Susan Grant Palombo

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.

I’m Zach Thomas, founder and steward of Growth Horizons Wealth Management, based in Georgetown, TX. As a fee‑only, fiduciary advisor, our team empowers small business owners, high-net-worth individuals, and retirees to build purposeful lives through thoughtful, technology-forward wealth planning—because financial success should fuel what matters, not distract from it. My journey began after witnessing my grandfather’s financial struggles following his business exit. That experience—combined with the values of my parents (a teacher and postal worker)—shaped my mission to prevent others from suffering the same. I launched my career at Wells Fargo, built a wealth-management department at Cadence Bank, and refined my approach at Heritage Family Offices before launching my practice in July 2023. Outside of work, I’m a devoted husband, proud father to Roman, CrossFit enthusiast, triathlon finisher, aspiring author, lifelong student of the humanities, and active Christian. I believe wealth is about time, freedom, and legacy—not just dollars.

Kirti Bhanushali is the sole advisor at Dversify Advisors LLC, holding a Series 65 credential with one year of industry experience. Prior to founding Dversify Advisors, Kirti was employed at Oracle Corp for 18 years. Kirti is also involved with Dversify AI LLC, a technology affiliate related to the advisory platform. Dversify Advisors provides automated, non-discretionary investment advice and financial planning services to individual clients through an interactive digital platform. The firm focuses on delivering analyses such as retirement-income planning, Social Security strategy, and tax-related modeling without managing client assets or executing trades.

Brandon Perry is a CFP® and ChFC® with 22 years of industry experience. He is the principal of Perry Investment Management, LLC, an independent firm he has led since 2009 in Round Rock, TX. Perry Investment Management is a fee-only registered investment adviser managing approximately $27 million in discretionary assets. The firm serves individuals, nonprofits, corporate pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable institutions, foundations, and endowments, using an IPS-driven approach focused on risk control and loss limitation through diversified portfolios comprising stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, and bonds.

Scott Jacobsmeyer is a CFP® with 20 years of industry experience and has been with Argent Wealth Management, Inc. since 2005. He is based in Round Rock, TX, and holds a Series 65 license. Argent Wealth Management provides personalized financial planning and investment management to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and small businesses on a fee-only basis. The firm employs a strategic asset allocation approach using primarily passive mutual funds and ETFs, with an emphasis on non-discretionary management and periodic rebalancing.

Mustafa Ismail is the principal of Ismail, Mustafa, an investment management firm based in Cedar Park, TX. He holds a Series 65 designation and has industry experience beginning in 2024. Prior to founding his firm, he worked for nine years at Intel Corporation in technology roles including cloud architect and software engineer. Ismail, Mustafa provides fee-only financial planning services to individuals and high-net-worth clients, focusing on tailored recommendations in investing, asset allocation, retirement rollovers, insurance, and taxes. The firm emphasizes long-term diversified strategies and detailed risk disclosures, operating on an hourly billing basis without accepting custody or discretionary authority over client accounts.