Melvin Jacobs is a financial advisor at Sunbelt Securities, Inc. in Houston, TX, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials with 41 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Bank of America, Merrill, and UBS Financial Services. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved in entrepreneurial ventures including ownership and management roles in boat and yacht charter businesses. Sunbelt Securities, Inc. provides investment advisory and related services to individual and institutional clients through a network of investment adviser representatives. The firm offers a variety of investment approaches and solutions, including a wrap-fee program, standalone financial planning, and access to third-party money managers.

John Asta Jr. is a financial advisor at Gateway Wealth Partners, LLC with 20 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked previously at Raymond James & Associates, Elevation Advisory Partners, LLC, and Silver Oak Securities. Outside of his advisory roles, he serves as a mentor to college students through the Villanova University Mentor Program. Gateway Wealth Partners is a registered investment adviser serving individuals, corporations, and retirement plans. The firm offers financial planning, wealth management, and retirement plan consulting services, typically using a mix of low-cost mutual funds, ETFs, individual securities, and independent managers while employing both fundamental and technical analysis.

Marty Harari is a financial advisor at Sunbelt Securities, Inc. in Houston, TX, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 56 years of industry experience. His career includes roles at WFG Advisors, Inc. and The (Wilson) Williams Financial Group. He is involved with the North Texas Advisory Group, a general financial services advisory group formed by branch members under Sunbelt Securities. Sunbelt Securities serves a diverse client base including individual investors, charitable organizations, and corporate clients, managing approximately $2.0 billion across several thousand relationships. The firm provides portfolio management, written financial planning, and third-party money manager referrals, with advice and portfolio construction delivered at the individual advisor level.

Edward Randall IV is a financial advisor at Arax Advisory Partners in Houston, TX, with 27 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63, 65, and 66 licenses and has previously worked at UBS Financial Services and U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors. Outside of his advisory work, he serves on the board of directors for Dynamic Health Strategies, a non-investment-related organization. Arax Advisory Partners provides wealth management and advisory services to a diverse client base, including individuals, high-net-worth clients, family offices, institutions, and businesses. The firm offers portfolio management, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and private fund advisory, employing both in-house teams and independent managers across traditional and alternative investments.

Steven Neustaedter is a CFP® professional with 30 years of industry experience, currently serving at Creative Financial Designs, Inc. since 2013. His career includes roles at multiple financial firms such as Independent Financial Partners and LPL Financial. He is also involved in independent insurance sales outside of his primary advisory role. Creative Financial Designs serves a diverse range of clients including individual households, corporations, institutions, and employer retirement plans. The firm uses asset-class model allocations and risk objectives to structure portfolios and offers both discretionary and non-discretionary investment management alongside financial planning and modular consulting services.

Lavada Waters is a financial advisor at Arax Advisory Partners with 23 years of industry experience. She holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at several firms, including Merrill, UBS Financial Services, Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, and US Capital Wealth Advisors. Arax Advisory Partners provides wealth management and advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, family offices, institutions, and businesses. The firm offers portfolio management, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and private fund advisory, utilizing both internal portfolio teams and external managers with a mix of traditional and alternative investments.

Shay Scruggs is a financial advisor at Arax Advisory Partners with 26 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked previously at U.S. Capital Wealth, Rockefeller Financial, UBS Financial Services, Deutsche Bank Securities, and Merrill. Arax Advisory Partners offers wealth management and advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, family offices, institutions, and businesses. The firm employs a fiduciary asset-based approach, utilizing internal portfolio teams, external managers, model portfolios, and a combination of traditional and alternative investments.

Audrey Fersten is a financial advisor at Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors, LLC in Houston, TX, holding the CFP® designation along with Series 63, 65, and 66 licenses. She has 16 years of industry experience, with previous roles at BKD Wealth Advisors, US Capital Advisors, and Bridgeway Capital Management. Her background also includes work with the Anti Defamation League. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors serves individuals, families, retirement plans, institutions, and nonprofit organizations, offering financial planning and investment management within an integrated service model connected to a national accounting and professional services firm. The firm emphasizes customized asset allocation, diversification, cost control, and combines active and passive strategies tailored to each client’s objectives and risk tolerance.

John Hemenway is a financial advisor with Regal Investment Advisors LLC in Houston, TX, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 39 years of industry experience. His work history includes ten years at Legacy Portfolio Advisors, sixteen years at Next Financial Group Inc, and ongoing work since 1995 with LegalShield. He is also involved in insurance services through The Legacies Group and holds a mortgage origination license, though it is inactive. Regal Investment Advisors operates as LionShare, providing model portfolio implementation and discretionary investment management to unaffiliated advisers and their high-net-worth and corporate clients. The firm manages approximately $2.88 billion across proprietary and third-party strategies and offers trade execution, rebalancing, and overlay management within a sub-advisory platform serving a network of advisers rather than direct clients.

Richard Waits is a financial advisor with Sunbelt Securities, Inc. in Houston, TX, holding a Series 66 designation and 24 years of industry experience. He has been with Sunbelt Securities since 2010. Sunbelt Securities serves a diverse client base including individual investors, charitable organizations, and corporate clients, managing approximately $2.0 billion across thousands of accounts. The firm provides portfolio management through rep-directed wrap programs, written financial planning, and referrals to third-party money managers.

