Stephen A. Mathias, Jr. | MBA, CPA/PFS, CFP™

Steve Mathias was born in Litchfield, IL and grew up in Carlinville, IL, as the oldest of six children. He was very active in church, school, and the community. At Carlinville High School, Steve lettered in football, basketball, track and baseball, and participated in band and chorus. He graduated with honors, having been President of the National Honor Society.

Steve then attended Millikin University in Decatur, IL graduating in 1967 with a BS degree in Business Administration. While there, Steve was active in many organizations such as Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Alpha Kappa Psi and was President of the Senior Class. Steve also lettered in football, track and baseball. His senior year he was voted Most Valuable Player, All Conference and was Honorable Mention NAIA All America as a running back. In 1976 he was inducted into the Millikin Athletic Hall of Fame and currently serves on the committee to select future inductees. Today, Steve is still a very active alumnus having been chairman of the St. Louis Area alumni group and was presented with the Millikin Alumni Loyalty Award in 1998.

Following Millikin, Steve began his career with IBM in systems and marketing. He became the Midwest Regional Marketing Manager at STAT:TAB and later was marketing manager, branch manager and district manager with Control Data. In 1986, Steve decided to leave the large corporate world and started his own small consulting firm, Stephen Mathias & Co., Inc.

Steve continued his education by earning an MBA from Saint Louis University (SLU) in 1972 in Finance and Marketing. After taking additional courses in Accounting, Steve passed the CPA exam in 1980. He began teaching as an adjunct professor at the St. Louis Community Colleges, the Saint Louis University School of Business and later at Webster University.

When Steve began his CPA/consulting firm in 1986, he developed relationships with small businesses and professionals that led to assignments in tax preparation and financial planning. These experiences along with an interest in investments led Steve to the decision to focus on tax, financial and investment planning.

Upon beginning the concentration in financial planning, Steve earned several key certifications, designations, and licenses. As a CPA, he was one of the first to earn the AICPA designation Personal Financial Specialist (PFS). He is a member of the Illinois Society of CPA’s and the Missouri Society of CPA’s, having served twice as chairman of the state’s Personal Financial Planner’s Committee. Steve has been the Missouri delegate to the National AICPA Personal Financial Planning Technical Conference several times.

Steve earned another highly valued designation - the Certified Financial Planner (CFP^TM). Six modular tests were required to demonstrate expertise in assisting clients with all the phases of comprehensive financial planning. In conjunction with the CFP^TM he has been active in the Financial Planning Association (FPA) attending several national conferences and retreats.

In order to legally advise and implement investment and insurance plans, various licenses and registrations are required. Steve possesses the Series 7, Series 63 and Series 65 registrations. Separately, he has insurance licenses in various states, the Long Term Care certification (Illinois), and has established STEPHEN MATHIAS & CO., INC. as a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA).