Michael Kothakota is a CFP® professional with 20 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Wolfbridge Wealth in Durham, NC. He has been associated with WolfBridge Financial Corporation since 2008. In addition to his advisory role, he lectures at Columbia University and serves as an adjunct professor at New York University. Wolfbridge Wealth provides discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, pension-plan consulting, business valuation, and equity research services to individuals—including high-net-worth clients—trusts, pension and profit-sharing plans, and charitable organizations. The firm emphasizes client education through webinars, white papers, and presentations, and integrates fundamental, technical, and macroeconomic analysis into its investment approach. Michael Kothakota developed Interdependent Integrative Financial Planning Theory. He has sa Masters in Predictive Analytics, and a Ph.D. in Personal Financial Planning from Kansas State University. He was also the inaugural Head of Research at CFP Board, the governing body of CFP(R) professionals.

Amber Schiffert is a financial advisor and co-founder at TARA Wealth with eight years of industry experience. She holds Series 63, Series 65, and Series 7 licenses. TARA Wealth is a women-owned fiduciary advisory firm, bringing something unique to wealth management: advisors who share your perspective, understand your life transitions, and have no financial incentive other than helping you succeed. TARA Wealth was founded to set a higher standard — one built on trust, independence, and a genuine commitment to the women and families they serve. TARA Wealth financial advisors are happily located in San Diego, CA, and Raleigh, NC, and serve clients nationally.

Amanda DeCesar is a CFP® professional with 19 years of industry experience. She co-founded TARA Wealth in 2023 with Amber Schiffert. Her prior experience includes roles at MML Investors Services and J.P. Morgan Securities. TARA Wealth is an RIA serving individual and high-net-worth clients, couples, and businesses, providing Total Wealth Management, discretionary investment management, and comprehensive financial planning. The firm primarily uses a passive investment approach with index mutual funds and ETFs, delivering financial planning as an ongoing engagement and managing accounts both discretionarily and non-discretionarily.

Joseph Stover is a financial advisor at Reliance Financial Group, Inc. in Durham, NC, holding the PFS™ designation and Series 65 license with 22 years of industry experience. He has been with Reliance Financial Group since 1999. Reliance Financial Group is an independent firm providing discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting to individual investors, retirement plans, and charitable organizations. The firm emphasizes asset allocation and model-based portfolios, combining fundamental security analysis with long-term investment strategies and periodic rebalancing.

Jennifer Lazarus is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) and holds a Series 65 license with 15 years of industry experience. She has been the sole advisor at Lazarus Financial Planning, an independent firm based in Durham, NC, since its founding in 2005. Lazarus Financial Planning is a fee-only advisory firm serving individuals, couples, trusts, small businesses, and retirement plans. The firm offers comprehensive financial planning and discretionary investment management, with a focus on socially responsible investing and a documented planning process that emphasizes asset-class allocation, diversification, and client-approved policy implementation.

John Young is a CFP® with 27 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Cardinal Wealth Partners, LLC in Chapel Hill, NC. His prior experience includes roles at Red Oak Capital Management, Inc and Allen C. Ewing & Co. He is also involved in providing life insurance solutions through the Cardinal Wealth Partners Insurance Agency. Cardinal Wealth Partners is an independent investment adviser offering discretionary portfolio management and comprehensive financial planning to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and select 401(k) plans. The firm manages approximately $13 million across 55 client households, employing diversified portfolios primarily using ETFs and mutual funds, with tailored investment advice and regular account reviews.

Cooper Taylor is a CFA® charterholder with one year of experience at Sounding Line Wealth Management, LLC. Prior to founding Sounding Line, he worked four years at Salem Investment Counselors, Inc., and held investment roles at the University of Michigan Investment Office and Indiana University. Sounding Line Wealth Management is an independent registered investment adviser providing discretionary portfolio management services primarily to individuals and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs a blended investment approach that integrates various analytical methods and offers individualized portfolio management with accounts custodied at Schwab Institutional.

