Philip Baran

Thomas Vaccaro Jr. is a CFP® and registered investment advisor with Briarcliff Manor Wealth Advisors, where he has worked since 2005. He has three years of industry experience and also operates BMWA Notary Services, providing notary services for residential mortgage transactions in New York. Briarcliff Manor Wealth Advisors manages discretionary investment accounts and offers personal financial planning for individuals, small businesses, and trusts, using a combination of fundamental and technical analysis with a focus on tax-aware investing.

Brian Schmidt is a financial advisor at Hudson Delaware Planning LLC with 13 years of industry experience. He holds the CFP® designation as well as Series 63 and Series 66 licenses. Prior to founding Hudson Delaware Planning in 2019, Schmidt worked at Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. and The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. Outside of advisory work, he is involved with Redbud Farms LLC. Hudson Delaware Planning provides financial planning and consulting services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and business entities. The firm focuses on comprehensive, written financial plans covering areas such as retirement, tax, estate, and business consultation, operating on a planning-only model without managing or custodial responsibilities.

Mark Stern is a financial advisor at Stone Ridge Advisors with 24 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has previously worked at Laurel Wealth Advisors and Integrated Wealth Concepts, LLC. Stone Ridge Advisors is an independent, SEC-registered solo-practitioner firm managing approximately $36.5 million for individual, high-net-worth, and institutional clients. The firm offers discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting, employing proprietary blended investment models that integrate multiple analytical approaches and emphasize diversification, rebalancing, and a long-term investment horizon.

John Duval Jr. is a financial advisor at Bantam Inc. with 13 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has worked at Bantam Inc. since 2017 and at Accelerant LLC since 2004. In addition to his advisory work, he manages a securities litigation consulting firm where he serves as an expert witness. Bantam Inc. provides investment management and financial planning primarily to ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families, select institutional clients, and high-trajectory athletes. The firm employs a combination of fundamental, quantitative, technical, and macroeconomic analysis augmented by AI, offering services that include discretionary portfolio management, pension consulting, and tailored CFO services for athletes.

David Sterman is a CFP® professional with nine years of industry experience, currently operating as the sole advisor at Huguenot Financial Planning in New Paltz, NY. He has been associated with LPL Financial since 2016. In addition to his advisory work, Sterman contributes written content to industry publications and leads educational workshops and real-time planning sessions. Huguenot Financial Planning provides fee-only financial planning and periodic investment consultations to individuals, families, trusts, small businesses, pension, and charitable clients. The firm emphasizes a broadly diversified, long-term investment approach using Modern Portfolio Theory and Core + Satellite strategies, primarily with low-cost indexed vehicles tailored to client objectives and risk tolerance.

Alan Lax is a financial advisor with Ryefield Capital, LLC, an independent firm based in Germantown, NY. He holds the Series 66 designation and has 13 years of industry experience, including prior roles at Merrill and Gunnallen Financial, Inc. Ryefield Capital, LLC provides portfolio management and retirement planning services for individuals, professionals, and small businesses. The firm uses a combination of fundamental and technical analysis in an opportunistic approach focused on capital appreciation, and it employs tactical hedging when appropriate.