Joseph Steven Cates

Meet Joe Petry, Ph.D., CFP®, EA, CRPC®— Passionate hooper, hiker, and dog lover who founded Mayfair Financial. -Ph.D. in Economics and a Master's in Personal Financial Planning. -Extensive academic and professional background in teaching finance and economics at renowned institutions. -Certified Financial Planner™ and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor®. -Has received awards for his volunteerism and leadership. -He believes in the power of random acts of kindness to make the world a better place. Fun Fact: Joe and his neighbors are now novice beekeepers.

Alan Smith is a CFP® with 39 years of industry experience, currently serving at Trinity Wealth Advisors LLC in St. Louis, MO. He has worked at Trinity Wealth Advisors since 1998 and owns Business Owner Strategies, Inc. Additionally, he is an independent representative for Growth Management Group / Stryde Savings, providing tax and cost-saving strategies for privately held companies. Trinity Wealth Advisors is an SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, high-net-worth families, retirement plans, and businesses. The firm employs a values-based “Return on Life” planning approach and typically uses outside institutional managers and sub-advisors to implement client portfolios.

Richard Espenschied is a financial advisor at Ameriprise with Series 66, Series 7, and APMA(R) designations. Before joining Ameriprise in 2025, he worked at Anheuser-Busch for nine years in economics and strategy. Ameriprise offers a retirement-income planning service designed for individuals with substantial investable assets, combining research, modeling, and tax-efficiency analysis to produce written recommendation reports. The firm provides a broad range of advisory, brokerage, and insurance solutions through affiliated companies.

Jahanguir Azodi is the principal of Virtual Investment Planning LLC and holds Series 65 and Series 66 licenses with 28 years of industry experience. He previously worked at Aspire Wealth Management, Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, and America's Financial Center, among others. Azodi also operates America's Financial Center, a wealth management and tax services firm, and is an author of a book related to accounting and tax services. Virtual Investment Planning LLC provides wealth management, discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement account advice to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and businesses. The firm manages approximately $23.7 million across about 102 clients, utilizing a long-term-focused investment process that combines fundamental and technical analysis, employing diversified mutual funds, ETFs, individual stocks and bonds, and insurance consulting through affiliated businesses.

Bruce Krieg is a financial advisor at Midwest Investment Advisors, LLC in Fenton, Missouri, holding a Series 65 designation with 15 years of industry experience. He has been with Midwest Investment Advisors since 2010 and also has a long-standing association with Kriegl Lohbeck & Co dating back to 1992. Midwest Investment Advisors serves individual, high-net-worth, institutional, and business clients, providing discretionary portfolio management and financial planning. The firm employs multiple analysis methods and manages all portfolios in-house, overseeing a notably high client load for a solo advisor and maintaining an affiliation with an accounting firm to offer complementary services.

Michael Mills is the sole advisor at Mills Barrington Advisors, LLC, an independent firm based in Chesterfield, MO. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 24 years of industry experience. Mills has led his firm since its founding in 2013, following prior experience at major brokerage firms. Mills Barrington Advisors provides discretionary portfolio management and investment advisory services to individuals, trusts, and businesses. The firm emphasizes global diversification and uses a combination of quantitative analysis with fundamental and technical inputs, employing a range of strategies including margin, options, and short sales alongside longer-term holdings.