Lawrence Bray Kaplan

Many blue-collar business owners spend years building successful companies but struggle with inconsistent cash flow, high taxes, and uncertainty about how to turn their business into a secure retirement. Unlike most financial firms that focus primarily on investments, I take a planning-first approach that connects your business strategy with your personal financial goals. As a CFP® professional and fee-only fiduciary advisor with 10+ years of experience, I help business owners integrate cash flow planning, tax strategies, risk management, retirement planning, and investments into one coordinated plan. Having experienced the challenges of business ownership firsthand and growing up in a family business, I understand that your business is often your largest asset. My goal is to provide the guidance and strategy business owners need to protect what they've built and create financial freedom beyond their business.

Richard Kos is a CFA® charterholder with six years of industry experience and is the principal advisor at Sursum Financial LLC in Madison, CT. He has previously worked at Merrill and Carolina Capital Markets, Inc., and has led Kos Consultants, an educational institutional consulting and marketing firm, since 2007. Sursum Financial is an independent registered investment adviser serving individuals, trusts, estates, business owners, family offices, and institutional and charitable clients. The firm employs a proprietary research-driven approach with a long-term orientation while incorporating shorter-term strategies and third-party manager relationships tailored to client objectives.

John Bubello is a CFP®-designated financial advisor with 20 years of industry experience. He is the principal at Compass Retirement, LLC, an independent firm he has led since 2011. Prior to founding Compass Retirement, he worked at Everlist, LLC from 2014 to 2017. Outside of his advisory role, he manages an income-producing real estate entity as a part-time activity. Compass Retirement, LLC serves individuals and high-net-worth clients with customized financial planning and discretionary portfolio management, as well as consulting services for retirement plan sponsors. The firm employs a diversified, asset-class allocation approach guided by Modern Portfolio Theory and focuses on retirement-plan clients, advising approximately $167 million in retirement-plan assets.

Dennis O'Connor is the sole advisor at Brae Head, Inc. in Essex, CT, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials with 21 years of industry experience. He has been with Brae Head, Inc. since 1997. Brae Head, Inc. provides fee-only, discretionary portfolio management and basic financial planning to individuals, families, trusts, businesses, and retirement plans, including charitable organizations. The firm uses a disciplined, systematic investment process based on Modern Portfolio Theory and actively manages diversified equity and fixed-income portfolios, serving a relatively small client base with approximately $82 million in assets under management.

Evan Wax is the principal advisor at Wax Asset Management LLC in Madison, CT, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 14 years of industry experience. He has led Wax Asset Management since 2011. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as an independent board member at Servotronics, Inc. Wax Asset Management LLC provides discretionary investment supervisory services to individual and high-net-worth clients, managing approximately $107.8 million across about 74 accounts. The firm employs a combination of fundamental and cyclical analysis, utilizing strategies including short sales and options writing, and conducts quarterly portfolio reviews with direct management of client assets.

John Stalega is the principal of JGS Wealth Management, LLC in Colchester, CT, holding the PFS™ designation and Series 65 license with 15 years of industry experience. He has operated his CPA and financial planning practice since 2005, providing tax preparation and accounting services to individuals and small businesses. His accounting practice occasionally offers investment advice as an incidental service. JGS Wealth Management provides ongoing portfolio advisory and comprehensive financial planning for individual clients, emphasizing Modern Portfolio Theory and passive investment strategies. The firm uses broadly diversified equity and fixed-income allocations, often employing third-party portfolio managers for portfolio construction and oversight.