Paul Meinhold is the Resident Director at Merrill, bringing extensive experience in wealth management and financial advisory services. He specializes in serving endowments, foundations, and non-profits, as well as providing investment consulting for defined contribution plans. Paul also focuses on LGBT wealth planning, women and wealth, and retirement income strategies. His approach emphasizes a personalized financial strategy tailored to clients' long-term goals, supported by insights from Merrill and resources from Bank of America. Paul graduated from the United States Air Force Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering in 1978 and earned a Master's degree in Business Management from Golden Gate University in 1987. He served as an Air Force fighter pilot flying F-4 and F-16 aircraft for 14 years and retired from the Air Force Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel. He joined Merrill in 1993 and has held the role of Senior Resident Director in three different offices over nine years. His professional designations include Accredited Domestic Partnership Advisor (ADPA), Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor (CPFA), Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC), Personal Investment Advisor (PIA), and Retirement Benefits Consultant (RBC). Outside of his professional work, Paul is committed to community involvement through volunteer activities. He enjoys golfing, reading, and spending time with his family.

Garth Young is a CFP® professional with 27 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Stifel Nicolaus & Co Inc since 2014. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and is based in Palm Desert, California. Stifel serves a diverse client base including individuals, institutional clients, and charitable organizations, offering both brokerage and investment advisory services. The firm’s investment approach is supported by proprietary analysis and probabilistic modeling developed by its Investment Strategy Group.

Shane Feist is a financial advisor with Ameriprise in Palm Springs, CA, holding a Series 66 designation and four years of industry experience. Prior to joining Ameriprise in 2019, he was self-employed for seven years and worked at PGA West for ten years. He serves on the Board of Directors for The First Tee Coachella Valley. Ameriprise offers retirement-income planning services primarily for clients with significant investable assets, combining research, modeling, and tax-efficiency analysis to provide tailored recommendations. The firm also delivers a broad range of advisory, brokerage, and insurance solutions typical of a large institutional provider.

Caesar Hernandez is a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley in Palm Desert, CA, holding a Series 66 designation and 13 years of industry experience. He has been with Morgan Stanley Private Bank, National Association, and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC since 2016. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management serves individual and institutional clients with a range of advisory programs, providing tailored financial planning through its Financial Advisors and Estate Planning Strategies Group. The firm manages approximately $2.74 trillion in client assets and employs structured planning tools to support its advisory services.

Nicholas Maffeo is a financial advisor at Wells Fargo Clearing with 40 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has been with Wells Fargo Clearing since 2016, following seven years at Wells Fargo Advisors LLC. Wells Fargo Clearing provides retirement plan consulting services to qualified ERISA plans and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, offering both discretionary and non-discretionary investment advice grounded in modern portfolio theory. The firm includes a broad range of financial products in its investment menus, such as insurance-related vehicles and bank deposit sweep options.

Benjamin Harris is a financial advisor with J.P. Morgan Securities, holding a Series 66 designation and seven years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Merrill and Xavier College Preparatory. J.P. Morgan Securities provides investment consulting and advisory services primarily to institutional clients and retirement plan sponsors, combining quantitative asset-allocation modeling with centralized due diligence and applying an ESG eligibility framework in its recommendations.

Janet Clements is a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley with 45 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been with Morgan Stanley since 2009, including roles at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley Private Bank. She is a silent partner in a family investment LLC focused on real estate. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management serves individual and institutional clients with a range of advisory programs and financial planning services, managing approximately $2.74 trillion in client assets. The firm employs a structured planning process supported by firm-approved tools and offers a broad spectrum of retail and institutional investment options.

Richard Balance is a financial advisor at Innovative Wealth Partners, LLC with 12 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has been with the firm since 2008. Balance is also a licensed life insurance agent. Innovative Wealth Partners is an independent, solicitor-only adviser that refers individual and high-net-worth clients to third-party investment managers. The firm does not provide direct portfolio management or custody and is compensated through negotiated fee-sharing agreements with the selected managers.

Adam Ochoa is a financial advisor at Lotusland Properties with a Series 65 credential and three years of industry experience. He is also a Certified Public Accountant with The Practice CPA, where he has worked for over a decade. Lotusland Properties is an independent, single-advisor firm serving individuals and high-net-worth clients by selecting and referring them to third-party investment advisers. The firm does not manage client portfolios directly and focuses on vetting recommended advisers without exercising trading authority or custody of assets.

Andrew Kustas is the sole advisor at White Pine Investments, an independent firm based in Palm Desert, CA. He holds a Series 65 designation and has 16 years of industry experience. Kustas has managed White Pine Investments since 2001. White Pine Investments manages approximately $24 million in client assets for about 79 clients, providing ongoing investment supervisory services and portfolio management. The firm serves both individual and institutional clients, including pension and profit-sharing plans, offering discretionary portfolio oversight and managed accounts.