Growing up in a rural town in northern Utah was an idyllic life for a young man in my time. My family owned and operated a small dairy farm and from a young age, I helped with daily chores of milking cows, feeding animals, and harvesting and storing crops. The value of hard work and the principals of reaping what you sow and preparing for the lean times were ingrained in my young mind.

I attended Utah State University in Logan, Utah and after one year in the Electrical Engineering Program, I changed my major to Finance. I was good with numbers but knew that I wanted to work directly with people in my future career goals. It was an immediate fit and I did well and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1984, with a degree in Finance and minors in Accounting and Economics.  

My first job after graduation was with IBM Corp in Salt Lake City in a sales capacity. In 1987, after several successful years there, I declined a promotion which would have taken my young family away from Utah and started my career as a financial advisor with a regional brokerage firm in Salt Lake City. I was one of the earliest adopters of a “fee-based”, commission-free investment platform and quickly integrated financial planning into my practice.

In 1993, I joined Smith Barney Shearson in Salt Lake City, and earned my CFP® certification. The two-year educational program leading to that was a key in my becoming a financial planning professional and has encouraged me to keep learning and growing as a financial planning practitioner.

In 2017, my partners, Jordan Collins, Brady Ririe, and I started Divergent Wealth Advisors, an independent and fiduciary investment advisory firm that has allowed us to better serve the needs of our clients.

Outside the office, I enjoy volunteer work for my church along with biking, hiking, golf, and spending time with my beautiful wife, four children, their spouses and 13 grandchildren.

I knew from a fairly young age that I had a knack for finance, math, and people. I was lucky that I found a profession early in my life that would check all my boxes. I tailored my studies and extra-curricular activities from my youth to try to obtain an enhanced skill set that could help me help others. Though it seems like an oxymoron, I'm an extroverted spreadsheet nerd who loves to learn complicated things... but even more than that, I realized I have a passion for figuring out how to simplify those complicated things and then teach them to other people. 

My love for working with people helped earn me a four-year full-ride leadership scholarship to Utah State as I served on the Presidents Leadership Council as a University and President’s Ambassador. I had the opportunity to directly mentor and recruit both high school and college students for Utah State. During my  junior and senior year, I had the amazing opportunity to serve with the President of the University as he routinely hosted dignitaries from across the country. 

Also, during my senior year, I interned for Smith Barney, a world-class wealth management firm. I felt immediately confirmed in my career decision that helping people succeed financially was exactly what I wanted to do. In 2006, I graduated with honors in both Finance and Economics, with an emphasis in Financial Planning, from Utah State University. 

I was accepted out of college into Smith Barney's nationally recognized training program and completed the three year training near the top of my class. My father, Rick Collins, and I partnered together with the objective of providing a unique interactive financial planning and investment experience for our clients. Over the next decade we grew to become one of the largest teams at Morgan Stanley in the state of Utah. 

From the start of my career in the finance industry, I was never a fan of the historically stodgy and archaic approach it tended  to portray. With a load of new ideas to change and disrupt the industry, in 2017 my partners and I resigned from Morgan Stanley and created Divergent Wealth Advisers, a firm that is redefining the value of an adviser. Most of our clients followed us and have been our loyal ambassadors on this amazing journey. This process of starting our own independent wealth management firm has allowed us an open architecture to deliver the tangible value I think every client should have the right to experience.

When I'm not focused on clients or disrupting the financial planning industry, you'll likely find me somewhere in the mountains with my beautiful wife (that is still far out-of-my- league) and our four amazing kids. If we aren't hiking, biking, or skiing in the mountains, I'm  probably dreaming of Lake Powell or criss-crossing the fairways of one of Utah's golf courses trying desperately to find the glory days when I was actually decent at the sport of golf.     

I love financial planning, solving complex problems, and executing a plan based on sound financial principles. My collegiate focus was tailored to help me find a position and firm in the world of personal finance. In 2011, I graduated as a Newel K. Whitney Scholar from BYU-Idaho with a major in Finance. During my studies, I served as the Student Body President and experienced incredible opportunities for leadership and critical thinking. During my senior year I worked at JPMorgan and UBS Wealth Management, gaining invaluable experience at two highly respected firms.

