Phillip Newton is a financial advisor with Empower Advisory Group in Kansas City, MO, holding the Series 66 and Series 63 designations and having 11 years of industry experience. His prior firms include Gwfs Equities, Inc. and American Century Investment Services, LLC. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, offering integrated services linked to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms. The firm emphasizes long-term portfolio returns and annual rebalancing in its planning, serving a large participant base relative to its advisor headcount.

Jeffery Kline is a CFP® and Series 66-licensed financial advisor with five years of industry experience. He currently works at Moneta Group Investment Advisors, LLC and has prior experience at LPL Enterprise, Prudential Insurance Company of America, Pruco Securities, LLC, Hillsong Kansas City, and Thrivent Financial. Moneta Group Investment Advisors serves high-net-worth individuals, families, family offices, and institutional clients, offering portfolio management, financial planning, and family office services. The firm employs a partner-led team approach with a centralized Investments Department and utilizes an open-architecture, multi-criteria selection process that includes active due diligence and proprietary multi-strategy funds.

David Cuba is a financial advisor at Lincoln Investment with 34 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has been with Lincoln Investment Planning, Inc. since 1995. Outside of his advisory role, he is the owner of DKKT Holdings LLC, a holding company. Lincoln Investment serves individuals, charitable organizations, businesses, and employer-sponsored retirement plans, with a particular focus on educators and 403(b)/457(b) participants. The firm offers financial planning, ERISA retirement plan advice, and a variety of managed portfolio programs, utilizing both strategic and dynamic investment approaches overseen by an Investment Management & Research team.

Tyler Geiman is a financial advisor with Hightower Advisors and holds a Series 66 designation. He has three years of industry experience and has worked at Falcon Wealth Advisors since 2022. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a wide range of individual and institutional clients. The firm focuses on manager selection and multi-manager solutions, utilizing proprietary research and a diverse set of investment vehicles including mutual funds, ETFs, and alternative investments.

Jonathan Holland is a financial advisor with Principal Financial Services based in Kansas City, MO, holding a Series 66 designation and ten years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Edward Jones and Cetera Advisors LLC. He is also the owner of Pinnacle Planning, an LLC used primarily for recordkeeping. Principal Securities provides brokerage and registered investment advisory services to a broad client base, including individual investors, retirement plans, trusts, and charitable organizations. The firm offers direct advisory programs, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and access to third-party money manager asset allocation and separately managed accounts.

Madeline Crawford is a financial advisor with Hightower Advisors, holding a Series 66 designation and three years of industry experience. She has worked at Hightower since 2018 and previously held roles at Barkley Evergreen & Partners/Crossroads Communication and Garmin International. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse range of clients, including individuals, institutions, and charitable organizations. The firm’s approach emphasizes manager selection and multi-manager solutions, utilizing both affiliated and third-party managers with a focus on portfolio construction across various investment vehicles.

Colleen Carmitchel is a financial advisor at Moneta Group Investment Advisors, LLC with two years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and has previously worked at North Pointe CPA Group, North Pointe Wealth Advisors, and Cornerstone CPA Group. Moneta Group Investment Advisors serves high-net-worth individuals, families, trusts, and various institutional clients, offering portfolio management, financial planning, family office services, and concierge offerings. The firm uses a Partner-led Team model supported by a centralized Investment Department and emphasizes diversified, multi-asset allocations along with ongoing monitoring.

Thomas Johnson is a financial advisor with Principal Financial Services in Kansas City, MO. He holds the Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has 25 years of industry experience. Since 2011, he has worked with Principal Securities Inc and Principal Financial. In addition to his advisory role, Johnson serves as a bank/trust officer at Principal Bank and Principal Trust Company, supporting retirement plan account relationships across the firm’s insurance, broker-dealer, and bank/trust platforms. Principal Securities provides brokerage and registered investment advisory services to a diverse client base, including individual investors, retirement plans, trusts, and charitable organizations. The firm offers financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and access to third-party money manager solutions under various advisory and promoter arrangements.

Donald Lueke is a CFP® credentialed financial advisor with 29 years of industry experience, currently affiliated with AE Wealth Management, LLC. He has served in various leadership roles at Heritage First, Inc. since 2005 and has been with AE Wealth Management since 2020. His outside activities include teaching educational workshops at the PREPARE Institute and involvement with the Society for Financial Awareness, a nonprofit promoting financial literacy. AE Wealth Management provides fee-based portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement-plan consulting to a diverse client base that includes individual households, corporations, trusts, and ERISA plan sponsors. The firm utilizes discretionary model portfolios and supports third-party RIAs through sub-advisory and model-licensing arrangements, managing approximately $49.8 billion in assets across a large client network.

