Professional Focus and Services:

Fee-Only Comprehensive Financial Planning, Cash Flow Management, and Socially Responsible Investing

Professional Affiliations:

Certified Financial Planner™  (CFP®)  www.cfp.net

Accredited Investment Fiduciary®  (AIF®)  www.fi360.com

Member: NAPFA  www.napfa.org

Education and Experience:

Scott graduated in 1975 from Roanoke College in Salem Virginia, receiving a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree with a tri-major in Psychology, Business, and Economics, which has served him well in his financial services career.  He then spent two years on Wall Street with Garban Limited, working as a “broker’s broker” in the primary market for government securities dealers.

Before long, Scott felt a stronger calling to commit his life to making a difference rather than simply making a lot of money. He left Wall Street in early 1978 to spend two years as a consultant/salesman for a small solar energy company.  In 1980, Scott developed an energy audit and began knocking on doors.  The business took off, and within a few months, he was doing two to three audits a day, six to seven days a week.

While satisfying, the pace was grueling, and Scott also began to consider how he might be able to make a difference to a larger group of people.  He decided to parlay his energy conservation experience into the larger arena of commercial and industrial applications. Working for an Energy Services Company (ESCO), Scott offered shared savings as a means of financing energy improvements, whereby the company finances the project, and is later repaid with a share of the energy savings generated over several years.  While with the company, Scott put together a very successful $750,000 project for the City Hall complex of Newark, New Jersey.  It was the first of its kind in the country.

While developing and negotiating this project with the city council, engineering, finance, and legal departments, as well as local contractors to affect the work, Scott faced the challenging issues of race and poverty that were present in the city at that time.  This experience gave Scott a new level of compassion and appreciation for what many people in our society are forced to deal with.  He subsequently broadened his social consciousness beyond just energy conservation.  Scott left the field of energy to return to the field of finance, earning his Certified Financial Planning ™ Designation in 1990.

Scott was drawn to the specialty area of finance known as Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) as the next step after first establishing a solid financial strategy.  Today, his career has come full circle. Scott offers traditional financial planning combined with strategic asset management SRI programs on a fee-only basis, expressing his passion for affecting positive social change through the power and leverage of Socially Responsible Investing.

Community Involvement:

Scott historically has been quite active with his with his church, The United Methodist Church of Red Bank.  For several years he served as the stewardship chairman, which organized and ran the annual campaign to fund the church’s budget and other activities.  He has also served on the finance and investment committees for the church.  For 22 years he has managed the Church’s Restricted Gift Account in a Socially Responsible Investment Portfolio.

Personal Message:

Scott has several interests that reflect how he “walks the walk” in his personal as well as professional life. One of these is cooking. While not a professional chef, Scott has been accused of serving gourmet meals to family and friends. He enjoys preparing quality meals with a careful selection of ingredients, using organic selections wherever possible and practical.

Another area of interest is photography. With a deep appreciation for nature and a desire to preserve it for the sake of our planet and future generations, Scott felt strongly about having his photographs on this web site. Some were taken on his annual trip to the SRI Conference. www.sriconference.com  Photographs shown include Bryce Canyon in Utah, a sunset at his summer home in Castine Maine, and Falling Water in Western Pennsylvania, considered to be Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece, known for its enhancement of the natural site.

Having a strong interest in the arts, Scott is fortunate to own a timeshare in New York City where he stays while enjoying performances of operas, ballet, Broadway shows, recitals, and concerts. He also enjoys time spent in New York’s many museums, central park, and of course, some excellent restaurants. When it comes to music, most of the time, Scott listens to classical, opera, and Jazz. However, being a child of the sixties, Scott grew up listening to and playing rock n’ roll as a bassist. In fact, Scott’s band from the ’60’s, the Gross National Product (GNP) gets together once a year for a reunion concert at Waynesburg University in Waynesburg, Pa.

The annual GNP concert has become a tradition at the University, and April 25, 2019 marked the 49^th year that this event has taken place. Of the original 6 members, Scott and three others formed the nucleus of the band and were joined by ~20 additional musicians and singers this year. The concert, offered free to the students and the community, featured many types of music, including Bluegrass, Jazz, Classical, Folk, Country, Rhythm & Blues, plus good old Rock n’ Roll. Scott serves as principal bassist and as the musical director for the event.

As such, he manages rehearsals, creates many of the arrangements, and organizes the many types of music for a well-balanced show that showcases many talented performers. When asked how he does this each year, Scott stated that he uses the model that he brings to Financial Planning. As a CFP®, Scott applies the same comprehensive and synergistic way of thinking to organizing the event that he applies to organizing his clients’ multi-faceted financial lives. He can bring together many seemingly disconnected songs, musicians, arrangements, and other elements to craft a show that has filled the house for 49 years and has the university invite the band to return each year. The 50^th and final concert, postponed from last year due to Covid, is now scheduled for May 2022.

In the area Human Rights, Scott supports several effective charitable organizations. Directly related to his work with Socially Responsible Investing, Scott supports Green America, www.greenamerica.org  formerly Co-Op America.   Another area of strong interest is animal rights. Strongly opposed to the barbaric practice of testing consumer products on animals as well as “harvesting” animals for their fur, Scott supports numerous animal rights organizations such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare, www.ifaw.com   the ASPCA, as well as his local Monmouth County SPCA.   Sadly, Scott lost the last of 5 wonderful cats, Barley, this past year.  He will be looking for a pair of siblings soon.

Disclaimer:

Scott M. Buttfield has a selling agreement arrangement with First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC. First Affirmative Financial Network is a Registered Investment Advisor (SEC File #801-56587).  Scott formally was an Investment Advisor Representative of FAFN.

The credentials (CFP®) and (AIF®) listed above bear trademarks.