Alyssa M Smith

Richard Kos is a CFA® charterholder and registered investment adviser with five years of industry experience. He is the president of Kos Consultants, an educational institutional consulting and marketing services firm unrelated to securities, which he has operated since 2007. Kos serves as the sole advisor at Sursum Financial LLC, based in Madison, CT. Sursum Financial is a single-advisor independent firm providing discretionary and non-discretionary asset management, financial planning, and consulting to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, business owners, family offices, and select institutional and charitable organizations. The firm combines proprietary and third-party research, typically favoring a longer-term buy-and-hold approach while allowing tactical adjustments, and offers performance-based fee arrangements to qualified clients.

John Bubello is a CFP®-designated financial advisor with 20 years of industry experience. He is the principal at Compass Retirement, LLC, an independent firm he has led since 2011. Prior to founding Compass Retirement, he worked at Everlist, LLC from 2014 to 2017. Outside of his advisory role, he manages an income-producing real estate entity as a part-time activity. Compass Retirement, LLC serves individuals and high-net-worth clients with customized financial planning and discretionary portfolio management, as well as consulting services for retirement plan sponsors. The firm employs a diversified, asset-class allocation approach guided by Modern Portfolio Theory and focuses on retirement-plan clients, advising approximately $167 million in retirement-plan assets.

Dennis O'Connor is the sole advisor at Brae Head, Inc. in Essex, CT, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials with 21 years of industry experience. He has been with Brae Head, Inc. since 1997. Brae Head, Inc. provides fee-only, discretionary portfolio management and basic financial planning to individuals, families, trusts, businesses, and retirement plans, including charitable organizations. The firm uses a disciplined, systematic investment process based on Modern Portfolio Theory and actively manages diversified equity and fixed-income portfolios, serving a relatively small client base with approximately $82 million in assets under management.

Evan Wax is the principal advisor at Wax Asset Management LLC in Madison, CT, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 14 years of industry experience. He has led Wax Asset Management since 2011. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as an independent board member at Servotronics, Inc. Wax Asset Management LLC provides discretionary investment supervisory services to individual and high-net-worth clients, managing approximately $107.8 million across about 74 accounts. The firm employs a combination of fundamental and cyclical analysis, utilizing strategies including short sales and options writing, and conducts quarterly portfolio reviews with direct management of client assets.

John McCauley is the principal owner of McCauley Investment Advisors LLC and holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 41 years of industry experience. His work history includes roles at Sterne Agee Investment Advisor Services, Sterne Agee Financial Services, and Wrp Investments. He also owns a sole proprietorship engaged in term, long-term care, and health insurance sales. McCauley Investment Advisors LLC provides portfolio management, financial planning, and pension consulting to individuals, high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, and charitable organizations. The firm employs multiple methods of analysis and both long- and short-term strategies, serving client types uncommon among peers such as pension plans and insurance companies.

Sally Kennedy is a CFP® and Series 65 licensed advisor with 12 years of industry experience. She is the sole advisor at Real Financial Planning, LLC, an independent firm based in Guilford, CT. In addition to financial planning, she is involved in tax preparation. Real Financial Planning serves individual clients and small businesses, offering fee-only, as-needed financial planning focused on cash flow, tax planning, education funding, retirement and estate planning, and investment selection. The firm emphasizes asset allocation, diversification, and tax considerations, providing written analyses without managing client assets or charging percentage-of-assets fees.