Gary Balunas

Christopher Crenshaw is the sole advisor at Chris C Crenshaw Financial Services, LLC, an independent firm based in Durham, NC. He holds a Series 63 designation and has 16 years of industry experience. He has been with his firm since 1996. The firm provides discretionary portfolio management and financial planning services to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and other business entities. It emphasizes strategic asset allocation, diversification, and both fundamental and technical analysis, serving a concentrated group of primarily high-net-worth clients alongside corporate and business clients.

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.

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.

Lyle Finley Jr. is a CFP® with 30 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at RJ20, Inc. His background includes roles at Wells Fargo Bank and Wells Fargo Clearing, as well as 14 years of service with the North Carolina National Guard. RJ20, Inc. provides non-discretionary investment advice to retirement plan participants and institutional clients, focusing on participant-level guidance within corporate retirement plans. The firm utilizes an online platform for customized 401(k) reporting and financial planning tools, combining fundamental, technical, and asset-allocation analysis without offering discretionary asset management or custody.

Steven Thorpe is the sole advisor at Pragmatic Portfolios, LLC, an independent registered investment adviser based in Durham, NC. He holds a Series 65 designation and has 15 years of industry experience. Thorpe has managed Pragmatic Portfolios since 2010 and previously worked at MCNC for 24 years. Pragmatic Portfolios provides portfolio management and comprehensive financial planning to individuals, families, high-net-worth clients, trusts, and select corporations or small businesses. The firm emphasizes broadly diversified, low-cost passive investments with strategic asset allocation and tax-efficient strategies, and offers client education through complimentary seminars and workshops.