Kathleen McQuade is a Certified Financial Planner® with three years of industry experience, operating as the sole advisor at her independent firm in Laurel, MD. She has been managing her practice since 2010 and holds a Series 65 license. Her firm provides fee-only financial planning and consulting services to individual clients, focusing on investment, retirement, insurance, education, and estate planning. The practice employs a long-term, buy-and-hold investment approach, primarily recommending no-load, low-cost, tax-efficient mutual funds with asset allocation as the key factor in portfolio returns.

Stanley Liu is the principal of DocEmpowered, LLC, a fee-only financial advisory firm based in Baltimore, MD. He holds a Series 65 designation and has one year of industry experience. Prior to founding DocEmpowered in 2023, he worked for eight years at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. In addition to his advisory role, Mr. Liu practices part-time as a non-invasive cardiologist. DocEmpowered, LLC provides comprehensive financial planning and consulting primarily for physicians and their adult household family members. The firm emphasizes long-term, passive investment strategies based on Modern Portfolio Theory and behavioral finance, offering project-based and ongoing services without discretionary management or custody of assets.

Hi, I’m Matt. My job as a financial planner is to make your life simpler. To help you efficiently and effectively narrow down your options, so you can make the right decisions. And be confident in those decisions for the long-term. Financial planning and investment management are often muddied by unnecessary complexity (usually in an effort to sell you something). It doesn’t need to be this way. I began my career in the financial services industry in 2003 as an analyst with the due diligence law firm Snyder Kearney, LLC (Columbia, MD). At Snyder Kearney, I reviewed public and private securities offerings and evaluated national securities sponsoring companies, focusing on real estate investments and non-traditional investment products. It was there that I realized that I wanted to know more about the practice of law and a lot more about the pretty co-worker in the cubicle next to me, Sylvie. I earned my law degree in 2007 from the University of Baltimore School of Law and married Sylvie in 2008; further proof that education and personal relationships are the investments that produce the best returns. After law school, I practiced law with the firm David Albert & Associates, LLC (Bethesda, MD), focusing in estate planning and administration, guardianship administration, taxation of estates and trusts, and business formations. There, I recognized that helping clients through complicated and often stressful issues was intellectually stimulating and emotionally fulfilling. In 2010, I opened Patuxent Financial Partners, LLC, registered as an Investment Adviser with the State of Maryland in 2017. Here, I leverage my legal background to provide clients with value-added insight in the overlapping areas of estate and financial planning. More importantly, as a personal financial planner and small business owner, I can build lasting relationships with clients and their families; these connections make my work fulfilling, because client success becomes intertwined with my own. I am a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner and hold the FINRA Series 65 securities registration. Raised in Columbia, Maryland, I graduated from McDaniel College with a bachelor's degree in English. Outside of the office, I enjoy running, reading, and hiking with my wife, son, and our mutt hound, Kodi.

Gabriel Trasatti is a financial advisor at Trasatti Wealth Planning, LLC in Baltimore, MD, with 15 years of industry experience. He holds the PFS™ and Series 66 designations and has led his independent firm since 2004. His background includes advanced financial planning and accounting credentials. Trasatti Wealth Planning provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management to individuals, families, charitable institutions, foundations, and corporate pension or profit-sharing plans. The firm offers customized investment strategies with continuous monitoring and formal quarterly reviews, integrating holistic planning across retirement, tax, estate, and cash-flow matters.

William Tilghman is the sole advisor at Tilghman Wealth Management, LLC in Arnold, MD. He holds a Series 65 designation and has four years of industry experience, including time at Markin Asset Management, LP. Prior to his financial career, he worked in several roles including at Annapolis Yacht Sales and Compass Languages. Tilghman Wealth Management offers personalized financial planning and investment management to individuals, families, trusts, estates, and family-owned businesses. The firm employs a fee-only advisory model and utilizes tailored investment strategies that include individual securities, mutual funds, ETFs, and separately managed accounts with risk management techniques such as dynamic asset allocation and the use of derivatives.

Gregory Fridley is a financial advisor at Society Investment Management in Baltimore, MD, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations with three years of industry experience. He has worked at Financial First Advisors since 1991 and has managed his own business, Taxbusters, since 1990. Society Investment Management provides personalized financial planning and discretionary investment management to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and small businesses. The firm operates on a fee-only basis, emphasizing growth and income investment strategies while incorporating tax preparation and electronic filing as part of its advisory services.

Christopher Mamunes is a financial advisor at Railroad Street Wealth Management, LLC with 29 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has led his independent firm since 2014. Railroad Street Wealth Management provides customized investment management and periodic financial planning to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm manages approximately $20.4 million across 55 client relationships, using a tactical, rules-based investment process that combines technical analysis with a relative-strength framework to guide portfolio construction and risk management.

Christopher Leader is the sole advisor at Leader Investments LLC in Silver Spring, MD. He holds a Series 65 credential and has two years of industry experience. Prior to founding his firm, he worked in various roles at Twilio, SendGrid, and Stack Labs. He currently works as a product manager with Preply outside of his advisory activities. Leader Investments LLC provides personalized financial guidance to individual investors without managing client accounts or custody of assets. The firm focuses on diversification and value-oriented recommendations, primarily utilizing indices and publicly traded vehicles, with advice tailored to client suitability factors.

Sara Cavendish is a financial advisor at Plein Air Capital Advisers, LLC with 26 years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at Windward Asset Management, LLC since 2008. Plein Air Capital Advisers provides discretionary investment management and advisory services to individuals, trusts, corporations, and institutional clients. The firm employs a fundamentally driven, long-term, value-oriented investment approach with concentrated portfolios typically holding 15–20 stocks selected below their view of intrinsic value.

