Patrick Rankin Chitwood

Jitin Singhal is a CFA® charterholder with 16 years of industry experience. He has worked at EJ Financial Corp. since 2004 and held roles at Farmer Mac from 2005 to 2019 and Sallie Mae since 2025, where he is Sr. Director of Portfolio Analytics and Strategy. EJ Financial Corporation provides investment advice and finance and technology consulting to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporate clients. The firm combines quantitative and economic analysis to guide investment decisions and offers both discretionary and non-discretionary management, alongside educational seminars and financial consultations for private companies and government entities.

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!

John Rathnam is the sole advisor at Rathnam Capital, LLC, an independent firm based in Bluemont, VA. He holds the CFA® designation and Series 65 license, with 21 years of industry experience. Rathnam has led Rathnam Capital since its founding in 2010. Rathnam Capital serves individual and high-net-worth clients, managing approximately $81 million across about three dozen households. The firm provides discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting, utilizing customized asset allocation strategies and third-party sub-advisers to address a range of investment needs.

Eric Norberg is the principal of EAN Equity Financial Services LLC, an independent firm based in Leesburg, VA. He holds the CFP® and ChFC® designations and has 11 years of industry experience. Prior to his current role, he worked at PKS Investment Advisors LLC for one year. In addition to his advisory work, Norberg provides CPA tax preparation and small life insurance sales through his firm. EAN Equity Financial Services offers personalized financial planning and investment management to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and small businesses. The firm employs a combination of strategic and tactical asset allocation using both active and passive investment vehicles and fundamental security analysis, and maintains a tax-preparation practice alongside its advisory services.

David Pickei is the sole advisor at Reye Partners Asset Management LLC in Leesburg, VA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 24 years of industry experience. He has been with Reye Partners since 2005. Reye Partners Asset Management provides discretionary, separately managed investment management and portfolio consulting services primarily for individual clients and trusts. The firm serves both high-net-worth and non-high-net-worth clients, emphasizing portfolio composition, due diligence, diversification, and capital preservation through a manager-of-managers approach.

Eric Smeby is the principal advisor at EsmeB Inc, holding a Series 65 designation with 16 years of industry experience. His career includes roles at Waterfall Wealth LLC, FTToken Inc, Dash.Fi, and Capital One. He leads multiple ventures related to digital financial platforms. EsmeB Incorporated provides automated investment management and self-directed financial planning tools via its WaterfallWealth.ai platform. The firm serves individual investors and companies seeking rules-based portfolio solutions, delivering services exclusively online using a quantitative, algorithm-driven investment process.