Denise Crawford is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Kansas City, MO, holding Series 65 and Series 63 licenses and having eight years of industry experience. Her prior work includes positions at Icma Rc and Porsch Financial. Valic Financial Advisors is an SEC-registered investment adviser and FINRA-member broker‑dealer serving 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, and operates at scale with a large network of advisors and centralized technology solutions.

Ryan Hurr is a Series 65 licensed financial advisor with six years of industry experience, currently with AE Wealth Management, LLC. He previously worked with Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority and is also involved with Heritage First entities, including advisory, insurance sales, tax preparation, and facilitating estate planning document services. AE Wealth Management provides fee-based portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement-plan consulting to a diverse client base, relying on discretionary model portfolios and a platform-focused approach that serves a high volume of clients per advisor.

Nicholas Rawlings is a financial advisor with Empower Advisory Group based in Kansas City, KS. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has 11 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at GWFS Equities, Inc. and American Century Investment Services Inc. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, as well as to certain retail account holders. The firm delivers services through a model integrated with Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms, focusing on long-term portfolio returns, annual rebalancing, and clients’ savings rates.

Cory Bittner is a financial advisor at Hightower Advisors with 14 years of industry experience. He has held roles at Hightower Advisors and HighTower Securities, LLC since 2016 and previously worked at UBS Financial Services INC from 2013 to 2016. He holds the Series 66 designation. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse range of individual and institutional clients, including pension plans, charitable organizations, corporations, trusts, and pooled investment vehicles. The firm’s approach emphasizes manager selection and multi-manager solutions through affiliated and third-party managers, offering a variety of investment strategies including mutual funds, ETFs, alternative investments, and custom indexing.

David Blickhan is a financial advisor with Brookstone Capital Management LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 18 years of industry experience. He has worked concurrently at JC Grason of Kansas City, Inc. and Brookstone Capital Management since 2008. Outside of his advisory roles, he serves as president of the board of directors for a Catholic family credit union. Brookstone Capital Management is an SEC-registered adviser providing fee-based asset management and financial planning through a turnkey asset management platform and wrap-fee program. The firm serves a diverse client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, charitable organizations, other registered investment advisers, sovereign wealth funds, and banking institutions, offering primarily discretionary investment management via model portfolios and separately managed accounts.

Lars Ragan is a financial advisor with Independent Financial Group, LLC in North Kansas City, Missouri, holding a Series 66 designation and 26 years of industry experience. He worked at Waddell & Reed for 15 years before joining Independent Financial Group in 2015. Outside of his advisory role, he is the president of Ragan Wealth Management, LLC, a marketing DBA, and also works part-time as a bartender. Independent Financial Group, LLC provides investment advisory and brokerage services to a diverse client base, including individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, and pension plans. The firm offers financial planning and portfolio management through multiple platforms, combining strategic asset allocation and multi-manager portfolios with both passive and active investment exposures.

Lindsey Slattery is a financial advisor at Hightower Advisors with one year of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at Hightower Advisors since 2024. Outside of finance, she owns Lindsey Slattery Art & Photography, where she works as a watercolor artist and photographer. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse range of individual and institutional clients. The firm emphasizes manager selection and multi-manager solutions, utilizing both affiliated and third-party managers, and offers a range of portfolio management and financial planning services.

John Meyers is a financial advisor at Empower Advisory Group in Kansas City, MO, with seven years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has worked with firms including GWFS Equities, Prydes Old Westport, Inside Ventures, Southwind Enterprises, and the University of Missouri. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants. The firm integrates its services with Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms, offering point-in-time financial plans and optional managed account solutions.

Drew Van Scyoc is a financial advisor at Hightower Advisors with one year of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at Hightower Advisors since 2023. Prior to this, he was involved with Prairie Highlands Golf Club and Shadow Glen Golf Club. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a broad mix of individual and institutional clients, offering discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting. The firm emphasizes manager selection and multi-manager solutions through affiliated and third-party managers, utilizing proprietary research and a variety of investment vehicles including mutual funds, ETFs, and alternative investments.

Alexander Montanez is a financial advisor with Empower Advisory Group based in Kansas City, MO. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 designations and has 11 years of industry experience. Montanez has worked at GWFS Equities, Inc., J.P. Morgan Institutional Investments Inc., and J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services LLC. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily for employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and participants, as well as certain retail clients. The firm’s services are integrated with Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms and emphasize long-term portfolio returns and disciplined rebalancing.

Kai Sewell is a financial advisor at PlanMember Securities Corporation in Kansas City, MO, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with two years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company and Forrest T. Jones & Co., Inc. Sewell has been a college student since 2017 and previously worked at Vector Marketing. PlanMember provides retirement-plan advisory services to employers and plan participants, acting as an ERISA Section 3(38) fiduciary for many plans and offering participant-level investment options through its PlanMember Asset Allocation Portfolios. The firm employs a top-down strategic asset allocation approach with risk-based mutual fund portfolios and delivers education and support services to plan sponsors and participants.