Who Is Stark Financial?
STARK means complete and absolute and at Stark Financial Group, Inc. (SFGI), our
vision is to apply our namesake to the total financial affairs of our clients with integrity
and ease. Our financial professionals believe in educating and showing you how you
can effectively diversify your portfolio by customizing a strategy that can address all of
your life events. From the foundation up, we help our clients build their STARK house,
one brick at a time!
As an Independent Firm, we work for you, not the other way around. We do not expect our clients to adapt to proprietary products like some of our competitors. We are able to bring many products and resources to the table to help fit your needs. We provide guidance, based on over 30 years combined experience with empathetic understanding.
At Stark Financial Group, we want the families and businesses we serve to understand the process and to make informed decisions. There is no “cookie cutter” approach. We not only develop growth strategies for our clients but also an exit strategy for the distribution of income, to help balance their retirement goals so that their savings may last through retirement. We do all of this while following our simple client experience process of – Appointment Setting, Fact Finding, Implementation & Maintenance. See here for more information about our process.
S
ervice Before Self
T
ransparent
A
ccountable
R
esults Driven
K
ind
Sean A. Stark, CPFA
Originally from Lima, Ohio, Sean has been building a
successful practice in the Financial Services Industry, serving individuals, families and businesses across numerous states for over 20 years now.
After working for a captive agency for 14 years, he finally took the leap to become an Independent agent so he could stretch his wings and really feel confident in the quality of service he was bringing his clients – and hasn’t looked back since.
“Being a business owner and being independent in this industry has given me a new perspective on helping others. I just had no idea how many options there really are out there for other business owners and families until I stepped out of the box and became independent. I have a humble confidence in what I do and what I’m bringing to the table for my clients.”
Sean’s goal in establishing his practice was to create an organization and process to address the complexities of investment planning and break it down into easy to understand language to help his clients work towards their financial goals no matter what chapter of their lives they find themselves in.
Before entering the world of finance, Sean began his formal education in physical health, excelling as a Registered Nurse and working for a large hospital in Ohio for 10 years. Sean enjoyed his role in management in Orthopedics before specializing in Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgery (mostly open heart). It was in 2000 that Sean then decided to carry that servant’s heart for helping people into a career – in Financial Health. He began by working on his own investment portfolio, then after realizing his passion for the business, he began helping friends and family until his practice grew into serving the needs of state and municipal employees and fellow business owners.
Sean’s active lifestyle includes traveling, golfing, hiking, spending time with family and occasionally sharing a quality bourbon with great friends.
OWNER
DIRECTOR
Shannon S. STARK
As the Director of Operations for Stark Financial Group, Shannon oversees the team’s daily business activities, manages its resources and is in charge of making sure the operational plan is in ongoing development…in short- she is always trying to make sure things are working smoothly and trying to constantly improve the processes for advisors and clients! Shannon previously worked alongside the Owner, Sean Stark, in 2014 as a fellow advisor and then came on board as the Director of Operations with Stark Financial Group in the Spring of 2018.
Shannon has worked in the financial industry for over 10 years. Her professional background includes analytics, management, entrepreneurship, business consulting and has held various roles in insurance, big banking and project management. She holds certifications from Harvard University’s Manage Mentor program in both Process Improvement and Organizational Leadership. She also holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology and Communications from Ohio University.
Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, Shannon’s interest in ‘growing money’ came from her foundation in the insurance industry (selling Auto & Home insurance as her first job out of college). She realized that there were options outside her wheelhouse that wouldn’t just protect a clients assets but that could actually ‘grow’ a clients assets.
In pursuit of this, she went on to become a licensed advisor. She later moved on to hold various roles within a large fortune 500 company and subsequently started her own business and nonprofit outside the financial world.
“I have worked for large corporations, medium-sized operations and have even owned my own company and non-profit. What we have at Stark Financial is unique and special and unlike anywhere I have ever worked before. I love that we pride ourselves on growing our practice with a strong- solid foundation built on trust first, transparency and leading with our servant heart- always. What we do fits who I am and it feels so good. I. Love. This. Business!
In her free time, she enjoys an active lifestyle, traveling with her family and friends, reading and being a soccer-mom to her amazing 9yo son, Xander.
BETTER TOGETHER
Our 8+ year long journey of knowing and working with each other professionally has taken us from trusted acquaintances to business associates to what eventually has become life partners. We married in 2022 in Ormond Beach, FL and the business is now run as a family, including Shannon’s son, Xander. Our favorite hobbies include hiking, visiting various wineries around Ohio and spending time in our home away from home in Chattanooga, TN. The term ‘better together’ is our story because together is how we ROCK our family life, this business and our personal growth.
TOGETHER
BETTER TOGETHER
Our 8+ year long journey of knowing and working with each other professionally has taken us from trusted acquaintances to business associates to what eventually has become life partners. We married in 2022 in Ormond Beach, FL and the business is now run as a family, including Shannon’s son, Xander. Our favorite hobbies include hiking, visiting various wineries around Ohio and spending time in our home away from home in Chattanooga, TN. The term ‘better together’ is our story because together is how we ROCK our family life, this business and our personal growth.
