Michael Ian Tievy

As a member of the financial independence community, I understand the value of quality fee only advice catering to the complex and "nontraditional" route we are taking to life. I have built a "lifestyle" practice, where I can serve clients, maintain my balanced lifestyle with two girls, pursue my hobbies and travel. I primarily work with clients on an ongoing retainer basis, charged with a monthly billing arrangement. For legacy (separated) clients or family of clients, I offer hourly based planning. I also prepare tax returns and manage assets, both of which I charge a separate fee for. After graduating from University of Maryland, College Park, I worked in public accounting doing tax preparation and consulting for high net worth individuals, estates and trusts. I changed careers into financial planning in 2013, working mainly with clients pursuing a traditional retirement path, including attorneys, physicians, executives and families with wealth. After working for a large planning firm in the DC area, I launched my firm in 2018. I am a CFP® and CPA. Given my background, I specialize in tax planning, retirement planning and frugality!

Timothy Taylor is a financial advisor with Taylor Capital Management in Martinsburg, WV, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 25 years of industry experience. He has led TCM Advisors, LLC since 2006. Taylor serves on the finance committee of Highland View Academy, a nonprofit Christian high school. Taylor Capital Management provides discretionary portfolio management and investment advisory services to individuals, charitable organizations, corporate entities, retirement plans, and institutional mandates. The firm focuses on individualized account supervision, employs a broad range of investment instruments including derivatives, and manages a relatively large client base through a wrap fee program administered on two account platforms.

Bryan Lohr is a financial advisor at Present Value Financial Services LLC with seven years of industry experience and a Series 65 credential. He has been with Present Value Financial Services since 2018 following a period of semi-retirement from 2015 to 2018. Present Value Financial Services serves individual and family clients with financial planning, investment management, tax preparation, and financial education. The firm employs a fiduciary standard, using bottom-up fundamental analysis combined with capital market techniques to construct diversified, tax-aware portfolios and offers fee structures that do not rely on assets under management.

Mark Helm is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license, with 22 years of experience in financial advisory. He has been the sole advisor and founder of Helm Financial Advisors, LLC since 2003. Helm Financial Advisors, LLC is a fee-only, state-registered firm providing holistic financial planning and investment advisory services primarily to individuals and families. The firm employs a retainer and project fee model, offers integrated tax preparation and IRS representation, and focuses on non-discretionary advice with client-approved trading.

Diane Case is the principal of Shenandoah Financial, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 20 years of industry experience. She has operated as a sole proprietor since 1993 and worked at Gradient Advisors, LLC from 2015 to 2016. In addition to her financial advisory work, she is a licensed insurance agent and dedicates approximately 25% of her time to that practice. Shenandoah Financial provides financial planning and consulting services to individuals and small businesses, referring clients to third-party money managers for investment management. The firm assists clients with tailored financial plans, monitors third-party manager performance, and handles related administrative tasks.

Thomas Maiden is a CFP® with eight years of industry experience and is the sole advisor at Mission: Advice, an independent firm based in Shepherdstown, WV. He has worked with Investment Outfitters, LLC since 2019 and Insurance Outfitters, Inc. since 2000. Outside of his advisory work, Maiden serves as a Commanding Officer in the Navy Reserve with the United States Africa Command J2, leading a 70-member Naval Intelligence unit. Mission: Advice serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, and pension and profit-sharing plans, offering financial planning, discretionary investment management, and retirement plan consulting. The firm emphasizes tax-efficient portfolio construction, using low-cost, passive ETF allocations combined with long-term fundamental analysis, and provides institutional retirement plan consulting alongside individual wealth management.