Edward Lu

Gerardo Martinez Y Carriles is a CFA® charterholder with one year of experience in financial advising. He is the sole advisor at BLU Capital and previously worked at Berlin Wealth Group Advisors and International Fintech Intelligence. BLU Capital serves institutional and individual clients, including foundations, pension plans, and small businesses. The firm uses a combination of fundamental research, quantitative modeling, factor-based strategies, and ESG screening, and offers services such as portfolio management, financial planning, and consultant selection.

Illumint is a fee-only financial planning firm for Millennial women who want to put their growing savings to work. Women like you have built your savings throughout your careers or received new money through an inheritance, bonus, or other financial windfall. Illumint will help you decide what to do next, with a focus on how that money can fit into and support the rest of your financial life. Illumint is Washington, DC-based, a virtual service, provides flat-fee comprehensive planning, offers optional investment management, and does not have an investment or net-worth minimum.

John Bell is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with 21 years of industry experience. He is currently the sole advisor at Free State Financial Planning, LLC, having previously worked at Charles Schwab and Ameritrade, Inc. Beyond his advisory work, he serves as a FINRA arbitrator and acts as the financial secretary and council member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, where he manages donation tracking and budgeting. Free State Financial Planning LLC provides fee-only financial planning services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and businesses. The firm’s guidance is based on Modern Portfolio Theory, emphasizing passive investments through low-cost ETFs and no-load mutual funds, and focuses on delivering educational resources without discretionary investment management.

Ben Arie is a Series 66-licensed financial advisor with Independent Financial Group, LLC, based in North Bethesda, MD. He has four years of industry experience and previously worked at Plotkin Financial Advisors and APEX Home Loans. Outside of advising, he is involved in selling life insurance and annuities. Independent Financial Group, LLC is a dual-registered broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, charities, corporations, and plan sponsors. The firm offers a variety of advisory programs through its AccessPoint platform and third-party asset managers, providing both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management.

David Setia, AIF, CMFC, is a financial advisor with LPL Financial in McLean, Virginia, holding Series 7, Series 65 and Series 63 credentials and over 10 years of industry experience. He has been with LPL Financial since 2016. LPL Financial is an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, retirement plans, financial institutions, and charitable organizations through a national network of investment adviser representatives. The firm offers a range of financial planning and advisory programs, retirement plan consulting, and brokerage services, utilizing both proprietary and third-party research and model portfolios.

Simeon’s role is to help clients create a coordinated financial strategy that aligns their investments, taxes, retirement income, and long-term goals into one cohesive plan. A big part of his approach is helping clients simplify complexity and make confident decisions during periods of uncertainty.