Thomas Cole Montoya

Peter Mu is a CFP® with 15 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Wealth Cairn, LLC. His prior experience includes roles at Park Avenue Securities and Guardian Life Insurance Company. He is also licensed to sell insurance products as part of his professional activities. Wealth Cairn provides advisory services to institutional and individual clients, specializing in portfolio management, pension consulting, and financial planning. The firm employs a long-term investment approach grounded in modern portfolio theory and often implements strategies through third-party managers with ongoing due diligence.

James Ward is a CFP® with 4 years of experience in financial advising and is the sole advisor at J Ward Financial in Morgan Hill, CA. He has a background in legal and real estate fields, operating an estate-planning and elder-law practice as well as a real estate business. Ward also holds licenses related to insurance and broker-dealer activities outside his advisory role. J Ward Financial provides discretionary investment management primarily for high-net-worth individuals, families, and trusts. The firm focuses on asset-allocation strategies tailored to clients’ circumstances and regularly reviews portfolios every one to three months, often utilizing third-party managers such as FPAS and Dimensional.

Michael Garber is a CFP® with eight years of industry experience and the principal of Michael Garber Financial Planning, an independent advisory firm. He has worked at Keysight Technologies, Inc. since 2014 in an internal organizational consultant role focused on sales skills development. Michael Garber Financial Planning serves individuals and families through a fee-only, independent model offering comprehensive financial planning, investment consulting, tax preparation, estate-plan review, risk management, and small-business planning. The firm emphasizes a long-term, cost-minimizing investment approach using passive vehicles and operates on a retainer- and project-based fee structure without discretionary trading authority or acceptance of commissions.

Alex Baier is a CFP® with 10 years of experience in financial advising. He has worked at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company and Foresters Financial Services before joining RLS Private Wealth Consulting, Inc. in 2025. Baier holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. RLS Private Wealth Consulting provides family office and comprehensive planning services to families, business owners, and high-net-worth clients. The firm offers investment consulting and holistic wealth-planning advice, emphasizing operational and governance functions beyond typical planning services.

Rhonda Staelgraeve Secor is a CFP® with 14 years of industry experience, currently serving at RLS Private Wealth Consulting, Inc. since 2016. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and is an advisory board member of Monterey County Bank. RLS Private Wealth Consulting provides family office and comprehensive planning services to families, business owners, and high-net-worth clients. The firm offers investment consulting and holistic wealth-planning advice, emphasizing operational and governance functions alongside portfolio analysis and coordination with third-party investment managers.

David Faulk is a CFP® and Series 65-registered advisor with 20 years of industry experience. He is the principal at Montage Financial Advisors, where he has worked since 2020, and he also serves as president of Montage Tax, a separate tax preparation and planning firm. Prior to founding Montage Financial Advisors, he was with Johanson Financial Advisors, Inc. for five years. Montage Financial Advisors provides discretionary portfolio management and project-based financial planning for individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs a primarily passive investment approach grounded in Modern Portfolio Theory, using diversified portfolios of index mutual funds and ETFs, and coordinates closely with clients’ tax and legal professionals.