Stephen Babson II

Neal Solomon is a CFP® and ChFC® with 41 years of experience in financial services. He is the founder and managing member of WealthPro, LLC and has held roles at The Strategic Financial Alliance, Inc. since 2005. Outside of advising, he occasionally sells internet domain names and serves as an expert witness and consultant in litigation matters. He is also involved in an audiology practice as a chief financial officer and manager. WealthPro, LLC provides financial planning, investment consulting, and portfolio management to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and other business entities. The firm primarily recommends and monitors independent investment managers and strategist-driven model portfolios, with a significant portion of assets managed on the AssetMark platform.

Rachel Sloan is a CFP® professional with 21 years of experience in financial advising. She has led Sloan Advisory Group, Inc. since 2009. The firm offers discretionary investment management and comprehensive financial planning to individual and high-net-worth clients, managing approximately $63.6 million in assets. Its investment approach focuses on asset-class allocation and Modern Portfolio Theory to create diversified portfolios tailored to client objectives, with periodic reviews and discretionary implementation. The firm also provides educational seminars and workshops on general financial topics to organizations and the public.

Jonathan Mandwelle is the principal of J. Mandwelle Capital Management and holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. He has over 35 years of experience as a CPA and financial planner, with additional roles including adjunct college instructor at SUNY Adirondack and owner of an accounting and tax preparation firm. J. Mandwelle Capital Management provides discretionary investment supervisory services and hourly financial planning to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and retirement accounts. The firm employs a blend of charting, fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis, utilizing both long- and short-term trading strategies with discretionary trading authority.

First Step Wealth Planning is a firm that serves people seeking guidance on retiring with financial and emotional confidence. Our clients are nearing or already retired, looking for advice on retirement income, tax planning, and investments, and typically have accumulated over $1.5 million. The traditional method of retirement planning is broken. It's about facts and figures as a means to sell products. A traditional firm's business model relies on managing investments for a percentage fee, and they dedicate their time and resources to convincing you that their investment opinions are superior to those of other firms. After over 20 years of working for those firms, I broke away and started First Step Wealth Planning to provide people with the guidance they seek without feeling pressured to purchase investment and insurance products. Guided Planning is a method that helps people clarify their emotional goals and align them with their money. It’s a way to help people figure out for themselves what really matters to them and how money will play a role in those relationships. By the end of the process, they feel confident that their plan accurately reflects who they are, what they want to do, and why. They are clear on their goals, the reasons behind them, and what they need to do to move forward. Guided Planning aligns all aspects of your wealth with how you want to spend your time in retirement and is offered at a flat rate. Half up front, the rest at completion. Implementation of the plan and ongoing guidance include tax planning, investment management, income maximization, and wealth transfer planning. All provided for a flat monthly rate. If this sounds like the type of relationship you would like to have with a financial planner, visit the website to set up a complimentary consultation to see how Guided Planning may be a good fit for you.

Connie Walsh Toler is a CFP® professional with five years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Adirondack Retirement Strategies. Her prior work includes roles at H&R Block, multiple school districts, and J Mandwelle Capital Management. Adirondack Retirement Strategies provides investment management and financial planning services to individual clients, including high-net-worth individuals, with a focus on tailored portfolios and project-based planning. The firm employs a primarily passive investment approach combined with fundamental and technical analysis and manages discretionary accounts totaling over $18 million in assets.

Thomas Chambers is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Queensbury, NY, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and bringing 35 years of industry experience. He has worked at Valic Financial Advisors since 2008 and is also an agent with Agia, where he offers non-securities insurance products. Valic Financial Advisors serves U.S.-domiciled individual investors, including high-net-worth clients, as well as corporate and retirement-plan participants. The firm provides discretionary managed-account programs, financial planning, and brokerage services, utilizing Envestnet-developed UMA models and offering various overlay services.