Christopher David Ellis

Amber Schiffert is a financial advisor and co-founder at TARA Wealth with eight years of industry experience. She holds Series 63, Series 65, and Series 7 licenses. TARA Wealth is a women-owned fiduciary advisory firm, bringing something unique to wealth management: advisors who share your perspective, understand your life transitions, and have no financial incentive other than helping you succeed. TARA Wealth was founded to set a higher standard — one built on trust, independence, and a genuine commitment to the women and families they serve. TARA Wealth financial advisors are happily located in San Diego, CA, and Raleigh, NC, and serve clients nationally.

Amanda DeCesar is a CFP® professional with 19 years of industry experience. She co-founded TARA Wealth in 2023 with Amber Schiffert. Her prior experience includes roles at MML Investors Services and J.P. Morgan Securities. TARA Wealth is an RIA serving individual and high-net-worth clients, couples, and businesses, providing Total Wealth Management, discretionary investment management, and comprehensive financial planning. The firm primarily uses a passive investment approach with index mutual funds and ETFs, delivering financial planning as an ongoing engagement and managing accounts both discretionarily and non-discretionarily.

Joseph Stover is a financial advisor at Reliance Financial Group, Inc. in Durham, NC, holding the PFS™ designation and Series 65 license with 22 years of industry experience. He has been with Reliance Financial Group since 1999. Reliance Financial Group is an independent firm providing discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting to individual investors, retirement plans, and charitable organizations. The firm emphasizes asset allocation and model-based portfolios, combining fundamental security analysis with long-term investment strategies and periodic rebalancing.

Jennifer Lazarus is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) and holds a Series 65 license with 15 years of industry experience. She has been the sole advisor at Lazarus Financial Planning, an independent firm based in Durham, NC, since its founding in 2005. Lazarus Financial Planning is a fee-only advisory firm serving individuals, couples, trusts, small businesses, and retirement plans. The firm offers comprehensive financial planning and discretionary investment management, with a focus on socially responsible investing and a documented planning process that emphasizes asset-class allocation, diversification, and client-approved policy implementation.

Cooper Taylor is a CFA® charterholder with one year of experience at Sounding Line Wealth Management, LLC. Prior to founding Sounding Line, he worked four years at Salem Investment Counselors, Inc., and held investment roles at the University of Michigan Investment Office and Indiana University. Sounding Line Wealth Management is an independent registered investment adviser providing discretionary portfolio management services primarily to individuals and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs a blended investment approach that integrates various analytical methods and offers individualized portfolio management with accounts custodied at Schwab Institutional.

Thomas Figgatt is a CFP® with eight years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Portolan Financial Planning LLC in Durham, NC. He previously worked at Bank of America from 2015 to 2017 before founding Portolan Financial Planning in 2017. Portolan Financial Planning LLC offers personalized investment advisory and comprehensive financial planning, including tax preparation services. The firm serves individual clients, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, small businesses, and provides retirement plan consulting, utilizing a primarily technical analysis approach with strategic asset allocation and tax-management techniques.