Steve Fred Shmatko

I watched my family work incredibly hard their whole lives -- and I never wanted anyone else to reach the end of theirs wondering if they did enough with what they had. That's the reason I became a financial advisor. Not because I loved spreadsheets -- though I do -- but because money is the thing that funds the life you're trying to build, and most people deserve someone in their corner who actually treats it that way. I moved to the U.S. from India as a kid and started working at 13. Money was never theoretical in our house. It was decisions with real consequences, and I learned early that the difference between a good outcome and a bad one often came down to information, timing, and who you had helping you. I've spent 14+ years in financial services. Long enough to understand how the industry works -- and long enough to be frustrated by it. Clients getting sold products they didn't need. Advisors earning more when clients invested more, regardless of whether it made sense. Tax, investments, and estate planning treated like separate problems instead of one integrated picture. Singh PWM exists because I refused to operate that way. No commissions. No AUM fees on assets I don't manage. No incentive to recommend anything other than what's right for you. Just transparent flat fees and a clear scope of work -- so you always know what you're paying for and why. I hold two credentials that matter for the kind of work I do: CFP® since 2016 and Enrolled Agent since 2026. The CFP® covers the planning side. The EA means I'm federally authorized to represent clients before the IRS and work through tax strategy directly -- not hand it off to someone else. Together, they let me build retirement plans where tax decisions, investment structure, and income planning actually work together. My wife Stefania runs client services. We live in Phoenix with our son Luke and three dogs. This is a small firm by design -- because the kind of advice I give requires knowing you, not managing a book of 500 accounts. If you're serious about getting your financial life in order before retirement, I'd like to talk. CFP® Since 2016 | EA Since 2026

Hayden Ess is a financial advisor at Iridescent Capital Management with two years of industry experience. He holds Series 65 and Series 63 registrations. Prior to joining Iridescent Capital Management, he has worked with firms including Charles Schwab and Bank of America. Outside of advising, he owns a tax preparation business and works as a wedding DJ. Iridescent Capital Management is a solo, fee-only registered investment adviser serving a small client roster that includes high-net-worth individuals, pension/profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm provides portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement-plan consulting, applying a modern portfolio theory approach with an emphasis on low-cost passive funds, tailored client restrictions, and integration of planning and investment oversight.

I started in the advice business in 2012 as an intern at First Allied Securities. Lucky for me, I got to see the inside of a lot of classic wealth management firms - how the sausage was made. Fast forward to 2016, I've worked a few years in the industry, but I'm not happy with my trajectory; I want to write my own story. A couple of industry guys create a platform called XY Planning Network, seemingly tailor-made for me & my dreams. I want to serve the next generation of clients in a fair & transparent way, and I'd like to do it on my own terms. XYPN's little push, their "Yes, you can do this" at the September 2016 conference in San Diego, was the catalyst for launching my firm, Montebello Avenue Limited Company, which went live in February 2017. Today, my firm serves 50+ clients locally & throughout the country. I couldn't be more proud of our clientele or more hopeful about the future of the firm. Some more personal quick-hits: BS, Computational Mathematical Sciences, Arizona State University CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and the Alpha Architect blog Mississippi native Youngest of 4 siblings I love basketball, baseball, sushi, and my dog's underbite Married on 10/10/2020 to the love of my life

I work with people who are within about five years of retirement, or already moving into it, in an ongoing advisory relationship that runs through the transition and past it. You've saved for decades and the balances are real. What changes as retirement gets closer is the questions: how much you can comfortably spend, when you can stop working, which accounts to draw from first, when to claim Social Security, and how to cover health insurance before Medicare. I'm a CPA and a CFP® professional, and I prepare my clients' tax returns myself. The plan and the filing come from the same desk, so a Roth conversion, a withdrawal order, or an equity sale gets modeled against the return it will land on before anyone acts on it. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, working with clients across the country. Fee-only, no commissions.

Ryan Betts is the sole advisor at Betts LLC in Phoenix, AZ, holding a Series 65 designation with eight years of industry experience. He has worked at Larry B. Betts, CPA and operated Ryan Betts PC, accumulating over 15 years in related fields. Betts LLC provides advisory services primarily through referrals to third-party money managers such as Rockefeller Capital Management. The firm serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, and business entities, focusing on long-term investment strategies aligned with client objectives and risk tolerance while not directly managing client assets.

Robert Kerns III is a CFP® and Series 66-registered advisor with six years of industry experience. He is the sole advisor at Kerns Legacy Planning, an independent firm he founded after working at Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Merrill, American Family Insurance, and The University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as an assistant coach for the U14 age group with the Coyotes Amateur Hockey Association, a youth ice hockey organization in Arizona. Kerns Legacy Planning provides discretionary portfolio management and financial planning to individuals, high-net-worth individuals, and business entities. The firm employs fundamental analysis, modern portfolio theory, and technical analysis to manage portfolios across various asset classes, with a focus on tailored investment policy statements, ongoing monitoring, and referral to third-party advisers when appropriate.