Susan Wellman

You make good money. You have a plan somewhere. What you are not sure about is whether anyone is actually watching the whole thing. Right now, you probably have an advisor for investments, a CPA for taxes, and maybe an attorney for estate documents. None of them talk to each other. You are the one in the middle, repeating your situation to three people who each see one slice of it. I build the financial plan, and I prepare and file your tax return myself. Same person, same conversation. The tax decision and the planning decision get made together, by someone who can see how one moves the other. Most advisors hand you off to a CPA who has never seen your plan. I do not hand you off. I work with dual-income parents, director level and up, two demanding careers, kids at home, and a financial life that has gotten more complicated than you have time for. Equity comp you have not fully sorted out. College creeping up. Estate documents written before your last job change. All of it in motion at once, and no one holding it together. What I give you back is time. One relationship instead of many. One person who knows the whole story, so you stop being the project manager of your own financial life. None of these pieces is that hard on its own. The coordination is what you do not have the hours for. That is the part I take off your plate. I am raising four kids of my own, including a set of triplets, so I plan from inside this life stage, not from a brochure. I know what it costs, in money and in attention, to do this well. If you are tired of being the one who holds it all together, reach out. I will tell you honestly whether I am the right fit.

Sean Sparkman is a financial advisor with Foundations Investment Advisors LLC and holds a Series 65 designation. He has six years of industry experience, including prior roles at Insight Folios and American Income Life. Outside of his advisory work, he is a partner in Highground Gaming LLC, which organizes board game events and produces related content on YouTube. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC provides financial planning and portfolio management to a diverse client base, including individual and high-net-worth clients, retirement plans, and registered investment companies, utilizing a mix of fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis alongside third-party sub-advisers.

Louis Bader is a CFP®-credentialed financial advisor with 18 years of industry experience, currently serving at J.P. Morgan Securities. He has worked at J.P. Morgan Securities since 2013. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC provides institutional consulting services to corporations, foundations, and defined contribution plan sponsors, offering asset allocation advice, investment manager searches, and customized performance reporting through a select group of Wealth Advisors.

Lawrence Zimbler is a financial advisor at 4Square Advisory Services, Inc. with 16 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has a background that includes extensive involvement with tax preparation and education through the National Association of Tax Professionals. Outside of advisory work, he owns a tax-related business that provides tax return preparation, advice, and continuing education for tax professionals. 4Square Advisory Services, Inc. provides portfolio management and financial planning services primarily for individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm uses client-specific Investment Policy Statements and a fundamental-analysis approach to tailor investment strategies, and it is affiliated with accounting and tax services.

Bassam Salem is a financial advisor at Objective Investments, LLC with 39 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has been with Objective Investments since 2018. Prior to that, he worked at InvestShares Advisor Group Inc. and InvestShares from 2016 to 2018. Objective Investments provides fee-based investment management services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, corporations, and qualified retirement plans. The firm offers both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, employs a variety of investment strategies, and provides specialized services to employer-sponsored retirement plans as a limited-scope ERISA 3(21) fiduciary.

Natalie Miller is the principal advisor at Grit and Lavender Financial Planning in Brighton, MI, with 14 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has worked at firms including Merrill Lynch, PNC Investments, and Mass Mutual. Outside of advisory work, Miller provides educational and coaching services through her consulting business and serves as a small business coach and securities licensing instructor. Grit and Lavender Financial Planning serves individual clients with investment management, comprehensive financial planning, and financial coaching. The firm primarily uses a passive investment approach and offers subscription-style services and educational programming to support client implementation and ongoing engagement.