After graduation, I was pursued by multiple wealth management firms and ultimately decided to join Morgan Stanley for my start in the industry. I was able to quickly establish myself as a qualified and sought-after adviser for Institutional and Private Wealth Management needs by obtaining my Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS®) and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designations. 

During my first three years in the Morgan Stanley Cottonwood, Utah office, I often found myself collaborating and working closely with Rick and Jordan Collins. Our desires, visions, and work ethic were aligned and in 2016 we officially created a team and partnership that grew to become one of the largest wealth management teams at the firm in the state of Utah. 

With the continued growth, we eventually found that an independent fiduciary platform allowed us to better serve our clients in a way that made more sense. In 2017, we started Divergent Wealth Advisors with an emphasis on changing the way clients engage with advisers and haven’t looked back since.

When I'm not in the office, you'll likely find me on the soccer field, running the hills of Corner Canyon in Draper, or spending time outdoors with my four kids, Oliver, Miles, Hudson, and Isla, and my beautiful wife, Kiera.

Growing up as part of a blended family of 8 in a double-wide trailer, I learned early on in life the importance of hard work and education. I knew that if I wanted a life different than the one I had as a kid, I had to do all I could to make it happen. I committed to becoming the first person in my family to graduate college.

I attended Brigham Young University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 2005. At BYU, I realized that I absolutely love to learn. I often joke that if someone would pay me a living wage to take classes at BYU for the rest of my life, I would still be there taking classes. Fortunately, for my wife and our four children, I figured out quickly that my skills and knowledge needed to be applied to earn a living.

My love of learning and of understanding better how the world functions led me to law school. I received my Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law in 2008. After graduating, I went into private practice with the law firm of VanCott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy (now Fabian VanCott), the oldest and one of the most respected law firms in the State of Utah. My practice focused primarily on representing financial institutions in a wide range of general and outside counsel capacities. I handled everything from consumer-finance-related litigation to commercial & real estate transactions, sale & purchase agreements, security agreements, and bankruptcy. Early in my career, I learned that I enjoy understanding and solving problems, particularly financial ones.

In 2014, I left private practice and joined Paradigm Life, a Utah-based insurance brokerage doing business virtually in all fifty states. As a member of the Advisory Board, I worked as part of the Executive Team to help shape the direction of the company and to help navigate all sorts of challenges and opportunities. Through technology, I also had the opportunity to work and interact virtually with hundreds of individual clients all over the country to develop and implement their own financial strategies. As my career developed, I realized that I love being a part of a values-driven team and I love developing relationships with individual clients.   

In 2021, I was fortunate to join Divergent Wealth Advisors and to help form our sister company, Divergent Capital. Divergent Wealth is everything I could ever hope for professionally – an amazing, values-driven, and mission-focused team genuinely committed to providing the very best experience possible for our clients. In my role as a Financial Advisor and General Counsel, I help the firm stay on the right track and to ensure that we are always doing things the right way. I also love the opportunity to work with our individual clients. Having seen and experienced so much already in my career, I am grateful to now have a full suite of tools with which to help clients simplify their often very complicated financial needs.

Outside of the office, you will find me hopelessly cheering for my favorite teams (the BYU Cougars, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and the Seattle Mariners), meticulously cutting and maintaining my lawn, or fly fishing a mountain stream or lake with my wife, Sunny, and our four children.  

Growing up in a household of four brothers, I learned from a young age how to hold my own and eat as much of the cereal as I could in one sitting. Looking back, it taught me the basic principles of economics (supply, demand, scarcity, and abundance).

My parents and grandparents instilled in me a great set of principles to help me succeed in the business world. From an early age, I had a passion of figuring out how to make and manage money. I also loved making people smile. From neighborhood kid carnivals to my own lawn care business, I learned before I could have a “real” job what I liked to do and how to provide real value.

