Shanti Ponce

I was 13 years old when I started investing. My grandfather taught me. Instead of fishing or watching baseball during summers together, he walked me through options trading (not the safest way to invest lol). Buying and selling puts, running iron condors and writing covered calls. Most kids my age were at camps or on the swim team. I was learning about risk, free cash flow, and what it means to actually own a piece of a business. I was obsessed. I kept investing through college, eventually realizing there was a whole world beyond picking stocks. Tax planning. Estate planning. Cash flow. The full picture of what it takes to build wealth and protect a family. I joined a firm out of school. Then another. I learned a lot, but kept running into the same wall: I didn't have the freedom to invest the way I believed clients deserved. In 2021, I started Baskets Capital, my own independent RIA. I wanted full control over how we serve clients. Not 10 mutual funds and calling it a day. Not telling an 85 year old "let's just see what the market does." I wanted custom portfolios of individual stocks, actively managed, tailored to each client. Then in early 2024, life hit me hard. I was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor. Three months of scans and specialists led to brain surgery in May 2024. A week in the hospital, time in the Neural ICU, and a long recovery that stretched through the year. I could not have made it through without God protecting me the whole way, without Courtney by my side, and without having built my own firm years prior. Full control over my schedule is what let me focus on healing. In 2025, the best thing that has ever happened. We welcomed our daughter, Parker, into the world. She reshaped how I think about my work and why it matters. At Baskets Capital, we help families and business owners navigate tax planning, estate planning, charitable giving, and investments so they can focus on what matters most - family time. We coordinate every piece: proactive tax planning, smart giving strategies like donating appreciated stock and using donor-advised funds, and custom portfolios of individual stocks. Every dollar gets put to work with intention. If you think you're safe because nothing has gone wrong yet, and you haven't built a plan for what happens when life throws something unexpected at you, we should probably talk. Life has a thousand things it can throw. One of the best things you can do is prepare, build a plan, and walk through it with experts beside you.

Erin Hilton is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional with 24 years of industry experience. She is the managing member of Hilton Financial Group, LLC, an independent registered investment adviser based in Austin, TX. Her prior experience includes roles at Guardian Life, Eagle Strategies (NY Life), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. Hilton volunteers with the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). Hilton Financial Group provides comprehensive financial planning, coaching, and consulting services for individuals, families, and plan sponsors. The firm emphasizes low-cost, passive investment recommendations and offers a range of services including premium financial coaching, written financial plans, and employer consulting without managing client assets or accepting discretionary authority.

Sean Sevey, ChFC®, RICP®, is the founder and sole advisor of Sevey Wealth Advisors, a flat-fee, fee-only fiduciary registered investment adviser in Austin, TX. He founded the firm in 2022 after 22 years at Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments, and has more than 25 years in the financial services industry. Every client works directly with Sean. Sevey Wealth Advisors charges one flat fee of $10,000 per year regardless of portfolio size — no assets-under-management fees and no commissions. The firm works with Texas retirees and pre-retirees who have $2 million to $20 million in investable assets, and focuses on planning rather than market timing: retirement income planning, tax-smart withdrawal and Roth conversion strategy, Social Security and Medicare/IRMAA planning, estate coordination, and goals-based portfolios built around each client's income sources, timeline, and risk tolerance.

Emily Rassam is a CFP® professional with 18 years of experience in the financial services industry. She is a Partner and Senior Financial Planner at Archer Investment Management, a fee-only and fiduciary firm based in Austin, TX and serving clients nationwide. Archer Investment Management helps tech professionals, pre-retirees, high earners, use their money to live a great life today and an even better life tomorrow. ► For Tech Professionals: We help you answer questions like… 💬 Should I exercise my stock options now, or wait—and how do taxes impact that decision? 💬 How do I think about buying a home or other big decisions when so much of my net worth is tied up in stock? 💬 When is it okay to take money off the table and enjoy it, not just reinvest everything? ► For Pre-Retirees and Retirees: We help you answer questions like… 💬 Are we actually ready to retire, or should we work a few more years? 💬 When should we start Social Security so we optimize our lifetime benefits? 💬 Should we be doing Roth conversions, or will that raise our taxes? We can answer questions like these and many more if you’re looking for help. ► Services We can help with proactive tax planning, equity compensation, retirement planning, financial planning, investment management, goal setting, and more. Learn more about our firm at: https://archerim.com/

Richard is the owner and president of Archer Investment Management, a fee-only and fiduciary firm based in Austin, TX and serving clients nationwide. Archer helps tech professionals, pre-retirees, high earners, use their money to live a great life today and an even better life tomorrow. ► For Tech Professionals: We help you answer questions like… - Should I exercise my stock options now, or wait—and how do taxes impact that decision? - How do I think about buying a home or other big decisions when so much of my net worth is tied up in stock? - When is it okay to take money off the table and enjoy it, not just reinvest everything? ► For Pre-Retirees and Retirees: We help you answer questions like… - Are we actually ready to retire, or should we work a few more years? - When should we start Social Security so we optimize our lifetime benefits? - Should we be doing Roth conversions, or will that raise our taxes? We can answer questions like these and many more if you’re looking for help. ► Services We can help with proactive tax planning, equity compensation, retirement planning, financial planning, investment management, goal setting, and more.

Christopher Hehman is a Series 66-licensed financial advisor at FMP Wealth Advisers with one year of industry experience. Prior to joining FMP Wealth Advisers, he worked at Dimensional Fund Advisors and has academic experience at Texas Tech University. FMP Wealth Advisers provides fee-only financial planning and investment management services. The firm manages approximately $1.6 billion in client assets.