The Independence Wealth Services Team

Jon D. Walton, CFP®, CLU®

Founding Partner/CEO

jwalton@iwadvisors.com

Jon entered the financial services industry in 1980.  Following through on a dream to provide clients with truly comprehensive and independent financial planning, Jon founded Independence Wealth Services in 1994 as a sole practitioner.

The firm has since expanded and now includes a CPA, a CFA, and several client service associates supporting our lead financial planners.

Within the organization, Jon specializes in wealth management, retirement, and estate planning. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner, and he has earned the designation of Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®). Jon finds great satisfaction in the fact that the IWS business model aligns the clients’ best interest with the firm’s best interest, unlike the commission-driven models of many financial services firms.

Jon strives to create and maintain excellent relationships with his clients, investment providers, and within the local community. He donates considerable resources and time to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Delaware, among other charitable activities, and is an avid motorsports enthusiast. Jon also enjoys spending time with his Australian labradoodle, Biame.

Michael T. Boyle, CFP®, MBA

President

mboyle@iwadvisors.com

Mike guides successful corporate, legal, and medical professionals to implement plans to help achieve their goals.  As a former executive and supply chain management consultant, he brings a unique background to his role advising actively employed and retired clients.  

Through his experience as a financial professional who has earned the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification, Mike assists his clients by assessing the client’s situation, identifying critical goals and key obstacles to success, crafting feasible strategies, and helping clients to form a plan to help grow and protect their wealth. 

Mike resides in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Michelle, and two sons. In his free time, he enjoys coaching youth sports, spending time with family and friends at the beach, and golfing when time permits. Mike has shared his expertise through volunteering as a guest instructor at the University of Delaware’s certificate in Financial Planning program, and as a Junior Achievement volunteer in middle school classrooms.  Mike is an alumnus of Virginia Tech, with a BS in industrial and systems engineering; and Emory University, with an MBA.

David V. Duncan, CFA®

Financial Advisor

dduncan@iwadvisors.com

Dave has more than 30 years of experience working in the financial services industry in the Delaware Valley. Prior to joining IWS, Dave was the director of research for a wealth management services company with more than $1 billion in assets and an equity portfolio manager where he managed equity portfolios of more than $200 million for individuals and institutions. 

Dave believes in trust, honesty, integrity, and always putting the client’s interests first. As a financial planner with IWS, with extensive knowledge of the financial markets, Dave works with clients to set and achieve their larger financial goals through investment planning, retirement planning, and risk management. In addition to his extensive experience, Dave has earned the Charter Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation. The CFA® designation is regarded by most to be the key certification for investment professionals, especially in the areas of research and portfolio management.

Dave is a Penn State alumnus who enjoys spending time with his family, playing tennis, and taking weekend adventures on his motorcycle.

Jason Babiarz, CPA

jbabiarz@iwadvisors.com

Jason’s expertise as a CPA contributes to our team’s development of detailed client cash flow and retirement income plans.  While we do not offer tax return preparation services, the thoughtful integration of taxation, investments, and income planning within a financial plan provide immense benefits to maximizing the value of clients’ financial resources and NET after-tax income over time. 

Prior to joining IWS, Jason worked in the Wealth Management group at JP Morgan.  Jason and his wife, Claudia, live in Wilmington. In his free time, Jason enjoys traveling and exercising. Jason is a York College of Pennsylvania and Wilmington University alumnus with a BS and MS in accounting.

Sharon Payne

Client Relationship Manager

spayne@iwadvisors.com

Sharon enjoys providing excellent customer service to our clients. With her prior corporate and not-for-profit executive roles, she understands our busy clients’ lives and skillfully works as part of our team focused on serving clients. Sharon embodies our coaching approach to client relationships and enjoys seeing clients achieve their most important goals.

Sharon resides in Delaware and enjoys spending time with her family and friends, attending various sporting events, exercising with her labrador, and gardening. Sharon is a Boston College alumnus and received a BS in business administration.

Denise Schatz

Financial Planning Associate

dschatz@iwadvisors.com

Denise collaborates with our financial planners and clients to help them deliver proactive and thorough advice to clients while expertly handling client service needs.

Her prior experience in corporate roles and running several small businesses, where she wore many hats including hiring, training, coaching, mentoring, and process design/improvement, has been invaluable.

Denise resides in Pennsylvania and aside from valuing her family—including her mini golden-doodle, Milo—one of her passions is baking. Denise is a San Diego State University alumnus where she earned a BA in psychology.