Hillary Sunderland, CFA®, CKA®

Hillary serves as Chief Investment Officer and serves clients from our State College, PA office. Hillary graduated magna cum laude from Bucknell University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, earned the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation in 2009 and the Certified Kingdom Advisor® designation in 2018. Shortly after graduating from college, she was deeply impacted through studying what God’s Word says about handling money and saw the need to take the message of stewardship, financial literacy and responsible investing to others. Hillary has co-led numerous small group studies focused on biblical financial principles and most recently was the co-founder of a firm focused on biblically responsible investing (BRI).

Prior to joining Beacon Wealth Consultants, Inc. and co-founding a BRI firm, she served as Chief Investment Officer at a federally Registered Investment Advisor with over $1 billion in assets under management.  In this capacity, she was responsible for oversight of all aspects of the firm’s investment activities including review of capital market expectations, manager selection, and strategic and tactical portfolio construction. She conducted fundamental and technical analysis on a wide variety of investments including mutual funds, stocks, exchange traded products and individual bonds, and provided high-quality strategic advice, research, and analysis to over 80 financial advisers and their client base through conference calls and seminars. In addition, she has served as a portfolio manager covering the construction of faith-based and socially responsible investment portfolios, taxable and municipal bond ladders and managed client accounts at another nationally-recognized firm. These skills, coupled with her passion for biblically responsible investing, have equipped her for her present role of leading the investment strategies of Beacon Wealth Consultants and giving investors a louder voice in the marketplace as they align their investments with their values.

Kimberly Jenkins, CFP®, CIMA®, CKA®

Kimberly is a Portfolio Manager at Beacon Wealth Consultants and LightPoint Portfolios. As such, she serves on the Investment Committee and coordinates with our Chief Investment Officer and client services team on many of the day-to-day details associated with managing and trading our clients’ accounts. She started out as our intern during her junior year at Liberty University then stayed on as our Marketing Coordinator and Client Services Manager. More recently, she was our Director of Financial Planning before assuming her current role. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Liberty in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Business with concentrations in both Financial Planning and Marketing. Kim is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, holds the Certified Kingdom Advisor® designation, and earned the Certified Investment Management Analyst® designation in 2020 after completing the Executive Education program through the Yale School of Management.

Investments & Wealth Institute® (the Institute) is the owner of the certification marks “CIMA,” and “Certified Investment Management Analyst.” Use of CIMA, and/or Certified Investment Management Analyst signifies that the user has successfully completed the Institute’s initial and ongoing credentialing requirements for investment management professionals.

Rick Laymon, MBA, CFP®, AIF®, CKA®

Rick Laymon is the CEO/Visioneer of Beacon Wealth Consultants, Inc., which he founded in 1997. Frustrated with the lack of excellence in available faith-based investing portfolio management options, Rick created the LightPoint™ Portfolios in 2010 and served as Portfolio Manager until 2017. He remains an active member of the firm’s Investment Committee.

Rick earned his MBA from the College of William & Mary Mason School of Business, graduating magna cum laude. Rick is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary®. He was among the first advisors to be awarded the Certified Kingdom Advisor® by Kingdom Advisors Founder Ron Blue in 2004. Rick earned a BA from the University of Illinois. Currently, he works exclusively with the firm’s high net worth/high income, business owner, and Legacy-minded clients. He also enjoys mentoring and teaching other advisors about his passion for Biblically Responsible Investing.

Cassandra Laymon, MBA, CFP®, CKA®, CPFA

Cassandra Laymon is the President of Beacon Wealth Consultants, Director of Institutional Sales for LightPoint™ Portfolios and a member of the Investment Committee.

Cassandra holds a Master’s Degree in Adult Education and an MBA, both from Rutgers University. She is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and a Certified Kingdom Advisor®. She is a dynamic public speaker and has presented at national conferences for the C12 Group and Kingdom Advisors. For five years she led the Biblically Responsible Investing special interest group for financial professionals who are members of Kingdom Advisors.

