Nicole Trakimas is a CFP® professional with one year of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Principal Financial Services. Her prior work includes a one-year tenure at Edward Jones and over a decade at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Outside of finance, she has been involved with Carruth Cellars Winery, where she occasionally assists with grape crushing, bottling, and tasting room activities as a hobby. Principal Financial Services offers brokerage and registered investment advisory services to a diverse client base, including individual investors, retirement plans, trusts, and charitable organizations. The firm’s advisory approach features direct advisory programs, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and access to third-party money manager solutions through both adviser and promoter arrangements.

Michael Lambrix is a financial advisor with Kestra Advisory in Fallbrook, CA, holding a Series 66 credential and bringing 25 years of industry experience. He previously worked for Commonwealth Financial Network for 12 years before joining Kestra Advisory and Kestra Investment Services, LLC in 2025. Outside of his advisory role, Lambrix is the owner of Monarch Retirement Group, where he manages strategic operations. Kestra Advisory Services provides investment advisory and retirement-plan consulting to plan sponsors and a broad mix of institutional and individual clients. The firm offers services including fiduciary consulting, plan-level investment advice, and employee education, supporting recommended investments with due diligence on performance, fees, and process.

Duane Knopke is a financial advisor with Independent Financial Group, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 50 years of industry experience. He has been with Independent Financial Group since 2009. Outside of his advisory role, he also sells life, health, and disability insurance as an independent contractor. Independent Financial Group, LLC is a dual-registered broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, charities, corporations, and plan sponsors. The firm offers brokerage, portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement plan services, managing approximately $11.3 billion in assets through a national network of Investment Adviser Representatives.

Laurel Packham is a financial advisor with Eagle Strategies (NY Life) based in Oceanside, CA. She holds a Series 66 designation and has 23 years of industry experience. Laurel has been affiliated with Eagle Strategies and New York Life since 2013 and 2014, respectively. Eagle Strategies serves a diverse client base including individuals, institutions, and retirement plans. The firm provides financial planning, investment management, and retirement-plan advisory services, emphasizing tailored recommendations and primarily managing assets on a non-discretionary basis.

Eron Reyes is a CFP®, CFA®, and Series 63-registered advisor with seven years of industry experience. He has worked at Mariner Wealth Advisors since 2019, following roles at Seaside Wealth Management and Wells Fargo. Reyes is also a consultant and contributor to Simplicity Ops Academy, where he helps develop educational course content on general finance concepts. Mariner serves a diverse client base including individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and private funds with investment management, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and coordinated tax services. The firm combines in-house research with third-party managers to implement customized discretionary portfolios, supported by tax and accounting integration and administrative family office services.

Edwin Van Es is a financial advisor with Citigroup Global Markets in Carlsbad, CA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and 26 years of industry experience. He has been with Citigroup Global Markets since 2007. Citigroup Global Markets serves individual and institutional clients across multiple wealth segments, offering a range of investment advisory programs and execution services. The firm implements multi-asset, multi-manager strategies using robust internal standards and oversight, combining large institutional scale with specialized market roles and arrangements.

Adriana Beltran Romeo is a financial advisor with TLG Advisors, Inc. She holds a Series 66 designation and has six years of industry experience. Her prior roles include positions at Simplicity Investments, Lincoln, Ascensus, TD Ameritrade, and Edward Jones. TLG Advisors serves a diverse client base including individuals, trusts, pension plans, and institutional investors, providing portfolio management, financial planning, and ERISA-related fiduciary services. The firm’s investment process emphasizes manager selection and monitoring using fundamental analysis and Modern Portfolio Theory, with a mix of sub-advised accounts and a direct-to-consumer digital program called Starlight Portfolios.

John Paladino is a financial advisor with Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC, holding a Series 66 credential and bringing 25 years of industry experience. He serves as Executive Director and Managing Partner of Sterling Global Strategies/Sterling Wealth Management and is also owner of TerraGear Products, a company specializing in bike travel bags and gear. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC supports individuals, high-net-worth clients, families, trusts, estates, businesses, and retirement plans through a network of independent advisors. The firm offers discretionary investment management, financial planning, and consulting services, employing a primarily long-term investment approach with customized portfolio construction and oversight of third-party managers.

Robert Chapman is a financial advisor with Independent Financial Group, LLC, holding a Series 63 designation and with 31 years of industry experience. He has worked at Independent Financial Group since 2011 and has operated as Robert T. Chapman Financial Consultant since 2004. Outside of his advisory work, he owns a marketing DBA called Pacific Crest Global Wealth Management and is also a licensed California insurance agent offering various insurance products. Independent Financial Group is a large, integrated advisory and brokerage firm serving individuals, trusts, corporations, business owners, and plan sponsors. The firm offers investment advisory programs, financial planning, and retirement plan services, employing both in-house and third-party model portfolios, and operates as both a registered investment adviser and an active broker-dealer.

Victoria Plum is a financial advisor at Independent Financial Group, LLC with 15 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and has worked at Independent Financial Group since 2015. Victoria also operates a business entity, Victoria Plum, LLC, for tax and investment purposes. Independent Financial Group is a large integrated advisory and brokerage firm serving individuals, trusts, corporations, business owners, and plan sponsors. The firm offers investment advisory programs, financial planning, and retirement plan services, using a combination of in-house and third-party manager models tailored to client risk profiles, and operates both as a registered investment adviser and an active broker-dealer.

