Team

As a financial advisor and fiduciary, Justin assists families in financial planning for their future. Justin
provides a personalized approach to planning, and as a fiduciary, he is always focused on his clients’ best
interests. Justin is a tireless advocate for his clients, never losing sight of their goals, risk appetite, and
investment return objectives. Justin ensures his clients are making the best choices toward achieving their
financial goals. This requires more than investment selections and growing assets but also providing a base
of education and understanding for every individual client. He stays active coaching his daughter’s local
soccer team and focuses on giving back to the local community.

Matt has been a valued member of The Dean Financial team since 2019. He strives to ensure that our clients are optimizing their retirement plan by minimizing the risk they are taking, and provides opportunities to maximize their earnings. He also realizes there is so much more to a successful retirement than just investments, that's why he works tirelessly to ensure our clients have a complete financial plan so they can have peace of mind in retirement. When Matt is not working he spends time with his wife Ashlyn and their three beautiful children.

Stephanie joined the Dean Financial team in 2021. She works behind the scenes ensuring all applications and client requests are processed timely, as well as assists with our social media. Stephanie has a strong sense of devotion for the nonprofit sector and brings that passion to the office by coordinating our community give-back drives to benefit local children in need. Her happiest place is with her husband raising their young daughter and two rescue dogs in the Hickory area. Her hobbies include reading, baking, crafting and she's always seeking out the local coffee shop when traveling. 

Casey is the newest member to join the Dean Financial team and brings with her over a decade of management experience from a variety of customer service settings. She is the cheerful voice you hear when you call our office, the first person you will see when visiting with us, and helps with all of our office administration needs. Behind the scenes she maintains our social media pages, compiles our monthly client newsletter, and plans all of our public education and client events. Casey is passionate about people, animals, and her community and when she's not in the office you can find her reading and gardening with her two cats.

Hillary spent 9 wonderful years at Oakwood Elementary handling everything from payroll processing to helping children with a scraped knee . She works behind the scenes from home attending to the company's bookkeeping needs. In addition to that she is caring for their 1-year old baby girl Everly Jade Dean. Hillary's interests include cooking, spending time with her family and decorating spaces. She even revamped our current office space last year, bringing it to life with some new vibes and modern style! 

Anson has been working with Dean Financial since 2017.  He has assisted hundreds of clients with finding Medicare plans that best meet their needs.  He is passionate about finding retirement solutions that will meet his clients goals.  Anson lives in Advance, NC with his wife and two children.  He is the proud owner of a golden-doodle.  Anson is active in his church and his community.  One of the ways the he gives back is volunteering his time at local food pantries.

Chris has been with Dean Financial since 2017.  He has been in the financial services world for over a decade.  Chris has a relentless pursuit to ensure clients are properly taken care.  He lives in Boonville, NC with his beautiful family.  Chris cares deeply about giving back and spending time with his family.  He is also an avid golfer.  He prides himself on building lasting relationships with clients and always puts their interests first. 

Tony joined Alphastar as Chief Investment Officer in April 2019, acting as Chair of the Investment Committee and overseeing and guiding Alphastar’s investment policies, money manager partnerships, and portfolio model offerings. Tony brings a wealth of experience to the Alphastar team, most recently having worked with Sage Advisory Services in Austin, TX as the Director of Quantitative Strategies; helping manage multiple objective-based investment strategies and serving on the firm’s Investment Committee, providing input on ~$12.5 billion of AUM. Previously, Tony worked in product development and analytics with Deutsche Asset Management, Credit Suisse, and OppenheimerFunds in New York City. He is passionate about working on financial data science projects and specializes in quantitative modeling of multi-asset portfolios. Before moving to portfolio management, Tony began his career as a financial journalist, leading an editorial team for Investor Relations Magazine. Tony is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) and holds a Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF). He earned his MBA, with a concentration in Finance, from Fordham University in New York, a Certificate in Data Science from the University of Washington, and a BFA from Concordia University in Montreal. His favorite activities include movie-watching with his wife Bethany and son Robert, as well as recording buttery R&B bass tracks with his Rickenbacker bass.

Jaren joined Alphastar as Vice President of Advisor Consulting in June 2021.  In this role, he serves as coach, coordinator and cheerleader to our advisors, helping them to build thriving advisory practices and to make the most of their relationship with Alphastar.  Jaren has a passion for holistic financial planning and for the impact it can have in the businesses of our advisors as well as in the lives of their clients. Jaren holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification as well as a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.  His diverse history of sales, financial planning and business ownership lends a wealth of experience and expertise to Alphastar and our advisor teams. Outside of his professional life, Jaren enjoys spending time with his family and his church.  He is also an avid reader and fitness enthusiast who enjoys running, working out and being active.