Thomas Figgatt is a CFP® with eight years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Portolan Financial Planning LLC in Durham, NC. He previously worked at Bank of America from 2015 to 2017 before founding Portolan Financial Planning in 2017. Portolan Financial Planning LLC offers personalized investment advisory and comprehensive financial planning, including tax preparation services. The firm serves individual clients, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, small businesses, and provides retirement plan consulting, utilizing a primarily technical analysis approach with strategic asset allocation and tax-management techniques.

Courtney Bauke is a financial advisor at Capital Consulting & Investment Group LLC with a Series 65 credential. Bauke has been with Capital Consulting & Investment Group since 2019 and has prior independent advisory experience dating back to 2014. In addition to advisory work, Bauke provides accounting and tax services, real estate advisory, mortgage consulting, and insurance planning through a separate business. Capital Consulting & Investment Group LLC offers investment advisory and financial planning services to a diverse client base, including individuals, families, business owners, and institutional clients. The firm provides personalized, non-discretionary advice across a range of planning areas and investment types, while clients retain final authority over transactions.

Nicholas Seligman is a CFP® with 13 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Center Peak Financial. He previously worked at Edward Jones for 13 years. Outside of his advisory role, he is also licensed as an insurance agent. Center Peak Financial Services is a state-registered investment adviser providing discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, retirement plan advisory, financial planning, and consulting services to institutional clients and individual households. The firm emphasizes strategic asset allocation with tactical flexibility and offers specialized pension consulting and retirement-plan fiduciary services.

John Morgan is the principal of Spectrum Advisers, LLC in Chapel Hill, NC, with 16 years of experience in financial advisory services. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has operated Spectrum Advisers since 2009. In addition to his advisory work, Mr. Morgan manages Fields Consulting LLC, a separate business through which he offers insurance products and real estate services in his capacity as a licensed insurance producer and real estate agent. Spectrum Advisers provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, qualified retirement plans, trusts, charitable organizations, and business entities. The firm combines institutional-level retirement plan management with individualized wealth advisory, employing a broadly diversified, tax-aware global asset allocation approach implemented mainly through mutual funds and ETFs.

Lyle Finley Jr. is a CFP® with 31 years of industry experience, currently affiliated with RJ20, Inc. He has worked at Wells Fargo Bank and Wells Fargo Clearing for three years and served 14 years in the North Carolina National Guard. RJ20, Inc. provides non-discretionary investment guidance and educational tools to participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans through an online platform. The firm delivers participant-level advice using a proprietary modeling process and emphasizes education with a year-long financial wellness program and online workshops.

Sherri Rose is a CFP® and Series 63 credentialed financial advisor at Azimuth Planning Group, LLC with no prior industry experience. She is the founder and managing director of Rose Group CPAs, PLLC, a CPA firm where she oversees auditing, accounting, tax preparation, and business consulting. Rose is also involved in several business ventures, including founding FastFile1040, LLC, providing online tax filing services, and co-founding SageCFO Group, Inc., which offers outsourced CFO advisory services. Azimuth Planning Group, LLC provides fee-only financial planning primarily to solopreneurs, service-based founders, and business owners, focusing on business planning, retirement and estate coordination, tax-aware wealth strategies, and succession planning. The firm delivers written financial plans and investment recommendations emphasizing asset allocation, tax efficiency, and passive investment strategies rather than discretionary asset management.

Steven Thorpe is the sole advisor at Pragmatic Portfolios, LLC, an independent registered investment adviser based in Durham, NC. He holds a Series 65 designation and has 15 years of industry experience. Thorpe has managed Pragmatic Portfolios since 2010 and previously worked at MCNC for 24 years. Pragmatic Portfolios provides portfolio management and comprehensive financial planning to individuals, families, high-net-worth clients, trusts, and select corporations or small businesses. The firm emphasizes broadly diversified, low-cost passive investments with strategic asset allocation and tax-efficient strategies, and offers client education through complimentary seminars and workshops.

