Justin Hardee

Charles Foss is a financial advisor with Gradient Investments, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and 17 years of industry experience. He has been with Gradient Investments since 2015 and also leads The Foss Agency Inc., where he serves as president and insurance agent. His outside business activities include managing insurance services through The Foss Agency. Gradient Investments, LLC provides discretionary investment management to a wide range of clients including individuals, high-net-worth clients, institutions, and charitable organizations. The firm uses a proprietary investment framework and offers various model and custom portfolios managed primarily on a discretionary basis.

Aaron Futral is a financial advisor with Credit Union Investment Services in Kinston, NC, holding Series 65 and Series 63 credentials and with 10 years of industry experience. He has served in various roles since 2013, including as Financial Advisory Services District Manager at State Employees' Credit Union and as an agent with SECU Life Insurance Company. Futral also holds a position as a trust representative with Members Trust Company. Credit Union Investment Services primarily serves North Carolina resident individual investors and a limited number of trust clients, providing non-discretionary portfolio management, asset allocation advice, and retirement and financial planning. The firm emphasizes a long-term, goals-based approach using low-cost index mutual funds and ETFs, with investment representatives as salaried employees of the parent credit union.

Michael Spears is a financial advisor with Commonwealth Financial Network in Kinston, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations and 30 years of industry experience. He previously worked at Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. from 2005 to 2019 before joining Commonwealth and Crossbridge Financial Group in 2019. Commonwealth Financial Network serves a national network of approximately 2,950 advisors and their clients, offering a range of advisory programs and services including wealth management and retirement plan consulting. The firm provides operational, trading, technology, investment management, compliance, and practice-management support to affiliated advisors who manage client portfolios using a variety of securities and insurance products.

Mark Conway is a financial advisor with Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and over 34 years of industry experience. He has been with Cambridge since 2016 and also operates his own firms, Conway & Co Inc., an insurance agency, and a real estate brokerage where he serves as broker-in-charge. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors serves a diverse client base including individuals, retirement plans, and charitable organizations, offering comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and retirement advisory services through a network of independent professionals. The firm provides a range of investment solutions including proprietary model strategies and access to unaffiliated portfolio managers, with both discretionary and non-discretionary options tailored to client objectives.

Matthew Malone is a financial advisor at Edward Jones in Kinston, NC, holding CFP® and Series 66 designations with 18 years of industry experience. He has been with Edward Jones since 2007. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving more than four million individual and institutional clients, offering a range of discretionary and non-discretionary investment strategies supported by a large nationwide network of advisors and branch offices.

Matthew Worthington is a Series 66 licensed financial advisor with four years of industry experience. He is currently with Cambridge Investment Research Advisors and has prior experience at First Citizens Investor Services and Securian Financial Services. Outside of his advisory role, Worthington is an independent insurance agent representing various insurance companies. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors is a large SEC-registered firm serving a diverse client base that includes individuals, pension plans, charitable organizations, and trusts. The firm offers financial planning, investment management, retirement plan advisory, and financial-wellness services delivered through a network of independent professionals utilizing multiple portfolio management approaches and platform arrangements.