Luke Lemuel Doremus

Benjamin Smith, CFP®, is the founder and owner of Briarwood Financial, a comprehensive financial services firm providing wealth management, tax preparation, accounting, and business consulting for individuals and business owners nationwide. Benjamin enjoys working directly with clients to help them navigate the complexities that wealth inevitably brings. His approach combines financial planning, tax strategy, and business advisory services—ensuring that every piece of a client’s financial picture works together efficiently and intentionally. Before launching Briarwood, Benjamin served as a Financial Advisor at Cetera Investment Services, an independent broker-dealer. There, he specialized in developing customized investment portfolios guided by long-term strategic planning. His drive to offer clients more holistic, tax-integrated advice led him to expand his practice beyond traditional advising and establish Briarwood Financial as a full-service firm. Benjamin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Economics from Seattle Pacific University and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional. Earlier in his career, he gained valuable experience in sales, operations, and management within the telecommunications industry—skills that helped shape his practical, results-oriented approach to leadership and client service. At the heart of his philosophy are integrity, honesty, and competence. He believes true financial planning is built on trust, clarity, and a genuine commitment to helping clients make informed, confident decisions that align with their values and long-term goals.

Jacob Tally is a financial advisor at Prospero Wealth, LLC in Seattle, WA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with one year of industry experience. He is the owner and founder of Tinegoba LLC, which provides contracting services to Prospero Wealth along with consulting advice to startups and small-to-medium sized businesses. Prior to his current role, he worked in various capacities at Cap Hill Brands, New Engen, Crowd Cow, and ZULILY. Prospero Wealth offers discretionary investment management and financial planning to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, businesses, and employer retirement plans. The firm employs tailored investment programs using individual securities, ETFs, derivatives, and long-short strategies, and provides assets-under-advisement consulting and held-away account monitoring through a seven-person advisory team.

Steven Koenig is a CFA® charterholder based in Seattle, WA, with five years of industry experience. He has been with Informed Investors Group since 1992. Informed Investors Group is an independent firm that provides discretionary investment management primarily for high-net-worth individuals and related family accounts. The firm employs a buy-and-hold, lower-turnover equity strategy with a co-advisory arrangement for selecting growth stocks, and it offers customized socially responsible investment screening alongside access to specialized fixed-income opportunities.

Shamus Mc Carthy is a CFA charterholder and principal of Red Haven Advisors, LLC, with six years of industry experience. He has held financial planning and analysis roles at companies including Nordstrom, Inc., where he is currently a Financial Planning & Analysis Manager, and has worked at firms such as Pathlabs Inc., Dutch Bros Coffee, Rad Power Bikes, Inc., Starbucks Coffee Company, and Vulcan, Inc. Red Haven Advisors serves individual and high-net-worth clients with fee-based investment advisory, discretionary portfolio management, and comprehensive financial planning. The firm combines fundamental and cyclical analysis with tactical allocation and option-writing strategies, tailoring portfolios to client objectives and offering a range of billing arrangements.

Lauren Vignec is the principal of Vignec Financial LLC in Seattle, WA, holding a Series 65 designation with over 17 years of experience in wealth management. Prior to founding her own firm in 2025, she worked at Erickson Wealth & Tax Management for 16 years. Outside of advising, she prepares tax returns for an unaffiliated CPA firm during the initial tax season and owns a mobile video-game startup. Vignec Financial LLC is a newly registered investment adviser providing discretionary investment management and portfolio oversight primarily to individual clients. The firm employs a long-term, passive investment approach using risk-based model portfolios mainly composed of broadly diversified ETFs and mutual funds, with scheduled rebalancing and no market timing or individual security selection.

Hope Broucek is a ChFC®-designated financial advisor at Financial Planning for Real People PLLC in Seattle, WA, with two years of industry experience. Prior to founding her independent firm in 2023, she worked at Singer Wealth Management for four years and spent over a decade involved with A Child Becomes Preschool. Financial Planning for Real People PLLC provides fee-only financial planning and discretionary investment management to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and charitable organizations. The firm offers tailored investment policies and a broad range of planning services, combining both passive and active strategies while maintaining quarterly portfolio monitoring and comprehensive written plans.