Larry Stephen Pershing

Melissa Osuch is a financial advisor with Strategic Advisors of Illinois, holding a Series 66 designation and 20 years of industry experience. She has been with Strategic Advisors of Illinois since 2006 and has also worked at LPL Financial LLC since 2011. In addition to her advisory role, she is involved in accounting and tax preparation services through AMM Accounting Services. Strategic Advisors of Illinois provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individual and high-net-worth clients, focusing on pre-retirement and post-retirement planning. The firm offers discretionary asset management, tiered ongoing financial planning, and educational seminars, constructing customized portfolios primarily through a wrap-fee program that integrates advisory services and trade execution.

Emil Aldaddah is a Co-Founder, Chief Investment Officer, and Managing Partner at Momentum Wealth Management, with nearly two decades of experience delivering institutional-caliber investment management solutions. He specializes in developing tailored strategies for ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices, trustees, entrepreneurs, and private foundations. At Charles Schwab and Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Emil managed portfolios totaling over $1.7 billion in assets under management, including $380 million in advisory services, serving individuals with net worths exceeding $1 billion, family offices, and public figures. His approach integrates asset management, financial planning, estate strategies, and alternative investments, helping clients preserve and grow wealth across generations. Prior to founding Momentum Wealth Management, Emil held roles at Avatar Securities, where he managed over $175 million in long/short equity exposure and developed algorithmic trading strategies applying statistical arbitrage and market-neutral equity approaches, and at Blackmore Partners, where he advised on M&A transactions and capital raises up to $500 million for C-suite leadership and private equity firms. Emil holds a BS in Finance from DePaul University and completed advanced studies at the University of Nicosia. He maintains Series 7, 66, and 56 registrations. Fluent in Arabic, he has served on the Young Visions Board of the Israel Cancer Research Fund and is a member of the Chicago Leadership Alliance.

As a CFP® professional and founder of Illuminate Wealth Management, I work with business owners, executives, and professionals who are navigating complex financial decisions. My goal is to help you understand your options, avoid costly mistakes, and create a strategy that supports the life you're working so hard to build. Over the years, I've developed a particular passion for helping clients make smart decisions around equity compensation. Whether you're dealing with RSUs, ISOs, stock options, ESPPs, or a major liquidity event, I help clients think through the tax implications, manage concentration risk, and create a plan that connects today's decisions with their long-term goals. I also work closely with business owners who are balancing the demands of running a company while trying to make thoughtful decisions about growing and protecting their personal wealth. When your business, taxes, retirement goals, investments, and family finances are all connected, financial planning becomes about much more than investments alone. While equity compensation and business planning are often what bring people to me, my role is much larger than solving a single financial challenge. I help clients think through retirement, taxes, investments, cash flow, and long-term wealth planning so they can make decisions with confidence and stay focused on what matters most. My approach is simple: bring clarity to complexity and help people make confident financial decisions. I believe good planning should help you spend less time worrying about money and more time focusing on what matters most to you.

Eric Kirste, CFP®, CIMA®, AIF® is the Co-Founder, Principal Wealth Manager at Savvy Advisors, Inc. He has been featured in Barron's, The Wall Street Journal, InvestmentNews, Business Insider, GoBankingRates, and U.S. News & World Report. With a deep-rooted passion for service and enriching the lives of others, Eric found his calling as a wealth management professional early on. Eric brings over 24 years of deep experience working closely with individuals and families in transition, helping them navigate difficult changes. Compassion is important to Eric, and he helps clients who are going through a divorce or grieving the loss of a spouse or family member get through the transition to financial independence and overcome new challenges with confidence. He also helps business owners and individuals looking to retire early or nearing retirement ensure they are best prepared for their ideal retirement lifestyle. At Savvy, he strives to help his clients align their money with their values, provide integrated solutions to serve all of their needs and empower them to make a lifetime of smart financial decisions. Importantly, Eric is committed to keeping his clients’ best interests top of mind while offering ongoing guidance, encouragement and accountability. With a passion for helping others, Eric has volunteered for the Foundation for Financial Planning, AARP and is the Treasurer on the Board of Wings For Widows. Eric is a native of the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He is committed to giving back to his community and serves as the Treasurer for the Prospect Heights Park District Board of Commissioners and the Old Orchard Country Club. He enjoys spending time with his wife, Alisa, their two sons, Logan and Matthew, and their rescue dog, Bear.

Basil Alsikafi is the sole advisor at White Brook Capital, an independent firm based in Winnetka, IL. He holds a Series 65 designation and has nine years of industry experience, including ten years with White Brook Capital. White Brook Capital provides discretionary portfolio management through separately managed accounts and model portfolios for high-net-worth individuals, trusts, estates, and other entities such as pensions and foundations. The firm employs a primarily bottom-up, value-oriented investment approach combined with top-down industry assessment and applies socially responsible exclusions across all strategies.

Walter Ebner is the principal of Echo Prudent Capital LLC and holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 26 years of industry experience. He previously worked at BMO Capital Markets Corp., BMO Nesbitt Burns Corp., and Bank of Montreal for 24 years. He is the founder and a board member of Cancer Calculus NFP, a nonprofit organization that assists cancer patients with economic decision-making. Echo Prudent Capital LLC provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory services and financial planning to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and nonprofit organizations. The firm utilizes a range of analytical methods to build tailored portfolios and serves a concentrated client base, including charitable organizations.