Leo Reichle is a financial advisor with Sunbelt Securities, Inc. in Houston, TX, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 36 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Sunbelt in 2025, he worked at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc for seven years and Hilltop Independent Network for two years. Outside of his advisory work, he serves on the boards of the Texas Children's Cancer Center and Fore The Cure, where he is president. Sunbelt Securities, Inc. provides investment advisory and related services to individual and institutional clients through a network of representatives. The firm offers customized portfolio management, financial planning, and access to third-party money managers, employing various investment strategies without mandating a single uniform model across advisors.

Charlie Kirven is a financial advisor with Secure Asset Management, L.L.C. in Houston, TX, holding a Series 63 designation and over 40 years of industry experience. His career includes roles at NEXT Financial Group and ownership of Money and Investment Concepts, where he has been involved in business management and sales since 1984. Secure Asset Management primarily serves individual clients, providing personalized financial planning, discretionary investment management, and pension consulting for retirement plans. The firm employs a range of investment strategies guided by written policies and periodic reviews, often utilizing third-party money managers and managing held-away employer accounts through third-party platforms.

Kim Ha Nguyen is a CFP® professional with 26 years of experience in financial advising. She currently works at Arax Advisory Partners and has previously been affiliated with U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors, USCA Securities, USCA RIA, and UBS Financial Services. Outside of her advisory work, she serves as co-trustee of a family trust created for estate planning purposes. Arax Advisory Partners provides wealth management and advisory services to a diverse client base including individuals, high-net-worth clients, family offices, institutions, and businesses. The firm offers discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, comprehensive financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and private fund advisory, utilizing both in-house portfolio teams and external managers across traditional and alternative investments.

La Mar Hall is a financial advisor at MissionSquare Retirement with two years of industry experience. He holds Series 66 and Series 63 licenses. Outside of advisory work, he owns and operates bchybc LLC, a custom apparel business managed on weekends. MissionSquare Retirement serves state and local government employers, employees, and certain non-profit entities by administering deferred compensation and qualified retirement plans. The firm provides plan administration, recordkeeping, education, and advisory services through its Guided Pathways program, which uses model portfolios developed by Morningstar Investment Management.

Matthew Knauss is a financial advisor with Sunbelt Securities, Inc. in Houston, TX, holding a Series 66 designation and 15 years of industry experience. He has been with Sunbelt Securities since 2011. Outside of his advisory work, he is a silent equity owner of a non-investment-related business, Pamco. Sunbelt Securities, Inc. serves individual and institutional clients, including high-net-worth individuals, offering investment advisory and related services through a network of representatives. The firm provides various approaches to portfolio management, including discretionary wrap-fee programs and standalone financial planning.

Samuel Lawhon is a Series 66-licensed financial advisor with Larson Financial Group, LLC, based in Houston, TX. He has seven years of industry experience, including roles at Intrua Financial LLC and LPL Financial LLC. Outside of Larson Financial Group, he serves as a Research Assistant at Intrua Financial LLC and as Director of Investments at Freedom Wealth Alliance. Larson Financial Group, LLC offers financial planning, portfolio management, and retirement-plan consulting to individuals, trusts, corporations, nonprofits, and pension plans, with a focus on doctors and related businesses. The firm uses a combination of model portfolios and custom discretionary programs that incorporate strategic and tactical approaches, alongside AI-assisted research tools and third-party manager oversight.

Larissa Poindexter is a financial advisor at Arax Advisory Partners with 41 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and has previously worked at firms including Oppenheimer, LPL Financial, Raymond James & Associates, and UBS Financial Services. Arax Advisory Partners provides wealth management and advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, family offices, institutions, and businesses. The firm employs a fiduciary approach with a mix of traditional and alternative investments, supported by both in-house and external portfolio teams, and utilizes technology including AI tools and third-party analytics.

Joshua Lavergne is a financial advisor with Arax Advisory Partners in Houston, TX, holding a Series 66 designation and one year of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at USCA Securities LLC, US Capital Wealth Advisors, and Phillips 66. Arax Advisory Partners provides wealth management and advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, family offices, institutions, and businesses. The firm employs a fiduciary approach utilizing in-house portfolio teams, independent managers, and a range of traditional and alternative investments.

Mary Margaret Bauman is a financial advisor at Arax Advisory Partners in Houston, TX, with two years of industry experience. She holds Series 65 and Series 63 licenses and previously worked at U.S. Capital Advisors LLC and USCA Securities LLC. Arax Advisory Partners provides wealth management and advisory services to a diverse client base, including individuals, high-net-worth clients, family offices, institutions, and businesses. The firm offers discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, comprehensive financial planning, and employs a mix of traditional and alternative investments supported by AI tools and third-party analytics.

Nelson Negron Jr. is a financial advisor with OneAscent Financial Services LLC in Houston, TX, holding a Series 66 designation and 15 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, LPL Financial, and Morgan Stanley. He volunteers at Foundations Christian Academy. OneAscent Financial Services LLC is a multi-team registered investment adviser serving individuals, retirement plans, trusts, broker/dealers’ customers, and institutions. The firm offers discretionary and non-discretionary asset management, financial planning, and Unified Managed Account solutions, using both advisor-managed and model-based investment approaches.