Jessica Smith

I’ve always been fascinated by money, but I never planned on working in finance. Fresh out of college I moved to Columbus, Ohio to live with my wife while she finished up grad school. I needed a job, and I stumbled my way into a role at Morgan Stanley by responding to a sketchy Craigslist ad. I was about 70% certain it was a scam. Luckily it wasn’t, and I got the job! It was a great learning experience, and I got my feet wet while learning the industry fundamentals there. After a few years though my dad recruited me to return to my hometown in Charlotte, NC to help run the family business in the natural gas industry. I loved working with family, but ultimately decided my heart wasn’t in it. Discussing thread counts on screws and the viscosity of silicone didn’t get my intellectual juices flowing. Meanwhile I was spending countless hours of my free time researching personal finance and finally had the realization “why don’t I make a career out of this?” So I made the difficult decision (sorry, dad) to transition back into finance with a job at Vanguard. I was right. This was finally scratching that intellectual itch. But I wanted to make a more personal impact on people’s lives, and I couldn’t accomplish that as a tiny cog in a giant machine. So I took jobs at a few smaller firms where I was able to develop personal relationships with clients, get their finances on track, and help them accomplish their goals. Now this was my jam! During my time there I worked with clients in tech and realized how much complexity there was in managing their finances. Managing their company equity was complicated! Managing their stock options was extra complicated! But I loved the complexity, I loved the people, and I loved the look on their face when it all finally came together. Soon though, I began to get the entrepreneurial itch (thanks, dad) to start my own firm. I knew exactly who I wanted to work with – tech professionals. I saw first hand the impact I could have in their lives. That was my inspiration for founding Tech Financial Planning. Now I get to put it all together: intellectual fulfillment, meaningful relationships, and personal impact, all while working with awesome folk in tech solving their complex problems. Now that’s what I call a dream job! As for a bit about my personal life, in 2022 I celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary with my amazing wife, Allie. We met in high school and survived a 4-year long distance relationship during college while she attended school in Ohio and I attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. We have two amazing kids, Elliot and Reya, and an adorable, yet clingy Australian Shepherd named Cassie. I value experiences over things, so my wife and I love traveling domestically and internationally to explore new places and cultures. I’m also a firm believer that you don’t need to spend money to have fun, so I’m always exploring my current hometown, Nashville, for fun, free activities. I love board games, I’m an avid podcast listener, and I’m always on the lookout for a great show to binge.

Kurt Stabel is a financial advisor at Andorra Investment Management, Inc. with 16 years of industry experience and holds a Series 65 designation. In addition to his advisory role, he has served as a sworn firefighter for the City of Los Angeles since 2003. Andorra Investment Management provides personalized, fee-only investment management and financial planning services to individuals, trusts, foundations, endowments, pension and profit-sharing plans, and small businesses. The firm employs a strategic asset allocation framework combining passive index/ETF cores with actively managed funds and select individual securities, managing a relatively small client roster with a strict fee-only model.

Stephen Resch is the principal advisor at Resch Financial Group, LLC, an independent firm he founded in 2023. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 40 years of industry experience, including prior roles at Securities America Advisors and National Planning Corporation. Outside of advisory work, he is involved in insurance sales and serves as Vice President of Retirement Strategies for Finance of America, focusing on wholesale reverse mortgage lending. Resch Financial Group serves individuals, families, high-net-worth clients, and small businesses with discretionary wealth and portfolio management services. The firm employs a strategic asset allocation approach based on Modern Portfolio Theory, using diversified portfolios of primarily no-load, lower-cost mutual funds and ETFs, with periodic rebalancing rather than market timing.

Jonathan Gillett is the sole advisor at Wilco Financial, LLC, an independent firm based in College Grove, TN. He holds a Series 65 designation and has 11 years of industry experience. Outside of his advisory role, Gillett is involved in commercial real estate through Gillett Properties, Ltd., serves as CFO of a startup technology company, profer, Inc., and co-owns a cigar shop called Cigar Station TN, LLC. Wilco Financial, LLC provides discretionary portfolio management and financial planning services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, and business entities. The firm uses a multi-method asset-allocation framework and manages accounts under discretionary authority while allowing client-imposed restrictions.

Raymond Carota is a financial advisor at Brandywine Financial Group, Inc. with 29 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has worked at Brandywine since 2003, with prior experience at American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. and OSAIC. Brandywine Financial Group serves individual investors, including high-net-worth clients, and employer-sponsored retirement plans by providing portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting. The firm employs a diverse investment approach combining fundamental and technical analysis with various strategies, and offers educational seminars as part of its retirement consulting services.

William Borleis is a financial advisor with Tactive Advisors, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 31 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Arete Wealth Management, Center Street Securities, and Cabin Securities. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved in tax and financial planning services through Arno Wealth, LLC, and serves as a life insurance and fixed annuities agent with Borleis Insurance. Tactive Advisors serves individuals, trusts, businesses, employee benefit plans, and institutional investors, including advisor-managed portfolios. The firm uses a Black-Litterman framework for blended model portfolios and offers portfolio management via a robo-advisor platform combined with sub-advisory services, distinguishing itself by operating within TAMP relationships alongside retail offerings.