John J. Ernst
Founder and President
John founded Ernst Financial Group in 1990 with the goal of providing sound retirement planning strategies to businesses and individuals throughout Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut. John completed his undergraduate degree in English at Hamilton College.
John also actively gives back to his community. He was a founding member of the Longmeadow Educational Excellence Foundation (LEEF) to raise funds for school enrichment programs. He participates in the Read Aloud program at Bailliet Elementary School and is its Business Partner, funding enrichment programs for students. John has been a past volunteer with the Community United Way of the Pioneer Valley and has been associated with Human Resources Unlimited, a social services nonprofit, as a board member. He has also served as a board member and president of the Community Music School of Springfield and was recently presented with the "Fab 4" award for longtime service to the school.
2017 Fab 4 Award, created by Community School of Springfield. This award is based on avocacy and service and is not specific to financial services and does not imply an endorsement, recommendation, or reflect the performance of the advisor.
John enjoys any sport that allows him to be outdoors—golf, skiing, tennis—as well as singing tenor in the Worcester Chorus.
John Ernst is proud to have been recognized as a President's Club advisor for 2019—a distinction based on annual production attained by 13 percent of advisors affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network.
Each year, Commonwealth, the Registered Investment Adviser–broker/dealer that helps us process investment transactions on your behalf, recognizes President's Club advisors by inviting them to an exclusive gathering of their peers, leading industry experts, and Commonwealth home office staff. President's Club advisors benefit from an intensive learning and networking experience designed to help them hone their expertise, share best practices, and provide ever-higher levels of service, education, and leadership to their clients.
Amy E. Santarelli
Vice President – Wealth Advisor
As vice president, wealth advisor, at Ernst Financial Group, Amy serves individuals and families in multiple aspects of financial planning and advising. With more than 25 years of experience within the financial services industry, helping clients gain a clear and cohesive understanding of their investments—and all aspects of their finances—is Amy’s goal. Through a thorough analysis of their investment mix, risk level, and overall goals and hopes for their future, Amy seeks to bring confidence and calm to her clients' financial lives.
Additionally, Amy has held roles at John Hancock Mutual Funds (Boston, MA), St Germain Investments (Springfield, MA), and at UBS Financial Services (Springfield, MA).
As a passionate member of the Glenmeadow Senior Living Board of Directors, Amy serves as the board chair as well as on their Investment, Development, Building, Finance, Governance and Strategic Planning committees.
Amy holds FINRA Series 6, 7, and 66 securities registrations and is a licensed Insurance professional. She earned a BA in interpersonal communication from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
As Longmeadow, MA, residents, Amy and her husband, Tom, raised their two children Katie and Jonathan, who are now in college. When not serving her clients or volunteering, Amy can be found spending time with their cocker-spaniel Winnie, cooking, gardening, reading, or power walking through town. Most of all, she enjoys spending time with her family when their children come home for a visit or as they travel together on family vacations.
Maureen (Emily) Webber
Client Service Manager
Emily is our client service manager at Ernst Financial Group. Emily has worked in various customer service roles over the past seven years and has a true passion for customer care and relationship management. Emily was born in Oregon but raised locally in Western Massachusetts, where she grew up partaking in many extracurriculars such as track and field, orchestra, and volunteering with the elderly in her community. Emily is currently studying for the Security Industry Essential (SIE) Exam, in hopes to become a registered team member. In her spare time, Emily enjoys relaxing with a good book, baking, painting, or taking hikes with her boyfriend and dog.