Our Team

• CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional
• Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®)
• Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®)
• Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®)
• FINRA Series 6, 7, 63 and 66
• Life, Health, and Long-Term Care Insurance Licenses

Personal

Doug grew up on a dairy farm in Idaho where he learned the ins and outs of building a business through hard work and accountability. He ultimately landed in Des Moines, IA, to play baseball at Grand View University, where he met his wife, Madeline. They now reside in Ankeny, IA, and have three children – Ripken, Roman, and Remington. Doug enjoys being very involved with Ripken’s hockey/baseball programs and looks forward to supporting Roman and Remington’s developing passions in life. Outside of Benson Wealth Management, Doug also started a non-profit youth hockey organization called the Team Iowa, Renegades. In typical Doug fashion, when he saw an opportunity for improvement of youth development in Des Moines hockey, he pounced. Started in 2021, the organization has grown to support 30 kids. Doug’s hobbies include hunting in various areas of the country, spending time on their farm, CrossFit, Hope Ankeny, and spending time with his family and friends.

Background and Expertise

Doug has been in the Financial Planning business since 2010, quickly creating one of the fastest growing and respected firms in the country. The team he has built is award winning. He spends most of his time meeting with physicians, business owners, executives, and folks in the agriculture industry. He believes what sets us apart is our commitment to our clients which means his team continues to educate themselves to stay on the cutting edge of financial planning, being the center of our clients’ financial lives, and being available to meet regularly to stay up to date with our clients as things inevitably change.

When you meet with Doug and our team, you can be confident you’re going to meet with a knowledgeable and respected firm, who cares enough to take a close look at every aspect of your life, finances, and business. After we have a clear understanding of this and what you’re trying to accomplish, we are going to create a comprehensive financial plan which encompasses every aspect of planning along with mathematics to support any strategies we recommend. Our goal is to make the complex simple and empower our clients with education so they can make more intelligent decisions.

Andrew has been in the financial planning industry for over 10 years. He enjoys helping clients plan for and reach their financial aspirations. He joined Benson Wealth Management in 2017. Prior to that he spent 5 years at RBC Wealth Management. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a BBA in Finance. Andrew has earned the CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, RICP®, and WMCP® designations and currently holds the FINRA Series 7 and 66 Securities Registrations.

Andrew currently resides in Ankeny with his son Liam. Outside of the office he enjoys spending time with family, golfing, playing basketball, working out and cheering on his Iowa Hawkeyes.

JD Smith grew up in the Des Moines area and went to college at Grandview University, where he played baseball while studying Business Management. JD currently resides in Ankeny with his wife Jeni, and two girls, Hadley and Lainey. He started his career at Northwestern Mutual in early 2012, where he specializes in working with established families, small business owners, sales, medical and real estate professional on comprehensive financial planning.

Outside of helping clients with sound financial planning you can find JD rooting for the Iowa Hawkeyes and Chicago Cubs, spending time with his two girls, enjoying the outdoors, and actively pursuing fitness and a healthy lifestyle through Crossfit.

Steve has 25+ years of experience in the financial services and asset management industries as an analyst, portfolio manager, product manager, and product specialist – most recently as a Product Specialist at Sophus Capital and Sr. Product Manager at Principal.

Steve has a strong understanding of the capital markets and their relationship to the macro-economic environment. He has written white papers and blogs, and presented on the benefits of liquid alternatives, real assets, and emerging markets.

His experience encompasses multiple market cycles and will help our clients as he works with our comprehensive financial planning team to develop portfolio design and investment strategies.

Steve graduated from the University of Missouri – Columbia where he earned his BA in Economics and completed his MBA in Finance, all while playing basketball under scholarship. He has earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) designation and has his Series 7 Securities Registration.