Adam Vega is a CFP® professional with 16 years of industry experience. He is the principal advisor at Avance Private Wealth LLC and has previously worked at Goldman Sachs, Gladstone Wealth Partners, Mercer Allied Company, CETERA Advisor Networks, and Girard Securities. In addition to advising, he is involved in insurance sales, dedicating approximately 10% of his time to this activity. Avance Private Wealth LLC serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, and business entities. The firm manages portfolios primarily on a discretionary basis, utilizing modern portfolio theory, fundamental analysis, and charting techniques, and offers a broad range of investment instruments alongside pension consulting and insurance products.

William Bunch II is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license, with 10 years of experience in financial advising. He is the sole advisor at Maze Financial Planning in Chapel Hill, NC, where he has worked since 2016. Maze Financial Planning provides investment management and financial planning services to individuals as well as private foundations, charitable organizations, and participant-directed retirement plans. The firm emphasizes long-term, diversification-centered strategies based on Modern Portfolio Theory and offers fiduciary plan advice, participant education, and monitoring of plan investments.

Leonard Brooks is the sole advisor at Brooks Financial of North Carolina, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 28 years of industry experience. He has worked with firms including Cetera and H.D. Vest Advisory Services. Brooks also owns a tax preparation and filing service and serves as an agent for a property and casualty insurance agency. Brooks Financial of North Carolina provides financial planning and non-discretionary portfolio management primarily for individual and high-net-worth clients, offering retirement-plan services and insurance planning. The firm manages accounts with client-confirmed trades and uses both fundamental and technical analysis, disclosing a fiduciary duty for retirement advice and incorporating AI tools under supervision.

William Newcomb is a CFP® and holds a Series 66 license with 16 years of experience in financial advising. He founded Newcomb Financial Advisors, LLC in Chapel Hill, NC, where he has been the sole advisor since 2010. Newcomb Financial Advisors is an independent, fee-only firm serving individuals, trusts, estates, and small businesses with financial planning and investment management. The firm employs a core-and-satellite investment approach focused on strategic asset allocation, managing approximately $13.9 million across 14 clients, primarily on a discretionary basis.

Edward Fulbright is the principal and sole advisor at Fulbright Financial Consulting, PA in Durham, North Carolina. He holds the PFS™ designation and Series 63 license, with 10 years of experience in financial advising and over 40 years managing his CPA firm, Fulbright & Fulbright, CPA, PA, where he provides accounting, tax, and management consulting services. Fulbright Financial Consulting is a fee-only advisory firm serving individual investors, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and employer-sponsored retirement plans. The firm employs a Functional Asset Allocation approach that integrates interest-earning assets, real estate, and equities, and emphasizes low-cost index funds and ETFs, offering both discretionary and non-discretionary services.

I didn't set out to become a financial advisor. I spent 18 years in the music industry as a recording and touring audio engineer. What I saw again and again were hardworking, independent people — musicians, artists, freelancers, and other creative professionals — who wanted the same things everyone wants: stability, a plan, a better financial future. But because their income was unconventional, they felt like the financial industry wasn't designed for them. Honestly, they were right. So in 2019 I launched my business, got my CFP® designation, and built a practice specifically for people who've spent their lives and careers outside the mainstream. I work with artists, musicians, authors, and other independent-minded professionals with unconventional careers and the financial complexity that comes with them. I offer two types of services: financial planning and investment management. Financial planning means identifying the two or three things that would make the biggest difference in your financial life right now and building a clear, actionable plan around them. Investment management means taking that completely off your plate — so you never have to think about it, worry about it, or wonder if you're doing it right. The work behind the scenes is rigorous. The experience on your end should feel like talking to someone who genuinely gets it. I live in Durham, NC with my family and our dog Yoshi. I have a degree in mathematics and grew up on a farm in Michigan. The through line: I've always figured things out on my own terms — and I have a lot of respect for people who do the same. If any of this resonates, I'd love to connect.