Elijah has been a fee-only financial planner for over eight years. In 2025, he started Essa Financial to provide transparent and client-centric financial advice to folks in the Louisville community and beyond. As a teacher, Elijah’s favorite part about being a financial planner is communicating complex planning topics to clients in ways that are more easily understood. He enjoys the education aspect of being a planner, especially in a one-on-one environment. He values deep relationships with clients, and is always willing to listen and learn. He also believes exceptional client service (and swift communication) is the cornerstone of financial planning. Elijah is actively involved in the profession. He is an active volunteer with the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), having previously served on their Genesis board for young advisors for five years and currently serving on the South Region board as the Membership Chair. He also reviews scholarship applications for the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning, which provides assistance to qualified candidates for the CFP® exam. In addition to his role as a planner, Elijah teaches part-time as an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville. Elijah resides in Louisville with his wife, Sarah, and dogs, Landon and Korra. Aside from financial planning and teaching, Elijah spends his time frequenting local coffee shops, running (short distances) around his neighborhood, playing video games, watching the Minnesota Timberwolves, and of course, spending time with friends and family.

Anita Loy is a CFP® professional with 23 years of experience in financial advising. She is the sole advisor at Inspire Private Wealth Management in Louisville, KY, where she has worked since 2013. Prior to that, she spent 19 years with Money Concepts Capital Corp. Outside of her advisory work, she teaches and coaches adult education courses at various colleges and universities. Inspire Private Wealth Management serves individuals, business entities, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations, providing discretionary investment management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting. The firm emphasizes tailored investment advice and delivers both one-time financial planning and ongoing advisory services, with a notable focus on retirement plan and pension consulting for institutional clients.

Andrew Sloan is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) with 11 years of industry experience. He has operated Bluegrass Financial Planning, LLC in Louisville, KY since 2013. Outside of his advisory role, he coaches field hockey part-time at the Christian Academy of Louisville. Bluegrass Financial Planning primarily serves individual clients, offering comprehensive financial planning, discretionary investment management, and tax planning and preparation services. The firm follows a fundamental, long-term buy-and-hold investment approach focused on asset allocation and low-cost index funds, managing approximately $56.2 million on a discretionary basis for about 73 clients.

Edward Nelson is a ChFC® credentialed financial advisor with 18 years of industry experience. He has worked at Clear Trace, LLC since 2007 and previously spent 11 years with Zeiders Enterprises, Inc. His background includes management consulting and information technology. Clear Trace, LLC offers personal financial planning, investment management, and education services to individuals, families, trusts, estates, and certain business entities. The firm employs strategic asset allocation and fundamental analysis to build diversified portfolios, utilizing model portfolios, automated tax-loss harvesting, and discretionary account management.

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Richard Terlau is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license with 18 years of experience in the financial industry. He has been associated with Investment Answers since 2006 and is also involved with Brookstone Financial LLC and Investment Answers Media, Inc., where he contributes to financial education content. In addition to his advisory role, he is a licensed insurance agent and owner of Brookstone Financial, providing insurance services alongside investment advice. Investment Answers offers portfolio management services primarily to individual and high-net-worth clients, managing approximately $43.3 million across 257 client relationships. The firm employs three model portfolios—Conservative, Balanced, and Growth—tailored to clients’ goals, time horizons, and risk tolerance, using both charting and fundamental analysis alongside long- and short-term trading strategies.

Patrick Lach is a CFP® and CFA® credentialed financial advisor with 14 years of industry experience. He is the sole advisor at Lach Financial in Louisville, KY. In addition to his advisory work, Lach serves as an Associate Professor of Finance at Indiana University Southeast and contributes to The Wall Street Journal. He also provides consulting related to textbook material and legal expert witness engagements. Lach Financial offers financial planning and portfolio management primarily for individual investors and trusts through ongoing discretionary planning and hourly consulting. The firm employs a long-term, passive buy-and-hold investment strategy based on academic research, utilizing no-load mutual funds and ETFs, including those from Dimensional Fund Advisors.

Charles Veeneman is the sole advisor at Best Investment Options, LLC in Louisville, KY, holding a Series 66 designation with 17 years of industry experience. Prior to founding his current firm in 2019, he spent 12 years with Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. and Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc. He also serves as treasurer for the city of Northfield, KY, a position he has held since 2011, and operates two non-investment businesses: a CPA firm providing tax and audit services, and a bookkeeping services company. Best Investment Options, LLC manages discretionary investment portfolios for individual and trust clients, including high net worth individuals, using a tailored approach based on fundamental, technical, and economic analysis. The firm incorporates derivatives strategies such as equity puts and covered calls and maintains an affiliation with an accounting and tax practice under common ownership.

Jeffrey Geiser is a financial advisor at Lightpath Wealth & Tax Advisors with five years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 credential and has been involved with Lightpath Wealth & Tax Advisors since 2021. Geiser is also a manager of Hatchfly Consulting LLC, a non-investment-related operating company. Lightpath Wealth & Tax Advisors provides financial planning and consulting, acting primarily as an introducer and coordinator for externally managed portfolios rather than managing assets in-house. The firm combines advisory services with tax preparation and an affiliated insurance agency, focusing on selecting and monitoring sub-advisers and model portfolios.

Bradley Mattix is the sole advisor at Mattix Wealth Management LLC, an independent firm based in Jeffersonville, IN. He holds a Series 65 designation and has over 10 years of industry experience. Prior to founding his own firm, he worked at Senior Financial Services for 21 years. Mattix Wealth Management serves individual and small-business clients primarily through written financial planning and client education via newsletters and public workshops. The firm does not manage assets directly but refers clients to a preferred third-party money manager for ongoing portfolio supervision.

