Our Qualifications

Sam Slabaugh, CFP
Our main planner, Sam Slabaugh is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and Registered Financial Consultant who holds the FINRA Series 7, 63, 65, and 24. He is also licensed for insurance in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

As a business owner in the early 1990's, Sam consulted with accountants, lawyers, stockbrokers, and insurance agents on different aspects of his finances. Each of the professionals left him to mesh the various advice by himself. This experience was one of the main reasons he decided to enter the field of financial planning—so he could help other independent business owners understand the complexities of finance.

In 1997, Sam began building the unique business he has today, EST Financial Group. Because the firm specializes in creating and serving high-net worth clients, it approaches financial planning from a different perspective. As the primary financial planner for the firm, Sam evaluates each client's situation and builds a team of qualified specialists who can each contribute toward an aspect of the client's financial plan; creating a thorough, more objective solution.

While helping people succeed financially is important, Sam's passion is investing in the community and the individuals it comprises. For this reason, he is a state director for The Gideons International; an active member of the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce; past president of the Delmarva chapter of the National Committee on Planned Giving; a charter member of the Kingdom Advisors; former board member of Delmarva Poultry Industry; and a member of Manokin Presbyterian Church.

Joy Slabaugh  
Joy joined the firm in it's development stages in 2001. Since then, she has studied and availed herself of every education opportunity possible with the improvement of EST Financial Group and clients and services as her goal. Joy holds a Bachelor's of Science in Business from Thomas Edison State College, and holds the the FINRA Series 7 and Series 66 registrations. She is enrolled in the accelerated CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ track with The American College and plans to sit for the CFP® exam this November.  

Joy is passionate about investing in the community. She serves on the Young Professionals committee, a division of the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce; as a founding officer of the Southern Delaware Toastmasters Club; on the Planning and Zoning Commission of the Town of Delmar; and as a board member and Development Committee chair of Maryland Capital Enterprises, a micro-lending institution providing seed funding and business counseling for minority entrepreneurs. Joy enjoys Scrabble, tennis and reading biographies.