Helping People Plan with Purpose
Peyton Gentry, AIF, CRPS®, Financial Advisor
For this edition of our team spotlight, we caught up with Peyton Gentry, a financial advisor at Hummel Group’s Orrville office. Peyton brings passion, energy, and expertise to his role—especially when it comes to helping individuals and businesses plan for the future. With a strong focus on retirement plans and a natural knack for connecting with people, Peyton shared insights into his professional journey, approach to financial planning, and life outside the office.
What is your role at Hummel, and how long have you been with the firm?
I’m a financial advisor working in our Orrville office, and I’m now in my eighth year at Hummel.
What part of your story contributes most to how you approach your work?
At a pretty young age—somewhere in my late teens when I started earning a paycheck—I really started enjoying budgeting. I’d create budgets for myself and even for friends and coworkers, with the goal of finding a purpose for every dollar that was brought in. When I was 16, I tagged along with my grandpa to meet his financial advisor and left thinking, “This is exactly what I want to do.” I stuck with that goal, and here we are.
Do you have a specialty within financial services?
Yes, my main focus is on company retirement plans—things like 401(k)s, SIMPLE IRAs, SEPs, and other group retirement plans that businesses can offer their employees. That area of expertise is also what eventually led me to pursuing the CRPS® designation.
Tell us more about the CRPS® designation. What does it mean, and how does it help your clients?
CRPS® stands for Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist. The “plans” part is key—it’s all about group retirement plans. The training covered every type of retirement plan a business might offer, from pensions to ESOPs. My goal in earning this designation was to expand my knowledge so that I could be better equipped to help business owners choose the right retirement plan design for themselves and their employees.
It also helped me dive deep into new legislation—such as SECURE Act 2.0 from 2023—which introduced some major changes to retirement plans and tax credits. There’s ongoing continuing education as well, so I will be required to stay up-to-date as IRS and Department of Labor rules evolve.
What drew you to Hummel?
My wife and I went to college together at Ohio Christian University in Circleville, OH. In 2018, she was graduating while I still had two years left in my bachelor’s program, so we were faced with the decision of staying down there for those two years or moving back home to Wayne County so that she could start her career while I finished school online. I knew I wanted to be a financial advisor, so I sent an email to Andy Badertscher (now a colleague of mine here at Hummel) to ask if there were any openings for me to get my foot in the door and start learning the ropes. We have gone to church together for years, so we started having some conversations about what that might look like—and the rest is history.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Talking with people—hands down. Every day, I get to meet with individuals and families at different stages of life. I might start the day with a young couple just getting started, meet with a business owner in growth mode by lunch, and wrap up the day with retirees reviewing their drawdown strategy. Every conversation is different, and that keeps things fun. It’s like putting together a puzzle—figuring out what each person needs and how we can help them reach their goals.
On the flip side, what’s the most challenging part of your work?
Honestly, it’s shifting gears between all those conversations and making sure I follow through on the back end to put the pieces in place. I’m a go-go-go kind of person. I love meeting and talking with people, but I’ve had to learn to slow down and take things one at a time to ensure our clients get the follow-through they deserve. Luckily, I have an incredible team on my side, and we complement each other very well.
What misconceptions do you often encounter about financial advising?
One of the biggest ones is the idea that you shouldn’t meet with a financial advisor until you’re close to retirement. In reality, I love working with young couples and families who are just getting started. That’s when the biggest difference can be made. You may not have a lot of investable assets yet, but you can absolutely benefit from a plan—paying down student loans, building an emergency fund, planning for your kids’ education, buying a house. The earlier we start, the better your financial picture will look down the road.
What is often misunderstood about retirement plans?
A lot of business owners don’t realize the tax benefits available to them for starting retirement plans, especially under the SECURE Act 2.0. The government is incentivizing businesses—small ones, in particular—to offer plans. There are tax credits just for starting a plan, and it’s also a great tool for the business owner to start saving for their own retirement. Many business owners pour everything into the business and forget to build a personal retirement safety net. Starting a 401(k) can be a great way to solve both of those issues.
Let’s shift gears—what is life outside of work like for you?
I have been with my lovely wife, Darian, for a decade now. In late 2023, we completed construction on our dream home in Westfield Township, and we have spent countless evenings and weekends since then on projects. Finishing the basement (from studs to paint), building a deck, landscaping, cutting trails through our woods—you name it. Home improvement projects have become some of our favorite pastimes.
Outside of that, we are both washed-up athletes, so we spend a lot of time playing pickup sports, golfing, and bow-hunting. No matter the season, we have some kind of recreational activity in full swing.
Before Hummel, what kind of work did you do?
I was homeschooled and finished high school early, so I started working at Tumbleweed Restaurant when I was 15. I worked there all the way through college—server, cook, manager—you name it. There was even a Tumbleweed near my college in Circleville, so I transferred there while I studied. I’ve basically only had two jobs: Tumbleweed and Hummel. I loved waiting tables—it’s a lot like what I do now. You talk to people and deliver an awesome experience, and then you are off to the next table (or meeting) to help others experience the same thing.
Any last thoughts you want to share?
Financial planning isn’t just for people at the end of their career. Whether you’re 25 or 65, there’s value in having a plan. I love what I do because it’s all about helping people align their finances with their goals. If we can make someone feel more confident about their future, then we’ve done our job.
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