Stephen Andre Varley

I'm the founder of SCM Investment Services in Lake Elmo, MN — a fee-only, fiduciary advisory firm built on one belief: everyone deserves honest financial advice from someone legally required to put their interests first. My path here started on the trading floor at the Chicago Board of Trade, where I transacted over $1 billion in US Treasury Notes daily and later served as VP and Director of Discretionary Trading Operations. With degrees in Computer Science and Chemistry, I've always approached investing as a hard science — not a sales pitch. I earned my MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the epicenter of evidence-based investing. No commissions. No exceptions. I've been quoted as a financial expert in CNN Money, Fortune, the Chicago Tribune, US News, and Investment News.

After spending more than 13 years in traditional wealth management, I saw first hand how traditional firms, regardless of their fee model - are designed to maintain the status quo. I created Luminous Money as an expression and reflection of my personal pursuit of the American Dream: from being a first-generation immigrant working minimum wage jobs, to slowly scrimping, saving and investing into achieving some of my biggest dreams. If you're a dreamer, you're one of us. At Luminous, we don't care about not being invited to the table.....we're building our own damn table. Luminous is designed to work with people across all income and wealth levels, because I know first hand that money in the hands of the right people changes everything. I am so excited to meet you!

Sam Schuette is a seasoned wealth advisor with over two decades of experience helping individuals and families plan for financial security and life milestones. As Vice President and Wealth Advisor at GreenUp Wealth Management, Sam works with clients to develop financial strategies tailored to their goals — including retirement planning, investment guidance, and overall wealth management.  Before joining GreenUp, Sam spent more than a decade at Scottrade, Inc., where he built strong client relationships and led teams of investment professionals. He also served in financial advisory and wealth planning roles at several other firms, bringing a depth of practical experience across markets, financial planning disciplines, and client service.  Sam holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture & Food Business Management with a focus in Finance from the University of Minnesota. Outside of work, he enjoys time with his family, outdoor activities, and community engagement.

Chad Rusten is Chief Financial Planner at Element Squared Private Wealth in Minneapolis, MN, holding the ChFC®, CLU®, CASL®, and CLTC designations along with Series 66 licenses. He has 23 years of industry experience, with prior roles at Park Avenue Securities, Guardian Life Insurance, Eagle Strategies (NY Life), and Nylife Securities. He also operates as a sole proprietor in insurance sales and services, dedicating approximately 5% of his time to this activity. Element Squared Private Wealth provides discretionary asset management and integrated financial planning to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs a combination of fundamental, technical, and charting analysis to construct diversified portfolios tailored to client objectives, offering financial planning as part of its advisory services.

Eric Hutchens is a CFP®, CFA®, and Series 66 certificant with 18 years of experience in the financial industry. He has worked at Allodium Investment Consultants, LLC since 2015 and previously spent eight years with UBS Financial Services. Allodium Investment Consultants serves individuals, foundations, endowments, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and business entities. The firm provides discretionary investment management, financial planning, and fiduciary consulting, generally favoring low-cost, tax-advantaged, passively oriented investments customized to clients’ goals and risk tolerances.

Peter O'Brien is the owner and sole advisor of MPM Financial Corporation, an independent firm based in Maplewood, MN. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 36 years of industry experience. Prior to his current role at MPM Financial Corporation since 2020, he worked at Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments and Voya Financial Advisors. In addition to his advisory work, he is a licensed agent for fixed and traditional insurance products. MPM Financial Corporation provides discretionary asset management primarily for individual investors and qualified retirement plans. The firm uses a combination of fundamental, technical, charting, and cyclical analysis to tailor portfolios to client objectives and offers services including ongoing portfolio monitoring and financial consulting.