Michael J. Mansfield, MBA-FP, CFP®
Michael Mansfield
Owner and Financial Planning Consultant:
The Lynd Group Advisors, LLC
Michael Mansfield is the owner of The The Lynd Group Advisors, LLC, a State Registered Investment Advisory firm in his hometown of Ventura, California. Every facet of Michael’s history exemplifies his passion for helping others and his natural affinity for leadership: he earned his Eagle Scout award at age 16 and later honorably served as a Cavalry Scout with the United States Army. Michael attended Ventura College before he enlisted, then continued on with his education after his military service. He was extended an opportunity to work with a private financial planning firm while earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Cal State San Bernardino. It was there that he developed the passion for finance and insurance that continues to guide him. Today, Michael boasts an impressive set of financial credentials and experience: He is a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner, Michael is an investment advisor representative, and a former registered representative of a broker/dealer. Additionally, Michael is Life/Accident & Health licensed in California. To show his true commitment to the financial profession and his clients, Michael has obtained his Master of Business Administration in Financial Planning (MBA-FP) from California Lutheran University. For Michael, effective financial planning begins when the reality of the numbers and the needs of the individual intersect: the numbers determine the potential options, but the person sets the path. As a result, Michael is dedicated to educating his clients about the strategies and tools he suggests, not just presenting them with a product, so that they have the knowledge necessary to help them make the decision that is best suited to meet their needs. In his view, financial planners are most beneficial when they analyze the portfolio of a client and, based on their findings, develop a variety of recommendations that would provide the client with the best statistical opportunities for success. The client would then be able to select the option most closely matched to their unique needs. Michael is also an accomplished author of two books: The Wealth Puzzle: A Fiduciary’s Guide to Proper Retirement Planning and How Your “Financial Planner” Failed You: Retirement Income Planning Essentials. Feel free to call our office for a complimentary copy. Mike and his wife have 4 daughters and they love a variety of outdoor sports and activities. When not performing service for his church and community, you can find him playing racquetball at the gym. Contact him at Michael@TheLyndGroup.com
805-500-7035 x802.
Debra Mansfield
Debra Mansfield
Founder: The Lynd Group, LLC
Owner of The Lynd Group LLC, a retirement income planning firm Debra brings over 20 years of experience as a realtor in the California market. After helping many of her clients through the challenges of financially committing to owning a home while trying to manage their personal finances and prepare for the future, she has come to recognize a need for truly qualified financial and insurance professionals that are passionate about providing for the needs of their clients and their families. This passion for quality is what led her to establish The Lynd Group LLC. Through the Lynd Group LLC, she has been able to build a team that is committed to providing clients with competent, considerate and experienced financial and insurance planning services. Debra currently holds a Real Estate license in California. She also carries a Life & Accident license in California and over 30 other States. Debra actively attends educational events nationally to maintain her licensing and further her knowledge base for her clients. Debra is married to her high school sweetheart, and is a mother of three and grandmother to seven as well. She enjoys cooking, social gatherings, spending time outdoors with her dogs, and is most content when working on a project. Contact her at Debra@TheLyndGroup.com 805-500-7035 x801.
Tana Pennington RICP®
Retirement Planner
Tana Pennington
Retirement Planner
Tana is a Retirement Planner for The Lynd Group Advisors, LLC. Tana was born and raised in Ventura, California. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication and an alumnus of Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. Tana is a proud holder of the Retirement Income Certified Professional designation, RICP®, through the American College of Financial Services and Life/Accident & Health license in the state of California and Texas. With this, she serves as an in-house Medicare specialist with a focus on retirement income planning. Tana has over 16 years of professional business management experience in the private sector. At the helm of a locally owned business, she was able to navigate the company successfully despite the challenges of competing with major national chain stores. Tana’s management style fostered loyalty, cohesion, and increased productivity. She credits their success on building a strong team and a high level of customer service. Tana enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and four children. One of her greatest achievements is balancing family and work. As a native of Ventura County, she has a great love for the area. Contact her at Tana@TheLyndGroup.com 805-500-7035 x804.
Connor Sharon CRTP
Lead Accountant
Connor Sharon
Lead Accountant
Connor is our in-house Tax Specialist. He is a California Registered Tax Preparer (CRTP) and a Certified QuickBooks Professional. He offers tax preparation and bookkeeping services for small businesses and individuals. Connor Graduated Summa Cum Laude from Southern New Hampshire University with his Bachelors in Accounting. He is currently studying to take the CPA exam and has completed all education and work-experience requirements for the credential. When he’s not at the office, you will find Connor surrounded by his family or hiking the mountains of Ojai with his dogs.
Contact him at Connor@TheLyndGroup.com 805-500-7035 EXT. 806
Cathy Gulden
Director of Operations
Cathy Gulden
Director of Operations
Cathy is the Director of Operations at The Lynd Group. Born in Milwaukie, Wisconsin, she moved with her family to Ventura, California and graduated from Buena High School. Cathy brings over thirty years of banking knowledge and experience to The Lynd Group, acquired from working as a branch manager of a local community credit union. During her career, she had the opportunity to attend many training classes, seminars, workshops, and network with others in her industry. She is a certified IRA Specialist, a graduate of the Creating Member Loyalty Program, as well as a commissioned Notary Public. She has a passion for providing excellent customer service by cultivating and nurturing personal relationships with clients based on their individual needs and preferences. She is energetic, detail-oriented and driven, which allow her to connect with her clients and maintain great human relation skills. Cathy enjoys the outdoors, hiking, biking, and spending time with family. She also enjoys volunteering personal time to assist with local charity events. Contact her at Cathy@TheLyndGroup.com 805-500-7035.
