Financial advisor awarded for work, civic involvement

Published 12:43 pm Sunday, February 26, 2017

Stuart O’Neal is a numbers guy.

Numbers have always “clicked” with him, and that made his decision to go into a career in finance an easy one.

The Washington native went into banking right after graduating from North Carolina State University, but O’Neal soon switched gears, going to work for U.S. Cellular/Singular and then moving back to Washington in 2003.

O’Neal said he loved his job, loved the people with whom he worked. That’s why, when an opportunity with Edward Jones Investments arose, he was reluctant to make the change at first.

In June 2013, however, he took that leap of faith, delving into the world of financial advising. It was still a career in numbers — but this time it was also about building relationships with his clients. That’s a role O’Neal said he fell into easily and has enjoyed every minute of it.

“Honestly, I feel like it was what I was made to do,” he said.

With sister Kelly Crisp, also a financial advisor, helping with training, O’Neal became one of seven Edward Jones advisors in Beaufort County. He opened his own office off of U.S. Highway 264, close to the Pitt County-Beaufort County line, in early 2015.

O’Neal said he couldn’t really think of a negative aspect of his work — he loves numbers, and he loves helping people understand those numbers. He is also heavily involved in several civic organizations, including the Kiwanis Club and the Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce, among others.

O’Neal’s financial work was recently recognized by the Chamber of Commerce, which named him as 2016 Young Professional of the Year at its annual awards ceremony in January.

“To put it in one word, I’d say humbled,” O’Neal said.

He said he had no idea he was receiving the award, but he was glad his wife Allison was there to be a part of it.

This self-professed “numbers guy” is more personal than one might think. That, along with a strong sense of community and a strong sense of capital, is something he plans to translate into a lifelong career.