My real-life working experience started at the age of 12 at my uncle’s grocery store where I learned the ins and outs of retail sales. Even though my uncle eventually sold his store, I stayed in the grocery business all the way through my college years. I worked my way up at a large grocery store chain and shortly after graduating from Weber State University was asked to be the Store Director. In that position I managed the operations and finances of several stores along the Wasatch Front. 

Being the director of several grocery stores gave me incredible operational experience. I quickly realized not only did I love creating a well-oiled operational machine, I was actually really good at it.

In 2014, my family and I decided to take a leap of faith and leave the grocery business. My dream was to use my operational and logistical expertise to help a smaller company really move the needle and dramatically improve their client experience.

I became the Director of Insurance Operations for a firm in Salt Lake City and quickly learned that I had a passion for helping people solve complex financial issues.

In 2019, I was approached by Divergent Wealth about working closely with the founders of the company and running the operations of their entire business. The more I learned about their value proposition and desire to disrupt the financial planning and investment industry, I knew it was something I could quickly get passionate about.

I love working for a company whose entire mission is to provide their clients with an abundance of value and to simplify complicated things all while helping them achieve their financial goals.

Though I’m not perfect at it, I know life is about balance. So if you don’t find me in the office, you’ll likely find me with my wife and three kids exploring all the mountainous beauty and recreation Utah has to offer.

When I was young, my family owned a grocery store. I always worked there on the  weekends, bagging groceries and bringing in carts. My parents had us pay for our own clothing and save 50% of everything we earned from ages 9 to 18. Although it was hard to save the money I earned, I cannot explain the fulfillment that came from using that money for the early expenses of starting a family, and never having debt besides a modest mortgage. I have come to appreciate "Bridge Builders" and the impact they have on our lives.

I had the opportunity to serve my Savior Jesus Christ and the people of Jamaica for two years with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I work to emulate Jesus’ example of faith, hope, charity, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence, obedience, and other attributes.  

Because of the loving example of my Grandmother, I originally pursued a career in the medical field. I became a phlebotomist and was captivated by the processes and systems that both surround us and are a part of us. I am still mesmerized by the interconnectedness of everything around us. I ultimately decided I wanted to work in a field where I was helping people in a more positive environment. I took a personal financial planning course at UVU and never looked back. I geared as many of my electives toward the CFP© exam as possible and graduated with my BS in Finance.

My first role at Morgan Stanley was providing retirement planning services for most of the Advisors in the 4 branches across the state of Utah. This allowed me to have an inside view of how each advisor ran their investment strategy and worked with their clients. While working at Morgan Stanley, Jordan Collins reviewed with me the principles he and Rick built their investment strategy around. I recognized the wisdom of how they implemented these principles and have used their implementation with my own clients ever since.

I truly feel that I came home to Divergent. Every organization is a culmination of the sum of its parts, or the people that form them. I love how the people at Divergent value client choice and doing the right thing for each client, no matter what. I appreciate the resources provided here to help my clients be promptly aware of the changes we make in their investment strategy. I love the resources provided to help make sure every client is contacted regularly. I love that every client is valued from the smallest to the largest. I appreciate that there is nothing done to try to “tie” me or my clients to this organization, so I am free to go where I can best serve my clients, and my clients are free to go where they can best be served.  

I love my wife Brittany and our children Tate, Luke, Drew and Leni. I thoroughly enjoy being a Husband and Father. I treasure the growing experiences I share with them. The other day, our son Drew looked down at the sesame seeds on his hamburger bun and said “Mommy, can I plant this hamburger seed?” I love to see and be a part of their learning and understanding the world around them….It’s all for them.

Hey there! I'm Brielle and my love for personal finance and investing started in high school when I took a personal finance course. I later graduated with Bachelor of Science in finance from Brigham Young University. During my time at university, I had the opportunity to intern with Divergent Wealth, which ignited my passion for the investment world. I was immediately drawn to their investment philosophy, strategy, and approachable client engagement style.

During my four years at Brigham Young University, I took a dive into investing through a rigorous academic curriculum and hands-on experience. I gained valuable insights into, risk management, portfolio construction, and financial planning which I now apply at Divergent Wealth.

