial Project Specialist
Joe Macken joined Box Financial Advisors as a Financial Project Specialist 2021. His primary responsibilities include:
Assisting the advisors with the development of plans, exhibits, and investment reports for regular client meetings
Special Projects for the Planning Department
Joe is a graduate of the University if St. Thomas where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Financial Management and a Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Studies in 2021. He plans on using his skills and education to aid the Box Financial Advisors Mission.
Joe grew up in Rochester, Minnesota and loves spending time with family and friends. Outside the office, Joe will do just about anything, but his obsessions include golfing, fishing, weekends at the cabin, traveling, and watching sports - especially MN sports teams.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Fellow
- Financial Advisor
Matthew Bearth joined Box Financial Advisors in 2016 with the goal of becoming a Financial Advisor. His time in the Box Financial Residency Program has given him the valuable knowledge and experience he needed to make this vision a reality. In 2020, he obtained the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation and now works with clients of his own.
In addition to serving his own growing book of business, Matthew assists fellow Advisor, Chris Hasling, in many of his client meetings.
Outside of the office, Matthew's interests include bowling, playing piano, and NFL football. Matthew and his wife live in Crystal with their four young children.
Job Titles:
- Business Processing Specialist
Nathan graduated from college in 2017 from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota in Winona with a Bachelor of Arts degrees in Accounting and Business Intelligence & Analytics. He joined Box Financial Advisors in July of 2022 as a business processing specialist.
Job Titles:
- Planning Analyst
- Registered Administrative Assistant of Cetera Advisor
Sarah came to Box Financial Advisors in May of 2006. Sarah is a graduate of William Woods University where she received a BS in Business Management in 2006.
Sarah and her husband John share a love of animals and love to spend time with their rescue dog as well as help with Sarah's aunt's dog rescue. Sarah also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, horseback riding, and cheering on her favorite sports teams including the Minnesota Wild, Minnesota Twins, and University of Minnesota men's and women's hockey teams.
Sarah is responsible for analyzing and generating most of the planning reports used for our clients. Sarah's responsibilities include:
Cost Basis Maintenance
Required Minimum Distribution Reporting
Performance Reporting
Financial plan inputs
Sarah Ta is a Registered Administrative Assistant of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC
Zach Stockdale-Green joined Box Financial Advisors in June of 2021 as a Business Processing Specialist. He is now a Trading Associate.
Zach grew up all over the U.S. and lived in states such as Texas, Florida, California, and Minnesota. Minnesota is his home now and he's grown to love it! He enjoys most any outdoor activity from leisurely walks to kayaking on the St. Croix. With a love for travel and seeing new places one of his life goals is to visit all the different naturally-colored sand beaches of the world.
Zach graduated from the University of Minnesota in Duluth with a Bachelor of Accounting degree in 2018 and brings to Box Financial his positivity and adaptability from the operations side of the banking industry.
Job Titles:
- Business Processing Specialist
Zane Peterson joined Box Financial Advisors in July of 2023 as a Business Processing Specialist.
Before joining Box Financial Advisors, Zane worked at Building Trades Credit Union where he worked as both a Lead Member Service Representative and Loan Processor. There, he gained a lot of knowledge on all aspects of the banking industry that he hopes to bring to Box Financial Advisors; member services, commercial and consumer loans, and compliance.
Zane graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2020 with a B.B.A. in Financial Markets Finance. There, he actively co-managed the Bulldog Fund, LLC, which was, at the time, a $2.2M equity portfolio.
Zane grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, and enjoys spending time outdoors with his girlfriend, Jordan, and their yellow lab, Winnie. In their free time, they love hunting, hiking, camping, playing sports, and spending time with family and friends.