Scott Mergen

Stoy Hall is a CFP® with 14 years of industry experience and the principal of Black Mammoth LLC, an independent advisory firm based in Ankeny, IA. His prior experience includes roles at Centric Advisors, Majors and Mondragon, MWA Financial Services, and Modern Woodmen of America. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as president of the board for the Starts Right Here Movement and owns consulting firms LNC Financial and Legacy Fiduciary Services. Black Mammoth LLC offers discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, family office and wealth planning, retirement plan consulting, and business advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporations. The firm manages accounts primarily on a discretionary basis using model portfolios and may engage third-party sub-advisers, while also sponsoring affiliated private funds and providing cash sweep programs.

Kyle Thompson is the principal advisor at Leetown Advisors with nine years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and previously worked at Waddell and Reed and KT Constrictors, a non-investment-related business he has been involved with since 2012. Leetown Advisors provides investment management, financial planning, business consulting, and retirement plan services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, employer plan sponsors, and institutional clients. The firm employs a primarily passive, asset-class allocation approach using index funds and ETFs, while also offering portfolio management for pooled vehicles and institutional clients, a service uncommon among firms of its size.

Samuel O'Brien is a financial advisor with Capital View Wealth Management, LLC in Des Moines, IA. He holds a Series 63 designation and has 27 years of industry experience. O'Brien has been with Capital View Wealth Management since its founding in 2003. Capital View Wealth Management is an independent registered investment adviser serving individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm provides personalized portfolio management and advisory consulting, focusing on exchange-traded equities and other investments clients bring to the relationship, using fundamental analysis, long-term purchase strategies, and selective option-writing.

Matthew Ford is a CFP® and CFA® with four years of industry experience. He is the principal advisor at BlackOak Advisors LLC in Des Moines, IA, where he has worked since 2021. Prior to this, he held a role at Freemark Partners Management LP for four years. Outside of his advisory work, he is the founder and co-chief investment officer of Klima Capital Advisors LP, an investment firm specializing in regulated carbon markets. BlackOak Advisors LLC serves individuals, families, trusts, estates, businesses, and institutional clients, offering investment management, wealth management, financial planning, and investment consulting. The firm’s investment approach centers on strategic asset allocation with diversified ETFs, mutual funds, fixed-income instruments, and rules-based factor strategies, and it also offers alternative engagement formats such as project-based or hourly consulting.

John Flynn is the sole advisor at Prospective Value Partners LLC in Des Moines, IA, holding Series 65 and Series 66 registrations with 11 years of industry experience. He has been with Prospective Value Partners since 2015. Prospective Value Partners provides discretionary asset management and portfolio supervision to individuals, retirement plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and some institutional clients. The firm employs a fundamental, value-oriented investment approach focused on long-only positions in publicly traded companies and occasional shorter-term special situations, managing approximately $76 million across about 36 client accounts.

Hello, I'm Mike. I founded Teacher Wealth to raise the standard of financial advice to educators. As a former teacher, I understand the challenges that educators face with their finances; as well as the unique opportunities. Unfortunately, in many ways, the financial services community has ignored the profession. I am trying to change that. Teachers deserve better! Many families just need someone to walk with them as they make important decisions. To really get to know them. To ask them the right questions. To challenge them. To offer them accountability. I am honored to be this person for my clients. At Teacher Wealth, we like to say that "it's not just about the money." Instead, the focus is on how money can best create clarity, security, and fulfillment in our lives. The K-12 financial literacy education movement is a passion of mine and I try to help with that by serving on the board of the Iowa Jump$tart Coalition. On the personal side, I've been married to my best friend Tisa for over 20 years. We live in chaos most of the time in our Des Moines, Iowa home as we raise our four awesome kids. We do our best to prioritize our marriage over everything else except our faith. We are active members of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Des Moines.