Josh Hartley, CFP®
Financial Planner
Josh’s first experience in investments came as a child. Gifts from grandparents over the years had been put into a savings account at the local bank. When he learned about the small account, he was amazed that the bank would pay him money just to let his money sit there.
His initiation into portfolio management came at Mississippi State University where he helped manage the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Asset Retirement Trust. This money was set aside by TVA for the eventual decommissioning of nuclear power plants. Divided between several participating universities, the fund is actively managed by students. The hands-on experience served to stoke Josh's excitement surrounding investments and solidify his desire to help every day people with their own financial future.
Josh started helping families with their investments in 2005 after graduating from Mississippi State University’s school of Banking and Finance. While skilled in many areas of financial planning, he likes to focus on retirement income planning, college planning and investment management. He works hard at trying to simplify the financial planning process for his clients. He has helped his clients navigate some of life’s greatest financial challenges, including divorce, the death of a spouse, the sale of a business, and the management of an inheritance.
Josh is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner. In order to qualify as a CFP®, he has met stringent education, experience and ethics requirements and voluntarily subjected himself to rigorous examination to prove his expertise in financial planning.
Josh attends First Baptist Church, Columbus, MS and enjoys reading, watching movies, and traveling. But most of all, he loves spending time with his wife, Sara, his son, Preston, and his dogs, Cujo, LJ and Scooby.
Jess Stephens
Client Services Manager
Jess is the face of Milestone. She is the first person you see when you walk into the office. Her positive energy and can-do attitude set the tone for all we do.
Her first job was in banking. She had a knack for working with customers and knew that wherever life took her, she wanted to be working with the public. Jess's next major career change took her from banking into the medical field. Her people skills were essential in smoothing out the relationships between the patients, healthcare providers, and the health insurance companies.
What led Jess to Milestone was her desire to work with a smaller group of clients on a more intimate basis. Medical patients tend to come and go, offering very few long term relationships. The idea of building relationships to last a lifetime was a big motivation for Jess to join our practice.
Jess is a Columbus native, but has also lived in Chicago, IL and Dyersburg, TN. But "home is where the heart is" and she was eventually drawn back home to Columbus.
She is happily married to her husband, David. They have one daughter, Ashley, who is currently working in the fashion industry in New York City.
