Oregonian losing personal finance columnist

Personal finance reporter and columnist Brent Hunsberger will be leaving The Oregonian on Dec. 31 to become a financial planner at Silver Oak Advisory Group in Portland.

He’ll continue to freelance his weekly “It’s Only Money” column, which he started in November 2008, for the newspaper.

“He is a talented guy and a first-rate person,” said Peter Bhatia, the editor of The Oregonian, in an email to Talking Biz News. “No doubt he’ll be successful in his new endeavor and we’re happy he will still write for our audience.”

For the past two-and-a-half years, Hunsberger had been dipping his toe into the financial planning business as a part-time advisor for New Outlook Financial, a fee-only financial planning firm in Portland, according to his LinkedIn page. He had been providing part-time comprehensive planning and advice on saving, budgeting, retirement, investing and insurance. He also helped coordinate tax and estate planning.

Hunsberger has been at the Portland paper since August 1996. He’s worked on The Oregonian’s business team since 2001, covering the economy, workplace issues and Nike. Before that, he covered the environment, urban growth and Clackamas County.

In 1999, he was a key contributor to the newspaper coverage of the New Carissa shipwreck, which was chosen as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news.

Before The Oregonion, Hunsberger worked four years for the Albquerque Tribune. He is an Indiana University graduate.