Mark Hoffman is a financial advisor at Lanier Asset Management, LLC, holding a Series 65 designation with over 17 years at the firm. He is based in Louisville, KY, and has focused his career exclusively with Lanier Asset Management. Lanier Asset Management provides financial planning, consulting, and investment management services to a broad client base, including individuals, retirement plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and business entities. The firm employs an open-architecture investment approach that combines traditional equity and fixed-income strategies with alternative asset classes to emphasize wealth preservation and reduced volatility. Lanier also sponsors and manages private real estate funds focused on assisted-living properties, which it offers privately to accredited investors.

Marcus Warren is the principal advisor at Warren Wealth Management & Tax Planning Inc. in Louisville, KY, with 20 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has held roles at several firms, including Gradient Advisors, LLC and The Warren Investment Group, LLC. Outside of his advisory work, Warren serves on the boards of the WHAS Crusade for Children and the Financial Empowerment Academy and is an owner and insurance agent at Syndicate Ins Solutions Incorporated. Warren Wealth Management & Tax Planning Inc. offers investment management, financial and tax planning, and educational seminars to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm uses a combination of fundamental, technical, charting, and cyclical analysis, employing third-party model portfolios with discretionary oversight, and conducts quarterly account reviews and timely financial planning.

Todd Meador is a financial advisor with T.K.M. Financial Services, LLC in Louisville, KY, holding the CFP®, Series 65, and Series 66 designations and bringing 12 years of industry experience. Prior to founding his current firm in 2017, he worked at Sterling Financial Group, Ltd. for one year. He hosts the finance-focused podcast and radio show “A Nickel and a Plan,” which discusses various financial topics. T.K.M. Financial Services offers fee-based comprehensive financial planning and discretionary investment advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, business owners, and charitable organizations. The firm emphasizes long-term investment strategies, uses documented Investment Policy Statements, and incorporates options strategies when appropriate.

Jeffrey Adkins is the principal of JLA Capital, LLC, an independent advisory firm. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 32 years of industry experience, including 15 years at L.M. Kohn & Company before founding his current firm. JLA Capital provides portfolio management and investment planning services to individual clients, including high-net-worth households. The firm employs a variety of analytical methods and trading strategies, including complex options and both short- and long-term approaches, while maintaining a relatively small client base and conducting regular portfolio reviews.

Kevin Roberts is a financial advisor at Lifetime Wealth Design LLC in Louisville, KY, holding CFP® and Series 66 credentials with 16 years of industry experience. He has been associated with Lifetime Wealth Design since 2009 and owns Roberts CPA Group and Corales & Roberts CPA Group. Roberts serves as a board member of Transcend Credit Union and owns and operates a Scooter’s Coffee franchise through Abundant Heritage LLC. Lifetime Wealth Design provides financial planning, portfolio management, and ongoing monitoring services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, corporations, and other entities. The firm emphasizes tailored asset allocation with discretionary portfolio management and regular account reviews, leveraging affiliations with CPA firms and offering insurance products.

Brandon Moody is a financial advisor at Thompson Investment Advisors in Louisville, KY, with 18 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and previously worked at Aquila Distributors, LLC for six years before joining Thompson Investment Advisors in 2021. Thompson Investment Advisors provides investment counsel and portfolio management to individuals and entities such as trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporations, primarily serving non-high-net-worth clients. The firm’s investment approach combines technical analysis with fundamental and cyclical factors and manages portfolios mainly on a discretionary basis with a focus on capital preservation during market declines.

Zachary Clark is a CFP® with 14 years of industry experience, currently practicing as the sole advisor at Clark Financial Planning in Louisville, KY. He previously worked at Coats Financial Planning, Inc. from 2010 to 2018. Clark serves as an unpaid volunteer board member, Treasurer, and head of the Finance Committee for Couple to Couple League International, Inc. Clark Financial Planning provides personalized, fee-only financial planning and investment management services to individuals, trusts, estates, and small businesses. The firm follows a long-term, buy-and-hold investment approach using primarily passively managed mutual funds and ETFs, serving a small client roster through retainer and limited-scope engagements.

Troy Bolton is a financial advisor with Mercurio Wealth Advisors in Louisville, KY, holding a Series 65 credential and bringing 11 years of industry experience. He has worked with Mercurio Wealth Advisors since 2013, including a previous role at Mercurio Wealth Management from 2017 to 2022, and with Global Financial Private Capital, LLC from 2014 to 2017. In addition to his advisory work, Bolton is licensed through Mercurio Insurance Services to sell insurance products. Mercurio Wealth Advisors serves individual clients, estates, retirement plans, foundations, and institutions, offering discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and limited-scope consulting. The firm implements investment decisions on a discretionary basis and integrates estate and insurance-related advice into its planning services.

Drew Graeter is a financial advisor at Graeter Wealth Advisors, LLC in Louisville, KY, with 21 years of industry experience and a Series 66 designation. He has been with Graeter Wealth Advisors since 2014. Graeter Wealth Advisors serves individuals, trusts, retirement plans, and business entities with asset management, comprehensive portfolio management, and pension consulting. The firm focuses on asset allocation with regular rebalancing, using both fundamental and technical analysis, and manages portfolios primarily with exchange-traded funds and mutual funds.

Charles Reader is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license with 10 years of experience in financial planning and investment management. He is currently the sole advisor at Illuminate Wealth Management, having previously worked at Different By Design Financial Planning and several other firms. Illuminate Wealth Management serves individuals, families, and small businesses, offering discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and tailored services such as a virtual family office and virtual CFO engagements. The firm emphasizes fundamental analysis, diversified portfolios, and coordination with external specialists to provide comprehensive wealth management solutions.