Katelyn Prieto
Tax Specialist
Katelyn Prieto
Tax Specialist
Katelyn provides support to our Tax Preparation and Tax Planning Portion of the business. She has continued her background education through California’s Tax Education Council (CTEC). This background gives her an immense amount of knowledge on Tax Preparation and Data Entry which is a valuable asset to our clients. In her free-time, she enjoys spending time with her two kids, and hiking with her dogs in Ojai.
Contact her at Katelyn@TheLyndGroup.com 805-500-7035 EXT. 808
Michael Binger, CFA®
President of Gradient Investments, LLC
Michael Binger
Michael Binger, CFA®
Michael Binger, CFA®, serves as the senior portfolio manager for Gradient Investments, LLC. Michael brings over 24 years of institutional equity investment experience to Gradient Investments and its affiliated advisors and clients. He has extensive experience working directly with financial advisors designing and actively managing portfolios. Michael has successfully invested in numerous market and economic cycles giving him a level and depth of experience that is rare in this industry.
Michael started his investment career in Minneapolis with Lutheran Brotherhood in 1987 and gained experience managing assets in a variety of asset classes including convertible bonds, small cap equities and large cap equities. When Lutheran Brotherhood and Aid Association for Lutherans merged in 2001 to become Thrivent Financial, Michael was selected to work as the senior portfolio manager on the Large Cap Growth Team and Large Cap Alpha Team managing over $3 billion in assets. As the senior portfolio manager, he developed and oversaw the tactical investment strategies utilized within mutual funds, variable annuities, pension funds and insurance company products. These investment processes included proprietary portfolio construction strategies, security selection parameters and volatility controlled umbrellas.
Michael graduated from the University of Minnesota earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration-Finance. He graduated with honors and was the University of Minnesota’s “Wall Street Journal Award Winner.” Michael is a CFA® and a member of The Chartered Financial Analyst Institute and the Twin Cities Society of Security Analysts.
Michael’s media highlights include providing market insight on CNBC, Bloomberg TV and Bloomberg Radio. He has also been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Smart Money, Reuters, Business Week and numerous other local, national and global investment publications.
Tyler Ellegard
Investment Analyst
Tyler Ellegard
Tyler Ellegard
Tyler Ellegard serves as an Investment Analyst for Gradient Investments, LLC. His primary role with GI will be assisting the Portfolio Managers with analysis of portfolio performance and assisting with the proprietary investment analysis on individual security selection.
Prior to Gradient , Tyler worked for US Bancorp in Minneapolis, MN as a Wealth Management Advisor where his primary responsibility was building custom investment portfolios tailored to clients specific investment objectives and risk tolerences. Tyler is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Economics with an emphasis in Finance and is currently a CFA Level 2 candidate.
Jeremy Bryan, CFA®
Sr. Portfolio Manager
Jeremy Bryan
Jeremy Bryan, CFA®
Jeremy Bryan, Chartered Financial Analyst®, serves as portfolio manager for Gradient Investments, and brings over 15 years of investment experience to the team. Prior to joining Gradient Investments, Bryan spent several years working with investment advisors and their clients to design and manage investment portfolios. His in-depth knowledge of the private client market, along with his expertise in asset allocation, investment analysis and risk assessment gives him a unique perspective into the investment markets.
Bryan worked as an equity analyst at Deephaven Capital Management in Minneapolis and Surveyor Capital in New York City. Most recently, he was an equity portfolio manager at Alerus Financial in Minneapolis, where he oversaw more than $2 billion of assets under management.
Bryan was born and raised in Minnesota. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota and his master’s degree from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. Bryan earned his CFA designation in 2010 and is a member of CFA Institute. He also remains actively involved with the CFA Society of Minnesota.
Keith Gangl CFA®
Portfolio Manager
Keith Gangl
Keith Gangl, CFA®
Keith Gangl, CFA®, serves as a portfolio manager for Gradient Investments, LLC. Gangl brings over 22 years of institutional investment management experience to Gradient Investments. Gangl has a long successful track record of investment performance through various market cycles and has extensive knowledge of equity markets.
Prior to Gradient, Gangl worked as a senior portfolio manager for over 18 years covering various asset styles and market capitalizations for Thrivent Financial. He was on a team overseeing several billion dollars in assets. Gangl while managing the fund twice won a Lipper Leader Award, which is given to a fund that excels in providing consistent strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers. As a senior portfolio manager, he developed and oversaw the tactical investment strategies utilized within mutual funds, variable annuities, pension funds and insurance company products. These investment processes included proprietary portfolio construction strategies, security selection metrics and volatility controlled parameters. Gangl helped start and develop the quantitative department improving portfolio construction and risk monitoring tools.
Gangl graduated from St. John’s University earning a Bachelor of Arts in Math and Computer Science. He received his Master of Business Administration graduate degree from the University of St. Thomas. Gangl is a CFA® and a member of the Twin Cities Society of Security Analysts.
Gangl has been featured in Investor’s Business Daily, quoted in Bloomberg, Wall Street online, Reuters, Yahoo! News and other local and national publications.