Amy Simonson is a financial advisor with Verity Asset Management in Durham, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and bringing 33 years of industry experience. She has been affiliated with Verity Financial Group and Verity Asset Management since 1996 and served in executive roles at PlanScope360, LLC, focusing on finance, operations, and strategic business development. Verity Asset Management is an SEC-registered, multi-team advisory firm managing approximately $1.15 billion and serving individuals, retirement plan sponsors, institutional clients, and other advisers. The firm employs a largely model-based investment process emphasizing tactical asset allocation and acts as a manager-of-managers through customized model portfolios and sub-advisory arrangements.

William Orchard Hays III is a financial advisor with HBW Advisory Services LLC in Durham, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 34 years of industry experience. His career includes roles at Silver Oak Securities, Cetera Wealth Services, and multiple financial services firms he has been associated with since 2005. He is also involved with Stepwise Financial, an independent financial professional business. HBW Advisory Services manages approximately $1.75 billion in client assets and offers discretionary and non-discretionary asset management, financial planning, and consulting to individuals, families, charitable organizations, businesses, and retirement plans. The firm employs a blended investment approach, utilizing third-party money managers and multi-manager diversification, and is noted for its institutional and intermediary services alongside a high client load per advisor.

Kurt Hollar is a financial advisor at Verity Asset Management with 29 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been associated with multiple entities under the Verity name since 1997. His prior experience includes work with The Leaders Group DBA Simplicity Investments and Verity Investments, Inc. Verity Asset Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser serving individual, corporate, institutional clients, and other advisers. The firm employs a model-driven investment approach focused on tactical asset allocation across diverse asset classes, offering discretionary portfolio management, retirement-plan advisory, and financial planning services.

Mitchell Ludwig is a CFP® professional with seven years of industry experience, currently associated with UNITED PLANNERS' FINANCIAL SERVICES of AMERICA. His prior work includes roles at OSAIC, FSC, Wealthcare Capital Management LLC, and The Family Firm. He is also involved as an Associate Partner in Carolina Wealth Partners, a marketing entity based in Raleigh, NC. United Planners Financial Services is a national wealth-management enterprise serving a broad client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, and institutional clients. The firm offers advisory and brokerage services through independent Investment Adviser Representatives and employs a mix of custodians and third-party managers to implement client strategies.

Whitney H Ill is a CFP® professional with three years of industry experience, currently serving at Creative Planning. Prior to joining Creative Planning, Whitney worked at Collective Wealth Partners and GRID 202 Partners. Outside of financial advising, Whitney is involved in entrepreneurial ventures including ownership in an ecommerce business and a quick-service restaurant franchise. Creative Planning provides wealth management, financial planning, and retirement-plan advisory services to a diverse client base ranging from individuals to institutions. The firm employs a financial-planning-led investment approach emphasizing low-cost indexing, tax-loss harvesting, and selective private market exposure while managing approximately $295.6 billion in client assets.

Kevin Berry is a financial advisor at Brookstone Capital Management LLC with 13 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 65 designation and has worked at Brookstone Capital Management since 2022. His prior experience includes roles at Security Financial, Retirement Wealth Advisors, FormulaFolio Investments, and Secure Financial Solutions. Outside of his advisory work, he owns and operates Security Financial, providing insurance sales and investment advisory services. Brookstone Capital Management offers fee-based asset management and financial planning to a diverse client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, and trusts. The firm utilizes strategic and dynamic asset allocation models, a turnkey asset management platform, and a variety of investment strategies, serving both direct clients and other advisory programs.

Diane Bonner is a Certified Financial Planner® with 22 years of industry experience, currently serving as an advisor at Concurrent Investment Advisors, LLC since 2025. Her prior experience includes roles at Arky & Miller Financial Group, Wells Fargo Clearing, and Truist Investment Services. Concurrent Investment Advisors, LLC is a multi-team SEC-registered firm providing wealth management, financial planning, and retirement plan advisory services to individuals, families, businesses, and institutions. The firm’s investment approach focuses on customized, primarily long-term portfolios utilizing ETFs, mutual funds, and other securities, supported by an extensive network of advisors and sub-advisory arrangements.

Daniel Knox is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Durham, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 23 years of industry experience. He has worked at VALIC Financial Advisors since 2002 and has been associated with Agia since 2022, where he acts as an agent for non-securities insurance products. Valic Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S.-domiciled individual investors, including high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, as well as corporate and retirement-plan participants. The firm offers discretionary managed-account programs, financial planning, and brokerage services, utilizing Envestnet-developed UMA models for portfolio construction and management.

James Contino is a CFP® professional with 33 years of experience in the financial industry. He is affiliated with Valic Financial Advisors and has worked at AIG Valic since 2003 and Agia since 2022. Outside of advisory work, he is involved in non-securities insurance product sales. Valic Financial Advisors serves primarily U.S. individuals, including high net worth clients and employer-sponsored retirement participants. The firm offers portfolio management, financial planning, and discretionary unified managed accounts through a large network of advisors, utilizing centralized technology and model solutions to manage roughly $29.2 billion in assets.