Cari Leamy is a financial advisor with NewEdge Advisors in Carlsbad, CA, holding Series 65 and Series 66 credentials and five years of industry experience. Her prior roles include positions at Brighton Jones, Refresh Investments, and her own firm, Cari Financial Consulting. NewEdge Advisors is an enterprise-scale registered investment adviser serving individuals, pension plans, corporations, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations through a network of independent advisers. The firm offers a broad range of portfolio management and consulting services and employs multiple program structures combining in-house and third-party strategies, supported by centralized due diligence and technology tools.

Megan Johnson is a CFP® professional with 13 years of experience in financial advising. She is currently with Kestra Advisory Services, LLC, having joined in 2025 after a decade at Commonwealth Financial Network. She is also a 16.5% owner of Monarch Retirement Group, which facilitates securities, advisory, and insurance business. Kestra Advisory Services provides investment advisory and retirement-plan consulting to a broad range of institutional and individual clients, including large plan sponsors. The firm offers services such as fiduciary consulting, plan design, employee education, and access to multiple management platforms and third-party solutions.

Megan Nielsen is a financial advisor at Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC with 17 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. Prior to joining Integrated Wealth Concepts in 2026, she worked at Wealthspire Retirement Advisory, NFP Retirement, Inc., and Mutual of America in various roles from 2011 through 2026. Outside of her advisory work, Nielsen is a licensed real estate broker and serves as president of Fort Stockton Investments, Inc., which manages income generated from mining rights and interests. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, families, trusts, estates, businesses, and retirement plans through a network of independent advisors. The firm offers discretionary investment management, financial planning, family office, and retirement plan advisory services, employing a customized, long-term investment approach with a variety of mutual funds, ETFs, equities, and fixed income.

Bryan Skoruppa is a CFP® professional with 23 years of experience in financial advising. He is currently with Schwab Wealth Advisory and has previously worked at USAA in various advisory and financial planning roles. Schwab Wealth Advisory, Inc. provides non-discretionary fiduciary investment advice to clients enrolled in the Schwab Wealth Advisory program, offering annual financial reviews and investment recommendations using standard asset allocation models and Schwab research tools.

Alex Esposito is a financial advisor at Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC with nine years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and previously worked at OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC, Triad Advisors, Independent Capital Management, and Sagepoint Financial. Integrated Wealth Concepts serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, families, trusts, estates, businesses, and retirement plans through a network of independent advisors. The firm offers discretionary investment management, financial planning, family office, and retirement plan advisory services, employing customized portfolios with mutual funds, ETFs, individual equities, and fixed income using primarily a long-term approach.

Kent Colwell is a financial advisor with Transamerica Retirement Advisors, LLC, holding Series 65 and Series 63 licenses and bringing 38 years of industry experience. He has worked at Transamerica Investors Securities Corporation and Transamerica Life Insurance Company since 2019, with prior roles at Intelligence Driven Advisers, LLC, Labrum Wealth Management, LLC, and RSM US Wealth Management LLC. Transamerica Retirement Advisors serves participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans and IRA owners through managed advice programs, combining proprietary portfolio models and third-party expert input to provide tailored asset allocation and retirement guidance. The firm operates at scale with a large client base and focuses primarily on non-discretionary advice rather than standalone financial planning.

Deanna Williamson is a financial advisor with J.W. Cole Advisors, Inc., holding a Series 66 designation and bringing 24 years of industry experience. She has been with J.W. Cole Advisors and its affiliated firm since 2013. Outside of her advisory role, she owns and operates Williamson Financial Investments and Planning, providing investment management and retirement consulting services since 2005. J.W. Cole Advisors is an SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, charities, corporations, and retirement plans through a national network of over 400 independent representatives. The firm offers portfolio management, fee-based financial planning, and multiple managed account solutions, utilizing discretionary and non-discretionary approaches that include fundamental and technical analysis as well as algorithmic allocations.

Arnold Adkins is a financial advisor with Empower Advisory Group in Oceanside, CA, holding Series 66, Series 65, and Series 63 licenses and nine years of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at Advised Assets Group, GWFS Equities, Park Avenue Securities, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, and Mass Mutual. Outside of finance, he is a co-owner of Viscape Arts, an independent film production company. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, delivering services through integrated recordkeeping and administrative platforms with an emphasis on long-term portfolio returns and annual rebalancing.

Stephen Locko is a financial advisor with GWN Securities Inc. in Carlsbad, CA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 34 years of industry experience. He has been with GWN Securities since 2009 and is also involved with ISN Network and Resource Marketing Associates. Outside of his advisory role, Locko owns and operates Beachfront Tax LLC, a tax preparation facilitation business. GWN Securities is an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individual and business clients through a large network of advisors. The firm offers discretionary managed accounts and access to third-party sub-advisers and model portfolios, employing a range of investment strategies including legacy market-timing and momentum-based approaches.

Aaron Chamberlin is a financial advisor at Oppenheimer with 31 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and previously worked at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc for 12 years before joining Oppenheimer in 2021. Chamberlin serves as trustee of the John Arnold Family Trust, a role he has held since 1998. Oppenheimer serves a diverse client base including individuals, corporations, pension plans, and charitable organizations, offering advisory and brokerage services such as investment management, consulting, and retirement planning. The firm employs strategic and tactical asset allocation and manager selection, with a notable role as a qualified custodian and a range of discretionary and non-discretionary investment programs.