Austin Charles Merriam

Hey! I'm Jake, Financial Planner and co-founder of Spark Wealth Advisors. I started Spark to deliver financial advice the best way I know how, free from constraints and biases that come with working for large corporate firms. As a gay man, I strive to enhance the financial lives of other gay men who may be hesitant to work with a financial professional out of fear of judgement, or not being comfortable sharing aspects of their personal lives that true financial planning requires. My firm is fee-only and I act as a fiduciary, always putting clients' interests before my own.

Do you plan to make work optional before age 65? I will use my tools and expertise to educate and empower you to be your own retirement hero, rather than try to convince you that you need to pay me or any other advisor year after year. While I provide investment advice, I do not offer ongoing portfolio management as a service and my only objective is to give you the best advice possible. My planning engagements typically consist of three to four meetings and span one to three months. We will work together to create a detailed plan for early retirement that doesn't ignore what you need to feel fulfilled in the present. You will be given free ongoing access to my planning software upon completion of our engagement and I will teach you how to navigate it. Visit my website today to learn more and don't forget when you are there to sign up to receive my free guide, The Top 10 Critical Mistakes People Make When They Plan To Retire Early.

Jerry Parrish is the sole advisor at JLP Investments in Jacksonville, FL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 20 years of industry experience. His prior experience includes 15 years at Dempsey Lord Smith, LLC, and he currently operates Parrish Insurance Agency, a licensed insurance producer affiliated with his investment firm. JLP Investments provides fee-based advisory and financial planning services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and business entities. The firm utilizes custom portfolio management with tactical allocation, employing fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis, and leverages third-party managers and TAMP programs, alongside retirement plan consulting and 1031 exchange assistance.

Luciano Duque is a financial advisor at Sardona Global Advisors LLC with Series 65 and Series 66 credentials and four years of industry experience. His work history includes roles at Securitize Markets, LLC, Solomon Capital Management, SW Financial, and Morgan Stanley, among others. Sardona Global Advisors LLC provides investment management primarily to pooled vehicles, private funds, institutional clients, and high-net-worth individuals. The firm employs a multi-asset, multi-manager approach, conducting due diligence on sub-advisers while managing portions of client assets directly, and offers additional services such as private fund administration and corporate management.

Robert Liggero is a CFP® professional with 21 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Financial Prescriptions, LLC since 2012. Prior to and alongside his financial advisory role, he has worked as a physician assistant in a pediatric ICU at Baptist Medical Center since 1990. Financial Prescriptions serves individual and high-net-worth clients with comprehensive financial planning and consulting, coordinating investment management through third-party institutional managers. The firm employs a structured, multi-phase planning process and combines fundamental and technical analysis with both active and passive investment strategies.

Mario Payne is a CFP® professional with 18 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Toams Financial. Prior to founding Toams Financial in 2019, he worked for Raymond James Financial Services from 2013 to 2019. Outside of advisory services, Mr. Payne is an Independent Insurance Agent and holds minority ownership stakes in several technology and real estate platforms, including Let Bob LLC, a software app focused on investment strategies and trading automation. He is also the author of the book *The Relax Estate - The Relax Investor*. Toams Financial provides discretionary investment management and financial planning to individual and high-net-worth clients, using a mix of fundamental, technical, cyclical, behavioral, and charting analysis in a primarily long-term investment approach. The firm integrates AI-driven products such as the Let Bob AI Powered Momentum ETF (LETB) into client portfolios and manages a notably high client load for a single-advisor practice.