With my keen interest in both the technical and people side of the business, I started my career at Divergent Wealth Advisors. My experience has given me a deep understanding of the world of investing, and has reinforced my passion for empowering women in the workplace, particularly in finance and investing.

When I'm not in the office, you may find me watching football with my husband, cheering on the BYU cougars, or enjoying the outdoors! 

Bottom-line… I love seeing the look on someone’s face when they experience real unexpected unadulterated value. That is the impact I want to make. That is what drives me in life.

You can call me a "people-pleaser" if you want, but ever since grade school, I knew that genuine relationships with others had to be a part of my life forever. That natural affinity for people and my low-key prowess for congeniality quickly grooved its way into my personality as I entered the family-owned bakery business at 13 years old.

The family business instilled a work ethic that I will forever be grateful for. I’m not afraid of hard work and love to dig deeper when most people want to give up.  

That work ethic carried me to graduating high school with an honor’s diploma, a two-year church mission to Chile, and to the University of Utah where I paid and paved my own way, graduating with a degree in Financial Planning & Counseling.

The world of personal finance has always captured my attention as a career path that I knew I could be successful with. It checked all my boxes. 

As I started school, I accepted a position at Fidelity Investments, where I began studying for my series 7 and 63 licenses. After passing, I quickly established myself as a top-performing representative for the company even while going to school on the side.

As I set out on an expedition to ultimately find a wealth management company that I could lay down some long-term roots with, Divergent Wealth was heads and shoulders above the rest. Their vision, their process, and their client experience were inspiring, but the deal maker was the humble culture and life focus in and out of the office.

When I am not relentlessly focused on serving our clients, you'll probably find me spending my time with my wife and daughter, or hopelessly attempting to lower my handicap on the golf course.

The first time I fully grasped the power of compounding interest I was hooked and knew the career path I wanted to pursue. Enrolling in college and taking the required general education classes solidified my decision to pursue a degree involving mathematics. There has always been something reassuring about the logical and true nature of math. I committed to the business program and graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelors of Science in Finance. 

After graduation, I moved to Denver to work for my first asset management firm in their retirement plan division.   My passion for investing and asset management led me to gain invaluable experience at  Goldman Sachs. After a few successful years, I was recruited by  BlackRock/iShares, one of the largest and most innovative asset managers in the world. My focus at both of those firms was to assist and educate the top wealth management teams in the Mountain States region in managing their client portfolios. It was a tremendous learning opportunity for me to see the powerful impact a knowledgeable advising team can have on their clients' lives.

After 12 years of consulting with financial advisors, I decided to open up my own office for Edward Jones in South Jordan. I quickly learned how enjoyable it is to partner with clients in crafting and executing a personalized financial plan. Nothing has been more rewarding than seeing client's dreams and plans come to fruition by coupling the power of compounding interest, disciplined investment strategies, and detailed financial planning.

As I consulted with hundreds of financial advisors over my career, the team whose purpose and passion I most respected was Rick Collins, Jordan Collins, and Brady Ririe. Their sincere vision to change the way people engaged with advisors was unique and impactful. The principled way in which they created both monetary and tangible value for their clients was refreshing and exciting to witness. It has been a great privilege to join their team and use my expertise to help create better financial outcomes for clients.

Outside of the office my wife, Kristen, and I can be found enjoying any number of the beautiful activities available along the Wasatch front or in the wonderful State of Utah. We love and support our 3 children and our local community by attending sporting events, concerts, theatrical productions, school functions, and giving to local causes and charities.

I am passionate about helping individuals achieve financial freedom. Growing up in a household where money management was taught from a young age, I learned that by being a good steward over my finances, I could not only bring fulfillment and security to my own life but also use it to bless the lives of others. As I grew older, I developed a love for budgeting and thrift, which provided me with countless opportunities to enjoy life and serve others.