Gary Gaulden is a CFP® professional with 33 years of experience in financial advising. He currently works with Osaic Advisory Services, LLC and has previously held roles at Securities America, Inc., Arbor Point Advisors, and Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. He also operates a satellite office for client services in Atlantic Beach, NC under Gaulden & Associates. Osaic Advisory Services, LLC is an SEC-registered enterprise adviser serving a wide range of clients, including high-net-worth individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, corporate and charitable entities, and sovereign wealth funds. The firm offers various managed programs, retirement plan consulting, and access to alternative investments, utilizing both fundamental and technical analysis and partnering with multiple platform providers.

Jeffrey Marko is a financial advisor at Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC with four years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has worked previously at DMJ & Co., PLLC, where he is a partner, and Dixon Hughes Goodman, LLP. He serves on the finance committee of Housing for New Hope, a nonprofit organization. Beacon Pointe Advisors provides investment advisory and consulting services to a diverse client base, including individuals, institutions, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a manager-driven investment approach using third-party platforms and sponsors proprietary investment vehicles and private funds.

Robert Scholes is a CFP® and CFA® with six years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Allworth Financial, L.P. Prior to joining Allworth Financial in 2025, he worked at Investors Trust Company, Cook Wealth Management Group, Park Avenue Securities, and Guardian Life Insurance Company. Before his financial advisory career, he spent nine years at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Allworth Financial serves a broad client base including individuals, high-net-worth investors, pension plans, trusts, corporations, and charitable organizations, offering a range of financial planning and portfolio management services. The firm employs both quantitative and qualitative analysis to create customized investment strategies and provides educational content through various media.

Tao Zhang is a financial advisor with Transamerica Financial Advisors in Morrisville, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 11 years of industry experience. His background includes roles with World Financial Group, Inc., International Medical Group, and HCC Medical Insurance Service. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as president of an IT consulting firm and works as a part-time driver for Lyft. Transamerica Financial Advisors serves a broad client base including individual investors, retirement plans, and charitable organizations, offering a range of advisory and broker-dealer services through proprietary and third-party investment models.

Tonja Womble is a financial advisor at Truist Advisory Services with 23 years of industry experience. She holds a Series 66 designation and has been with SunTrust Advisory Services since 2016 and SunTrust Investment Services, Inc. since 2013. Truist Advisory Services provides investment consulting and advisory services to individuals, corporate clients, retirement plan sponsors, and charitable organizations, utilizing both discretionary and non-discretionary approaches alongside third-party manager arrangements and AI-enabled research tools.

Shenghao Song is a financial advisor with Transamerica Financial Advisors in Morrisville, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and nine years of industry experience. He has been associated with Transamerica Financial Advisors since 2015 and is also involved in language translation services through Fluent Language Solutions and provides bookkeeping, accounting, and tax consulting services via Melody Song, CPA. Transamerica Financial Advisors serves a broad client base including individual investors, retirement plans, trusts, and charitable organizations, delivering advisory and brokerage services primarily through model portfolios and third-party managers across multiple program platforms.

Troy Fairbank is a financial advisor with First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. in Durham, NC, holding a Series 66 designation and 20 years of industry experience. He has been with First Citizens Investor Services since 2008. First Citizens Investor Services serves individuals, including high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and corporate entities, offering a range of advisory and brokerage services. The firm’s approach involves IAR-led assessments of client financial needs and employs fundamental, quantitative, and technical analysis to manage portfolios across various asset classes.

David Wilder is a financial advisor with TIAA-CREF in Durham, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 26 years of industry experience. He has been with TIAA-CREF since 2007. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as an elder and committee member at Triangle Grace Church and is the treasurer for the Voyager Academy Booster Club. TIAA-CREF’s Advice & Planning Services division provides financial planning and discretionary managed account programs to individuals, trusts, estates, partnerships, and small retirement plans, often serving clients with existing relationships through TIAA-administered employer retirement plans. The firm separates point-in-time planning from ongoing management and acts as adviser to a donor-advised fund while operating within a vertically integrated group that includes affiliated funds.

Amber Mc Neill is a financial advisor at TIAA-CREF based in Durham, NC, holding a Series 65 designation. She has been with TIAA-related firms since 2015. TIAA‑CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC’s Advice & Planning Services division offers financial planning and discretionary managed account programs to individuals, trusts, estates, and small retirement plans. The firm provides both point-in-time planning and ongoing portfolio management, operating within a vertically integrated structure that includes affiliated funds and donor-advised fund services.

Philip Fried is a financial advisor at Janney Montgomery Scott with 32 years of industry experience. He holds the CFP® designation along with Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. His prior work experience includes positions at Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. Janney Montgomery Scott is a large, dually registered broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser managing approximately $110 billion in client assets. The firm serves a diverse client base including individuals, families, trusts, corporate and retirement plan sponsors, and charitable organizations through a variety of brokerage, financial planning, and advisory services.

Vijaya Arun is a financial advisor with Transamerica Financial Advisors holding a Series 66 designation and one year of industry experience. She has been self-employed since 2014, providing accounting and bookkeeping services on a part-time basis. Arun also engages in sales of insurance and non-insurance products affiliated with Transamerica Financial Advisors. Transamerica Financial Advisors, LLC offers investment advisory, brokerage, and retirement-plan services to a diverse client base, including individuals, employer-sponsored plans, trusts, and charitable organizations. The firm uses a model portfolio approach implemented through third-party managers and proprietary platforms to deliver its services.