Jack D Kessel

I spent twenty years in business operations and consulting before making the shift to financial planning. Not because I needed a career change, but because I kept having conversations that felt more valuable than anything else I was doing. Driven, successful people who had built real things and were completely overwhelmed by the job of managing what they'd created. I had a natural instinct for this stuff. Turns out not everyone does. Once I realized I could actually help, it was hard to do anything else. I founded High Rock Wealth Management on a pretty simple belief: the hard work it takes to build wealth shouldn't be followed by a lifetime of managing it. That's my job now. The way I work is pretty straightforward. I'm a finance nerd, genuinely. Tax-loss harvesting, asset location, the mechanics of a well-built plan: I love this stuff and I obsess over the details. But I've also learned that the numbers only tell part of the story. Your relationship with money started long before you had any, and a plan that ignores that context is just math on paper. So I work on both sides equally and I always tell you the truth, even when it's not what you were hoping to hear. I hold the CFP® and Enrolled Agent designations. The EA means tax strategy is built directly into your plan, not referred out to someone else. One relationship. Full picture. On the personal side: I'm a family guy through and through. My wife Natalya and our two kids are my world. We traded the New York Metro area for just outside Charlotte in 2021 and haven't looked back. When clients tell me they're building something for their family's future I feel that personally, not just professionally. It's the same reason I do this work. I work with individuals and families who are ready to stop improvising and start directing their wealth with real intention. If that sounds like you, I'd love to talk.

James Roberts, CFP®, CExP™, is the founder of Intentional, LLC, an SEC registered investment advisory firm based in Fort Mill, SC. He has been in the investment services industry since 2007 and works with business owners, executives, and families in Charlotte, Charleston, and nationally. James works with clients who have built significant wealth and are facing decisions where the stakes are high: selling a business, managing a liquidity event, planning an ESOP, or deciding what to pass on and how. His exit planning work follows Business Enterprise Institute standards, and his portfolio approach is tax aware by design, combining a core of low cost ETFs with individual equities, individual bonds, and alternatives for eligible investors. Every relationship begins with Wealth Identity, Intentional, LLC's proprietary assessment of how clients think, feel, and act around money. A series of personal experiences led James to a question most financial plans skip: what is the wealth actually for? That question shapes every plan he builds. Intentional, LLC generally serves individuals and families with $1 million or more in investable assets. Client assets are held at Raymond James.

Taysha Hogarth is a financial advisor at Merrill in Charlotte, NC, holding a Series 66 designation with one year of industry experience. Prior to joining Merrill, she worked at Chen Med and the Stephen C.O Connell Center. Outside of her advisory role, she operates an online retail platform as an independent seller. Merrill, together with its affiliate Managed Account Advisors LLC, provides managed account services using model-based and discretionary strategies for a range of clients including individuals, high-net-worth clients, pension plans, and charitable organizations. The firm offers investment approaches constructed by internal and third-party teams and supports customized portfolio implementation and trading.

David Hoshour is a financial advisor with Cornerstone Investment Services, Inc. in Indian Trail, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations and 15 years of industry experience. He has been with Cornerstone Investment Services since 1995. Cornerstone Investment Services provides ongoing investment supervisory services and basic financial planning to individuals, trusts, and nonqualified retirement accounts, as well as advising retirement plan sponsors and institutional clients. The firm offers discretionary, fee-only portfolio management with a focus on medium- to long-term holdings and emphasizes fiduciary services and customized solutions for retirement plans.

Stephen Miller is the sole advisor at Forward Wealth Management, LLC in Charlotte, NC. He holds CFP® and CFA® designations and has 21 years of industry experience, including prior roles at Hayden Harper Wealth Advisory, Round Table Wealth Management, and Citicorp Investment Services. Miller is licensed to sell life insurance and dedicates approximately 5% of his time to product sales involving additional compensation. Forward Wealth Management, LLC is an independent advisory firm serving individual and high-net-worth clients with discretionary portfolio management and comprehensive financial planning. The firm employs a tactical investment approach combining fundamental and technical analysis, including option strategies, and manages accounts on a discretionary basis with ongoing oversight.

Kirk Block is a CFP® and PFS™ credentialed financial advisor with 22 years of industry experience. He is the principal of Block Wealth Management, Inc., an independent firm he has led since 2008. In addition to his advisory role, he is licensed to offer insurance products as an agent with various insurance companies. Block Wealth Management serves individuals, trusts, estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, and corporate clients, including retirement plan sponsors. The firm employs a Modern Portfolio Theory-based approach using Dimensional Fund Advisors funds, integrating financial planning with tax guidance and insurance recommendations, and offers a range of fiduciary, consulting, and portfolio management services.