After graduating Summa Cum Laude with a dual major in Marketing and Business Administration from Utah State, I accepted a role as a recruiter, where I found a love for counseling individuals in their careers. As the branch manager for Ascend Staffing in Layton, Utah, I managed a team of employees and quadrupled the net income of the branch while placing hundreds of people in new jobs.

While working at Ascend, I discovered a passion for financial education, as I saw the dire need for it among the individuals I worked with. This led me to pursue a career as a wealth advisor, and I was drawn to the culture and investment principles at Divergent Wealth Advisors, where I currently work.

Helping individuals achieve financial success and freedom brings me a strong sense of fulfillment, and I am committed to continuing to do so.

What sets me apart is my comprehensive approach to financial planning. I am committed to providing my clients with the highest level of service and attention, covering a wide range of financial planning areas, including investment management, tax planning, estate planning, education funding, debt management, and more. My goal is to help my clients achieve their financial goals and obtain peace of mind through a personalized financial plan that is tailored to their unique needs and circumstances. By offering a broad range of services, I provide my clients with the tools and resources they need to achieve their financial objectives and feel confident in their financial future.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time outdoors and on vacations with my wife, Kaylee, and our three kids, Annie, Tyler, and Charlie.

Growing up, my mother was a math teacher, and my dad was a general contractor. We were blessed to live on a small hobby ranch with horses and cattle. My parents were relentless in teaching me to appreciate hard work. My dad instilled in my mind two phrases he said often. Those were "Plan your work and work your plan" and "work smarter, not harder”. Those life lessons helped me understand the importance of planning and strategizing.

I love to work and initially pursued a degree in marketing while working various jobs. Although I enjoyed learning about marketing strategies, I couldn’t get over the feeling that something was missing. I just didn't love potentially persuading people to purchase items or services they probably didn't need. I wanted to contribute in a more meaningful way to people’s lives. My dad understood the value of a strong financial partner and encouraged me to take up personal finance on multiple occasions.  

After learning more about what good financial planners do and the value they can provide in a person’s life, I knew it was a perfect fit for me. I shifted gears and was able to fulfill my desire for developing creative strategies and helping others in a meaningful way. This discovery quickly turned into a passion and school became fun! I finished my bachelor’s degree in Personal Financial Planning and graduated with high honors from Utah Valley University (one of the top 3 schools for a degree in financial planning). During my time there, I was also able to pass the exam required to become a Certified Financial Planner. 

Nearing the end of my time as a student, I interviewed several different wealth management firms. I loved how Divergent Wealth was obsessed with providing tangible value to their clients and simplifying complicated things. I saw the difference it made in their clients’ lives. I was thrilled when they offered me a full-time position at graduation, and I haven't looked back since.  Getting to where I am now wasn’t easy, but it's been incredibly rewarding to work in a field I am passionate about while getting to add meaningful value to people's lives. 

When I’m not focused on clients, I’m enjoying every second I can get with my beautiful wife and our rambunctious three-legged dog. A few of my other passions in life are boating, snowboarding, riding dirt bikes, and cruising around on my motorcycle. 

Growing up in Arizona I worked for my father through the summer heat in his mechanic shop. It was there that I developed a deep appreciation for hard work and client service. My parents instilled in me the importance of living frugally and saving for the future, the foundation of prudent living and investing.  While I was working under that hot desert sun, I realized I needed to pursue a valuable education.

Early in life, I became aware that I love teaching and helping individuals succeed. As a teenager in high school, I began tutoring other students in math and loved to see them excel. This desire to learn and teach others motivated me to attend Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Business. 

While at BYU I became interested in accounting and personal finance, eventually receiving a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting. I began investing for the first time in college and quickly became excited about the idea that my money could work for me. I was pursued by multiple firms and ultimately began my career with KPMG in their Deal Advisory team in San Francisco and Denver. While at KPMG, I became a CPA and the strong financial background I gained has helped me serve the families and business owners I get to work with. 

When I am not dreaming about financial planning, you can find me on the river fly fishing. Being outside with my adventurous wife, Emma, makes life exciting. We love to fish, ski, cycle, and sing Disney songs together. 

If you like to fish, it might be a good fit.