Jonathan Mathews is a CFP® professional with four years of experience in financial planning. He is the sole advisor at Nautical Financial Planning, an independent firm he has led since 2018. Mathews also works as a tax advisor with Block Advisors, providing personal and business tax preparation and planning. Nautical Financial Planning offers fee-only, hourly and project-based financial planning and consultation to individuals, couples, families, and business entities. The firm focuses on globally diversified, low-cost, tax-efficient passive investments and provides clients with guidance on asset allocation, custodial setup, and periodic portfolio reviews without managing assets directly.

Fletcher Perkins is a CFA® charterholder with 21 years of industry experience. He is the sole advisor at ACARA Capital Management, LLC, where he has worked since 2018. Prior to that, he was a personal trader from 2015 to 2018. ACARA Capital Management serves individual and high-net-worth clients with discretionary portfolio management and occasional custom portfolios. The firm employs concentrated equity strategies alongside ETFs, fixed income, and other asset classes, using a combination of fundamental, quantitative, and technical analysis.

Robert Sandler is the principal and sole advisor at Robert A. Sandler, LLC, an independent firm based in Clarksville, MD. He holds a Series 65 designation and has eight years of industry experience, including four years at Element Fleet Management prior to founding his current firm in 2017. Robert A. Sandler, LLC provides personalized financial planning and investment management primarily for individual clients, focusing on diversified, low-cost index mutual funds and ETFs with a buy-and-hold approach. The firm emphasizes customized risk profiles, periodic rebalancing, and operates on a fee-only basis without commission arrangements or custody of client assets.

Michael Hocker is a Series 65-licensed financial advisor with CTG Wealth Management LLC, where he has worked since 2023. He has two years of industry experience and previously held positions at the Defense Acquisition University from 2013 to 2019. CTG Wealth Management LLC provides fee-only investment management and financial planning services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and charitable organizations. The firm manages discretionary portfolios using a combination of passive and active strategies and serves a significant non-U.S. client base, which introduces cross-border considerations into its planning and custody decisions.

Alexander Ruda is the sole advisor at Ruda Financial and holds a Series 65 credential. He has eight years of experience with the Internal Revenue Service and two years with Fannie Mae before founding his firm in 2025. Ruda Financial is a fee-only advisory firm that serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, and charitable organizations with investment management and financial planning services. The firm emphasizes individualized investment policies and asset allocation, employing fundamental analysis and Modern Portfolio Theory alongside passive investment strategies.

Stephen Lee is the principal of Lee Financial Group, Inc. in Columbia, MD, and holds the CFP® designation and Series 63 license. He has 45 years of industry experience and has been associated with Raymond James Financial in various capacities since 2004. Outside of financial advising, he is the owner of a law office focusing on wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, and serves on the advisory board for River Hill FBLA, providing student mentoring. Lee Financial Group offers individualized financial planning and wealth management advice to individuals and families, including high-net-worth clients, trusts, and charitable organizations. The firm provides written financial plans through a data-gathering process and offers follow-up consultations, with investment recommendations based on fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis.

Heath Harris is the sole advisor at Compound Advisory and holds Series 65 and Series 66 licenses with 18 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Oliver Wealth, Hayden Royal, CITIGROUP, and Wells Fargo Advisors. Compound Advisory LLC is a recently formed investment adviser that offers portfolio management services using a multi-method investment approach, combining charting, cyclical, fundamental, modern portfolio theory, quantitative, and technical analysis. The firm provides tailored model allocations and manages a range of permitted investments including mutual funds, fixed income, real estate funds, equities, ETFs, and non-U.S. securities.

Lorie Scheibel is the principal of Smarter and Wise, an independent financial advisory firm, with 15 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at firms including Cambridge Investment Research Advisors and Lincoln Financial Advisors. Scheibel also serves as adjunct faculty at Anne Arundel Community College and operates as an independent insurance agent. Smarter and Wise provides financial planning and discretionary wealth management to individuals nearing retirement, high-net-worth clients, and sponsor-level retirement plans. The firm employs a planning-first approach centered on a comprehensive RetireSmarter process, incorporating risk modeling and ongoing portfolio management, and offers specialized investment real estate planning alongside retirement plan advisory services.

Matthew Wyskiel is the sole advisor at Skill Capital Management in Baltimore, MD, holding a Series 63 designation with four years of industry experience. He has been with Skill Capital Management since 2007, serving as its founder and sole owner. Skill Capital Management provides discretionary portfolio management to individual clients, primarily using Vanguard index mutual funds to offer diversified exposure across U.S. and international equities and U.S. investment-grade fixed income. The firm manages separate accounts with standardized model portfolios and rebalances client allocations quarterly.

David Merkel is a CFA charterholder and principal of Aleph Investments, LLC, an independent advisory firm he founded in 2010. He has 15 years of industry experience. Outside of his advisory work, he maintains AlephBlog.com, a website providing educational content for investors since 2007. Aleph Investments manages discretionary portfolios primarily for individual investors, as well as charitable organizations and small pension clients. The firm employs fundamental equity analysis and a risk-conscious fixed income approach, offering strategies including a yield-oriented balanced portfolio and customizable accounts, with features such as hedged equity options and client-imposed ethical restrictions.

Scott Vicary is a CFA charterholder and founder of Rookwood Wealth Management in Silver Spring, MD, with five years of industry experience. Prior to establishing his independent advisory firm in 2025, he worked at Sulzberger Capital Advisors, Inc. and held roles at affiliated Rookwood investment entities. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as managing director of a real estate apartment rental business. Rookwood Wealth Management is a fee-only registered investment adviser that provides discretionary investment management and comprehensive financial planning to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs an investment approach based on modern portfolio theory and fundamental analysis, combining passive and active vehicles to align portfolios with client risk tolerance and tax considerations.