Cassandra partners with business owners and churches as a Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor to better understand their company retirement plans, to make them as efficient and cost effective as possible, and to help financial advisors and business owners to better understand their fiduciary responsibilities for their 401(k) and 403(b) plans.

Jacob D. Preston, CFP®, CKA®

Jake Preston is the Director of Advisory Services at Beacon Wealth Consultants. In this role, Jake is responsible for overseeing all aspects of financial planning for the company, as well as supporting independent advisors and sub-advisors with financial planning assistance and LightPoint™ Portfolios enrollment. He attended Liberty University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Financial Planning along with minor degrees in Theology and Biblical Studies.

Jake is passionate about the intersection of values and money. He serves on the Investment Committee and is the primary point of contact for advisors who use LightPoint™ Portfolios in a sub-advisory relationship. He desires to help financial advisors implement faith-based investing solutions and values-centered financial planning.

Colin Craig, MBA, CSRIC®

Colin Craig serves as a Portfolio Analyst and is based out of our State College, PA office.  As a Portfolio Analyst, Colin serves as a member of the investment team and is involved in several aspects of the company’s investment management processes, including investment due diligence, portfolio allocation/construction, and trading support. Colin holds the Chartered SRI Counselor™ (CSRIC®) designation.

Colin graduated from Geneva College in with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance, and went on to earn his MBA with a concentration in Marketing, also from Geneva College.

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA® ): The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA® ) charter is a globally respected, graduate-level investment credential established in 1962 and awarded by CFA Institute — the largest global association of investment professionals. There are currently more than 90,000 CFA charter holders working in 134 countries. To earn the CFA charter, candidates must: 1) pass three sequential, six-hour examinations; 2) have at least four years of qualified professional investment experience; 3) join CFA Institute as members; and 4) commit to abide by, and annually reaffirm, their adherence to the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.

Certified Financial Planner (CFP®): Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the CFP® certification mark, the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification mark, and the CFP® certification mark (with plaque design) logo in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

CFP® professionals must pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Examination, pass CFP Board’s Fitness Standards for Candidates and Professionals Eligible for Reinstatement, agree to abide by CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Rules of Conduct which put clients’ interests first and comply with the Financial Planning Practice Standards which spell out what clients should be able to reasonably expect from the financial planning engagement. These are just some of the reasons why the CFP® certification is becoming increasingly recognized.

Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®): Investments & Wealth Institute® (the Institute) is the owner of the certification marks “CIMA,” and “Certified Investment Management Analyst.” Use of CIMA, and/or Certified Investment Management Analyst signifies that the user has successfully completed the Institute’s initial and ongoing credentialing requirements for investment management professionals. [and/or requirements for “wealth advisors” and/or “investment strategists” and/or “investment management consultants” or in case of multiple certifications, “requirements for certification.”]

Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®): The Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) Designation is a professional certification that demonstrates an advisor or other person serving as an investment fiduciary has met certain requirements to earn and maintain the credential. The AIF® certification is a voluntary certification; no federal or state law or regulation requires investment professionals to hold AIF® certification. It is recognized in the United States and a number of other countries. The AIF® Designation assures that those holding the designation have a fundamental understanding of the principles of fiduciary duty, the standards of conduct for acting as a fiduciary, and a process for carrying out fiduciary responsibility.

Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor (CPFA®): The CERTIFIED PLAN FIDUCIARY ADVISOR™ and CPFA® are professional certification marks granted in the United States by Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor Board of Standards, Inc. (“CPFA Board”). The CPFA® certification is a voluntary certification; no federal or state law or regulation requires financial planners to hold CPFA® certification. It is recognized in the United States and a number of other countries for its (1) high standard of professional education; (2) stringent code of conduct and standards of practice; and (3) ethical requirements that govern professional engagements with clients.

Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA®): The CKA® certification is a voluntary certification; no federal or state law or regulation requires financial planners to hold CKA® certification. CKA® designated advisors have demonstrated the ability to apply Biblical wisdom in financial counsel, technical competence by earning the CKA® designation, espousing and practicing the Kingdom Advisors Code of Ethics and pledging to practice biblical stewardship in their personal and professional lives.