Christopher Murphy is a financial advisor with Commonwealth Financial Network in Cary, NC, holding CFP® and ChFC® designations and bringing 39 years of industry experience. His previous roles include positions at Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. and Paine-Webber Group. He is also owner and president of CMLZ, LLC, an entity created to operate a branch office. Commonwealth Financial Network is a dual-registered broker/dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser serving a national network of nearly 2,900 advisors and hundreds of thousands of clients. The firm offers a broad support platform including managed-account programs, access to third-party asset managers, retirement consulting, and custody services.

Mark Courtemanche is a financial advisor with AE Wealth Management, LLC in Cary, NC, holding the ChFC® designation as well as Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. He has 20 years of industry experience, including roles at Pinnacle Retirement Solutions, Capital Investment Group, and Outer Banks Financial. He is involved in facilitating estate planning document services alongside his advisory work. AE Wealth Management provides fee-based portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement-plan consulting to a diverse client base including individuals, corporations, trusts, and ERISA plan sponsors. The firm emphasizes model portfolio and direct asset management, operating at scale with standardized platform services.

Stephen Engelson is a financial advisor at Truist Advisory Services with 33 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and has been with Truist Advisory Services since 2016, also affiliated with Truist Investment Services since 2010. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in purchasing homes for flipping in Durham, NC. Truist Advisory Services provides investment consulting and advisory services to individuals, corporate clients, retirement plan sponsors, and charitable organizations, utilizing a mix of discretionary manager relationships and non-discretionary consulting supported by advanced research tools and inter-affiliate integration.

Crystal Woodberry is a financial advisor at Janney Montgomery Scott with 11 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has previously worked at Merrill and First Citizens Securities Corporation. 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, offering brokerage services, financial planning, and multiple advisory programs.

David Castro is a CFP® and holds a Series 66 designation with 15 years of industry experience. He is currently with Focus Partners Wealth, LLC and has previously worked at Goldman Sachs Wealth Services, Kovitz Investment Group Partners, and other firms. Focus Partners serves individuals, high-net-worth families, family offices, and institutional clients with wealth management and advisory services. The firm employs an enhanced open architecture investment approach combining active and passive strategies, third-party managers, and private funds, and offers services including financial planning, retirement consulting, and access to affiliated private funds.

Michelle Disney is a CFP® with 18 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Allworth Financial, L.P. in Durham, NC. Her prior experience includes roles at Adams Chetwood Wealth Management and Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments. Disney holds the Series 66 designation. Allworth Financial is a fee-based SEC-registered adviser serving a diverse client base including individuals, qualified retirement plans, trusts, charitable organizations, and corporate clients. The firm employs a range of customized portfolio strategies and uses technology to manage held-away employer retirement accounts, with notable ownership ties to private investment vehicles and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Mark Nachimson is a CFP® professional with 25 years of industry experience, currently serving at VALIC Financial Advisors since 2004. He also holds a role with Agia, focusing on non-securities insurance products. Nachimson is a limited partner in a family limited partnership established for estate planning purposes. VALIC Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S.-domiciled individual investors, including high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, along with corporate and retirement-plan participants. The firm offers discretionary managed-account programs, financial planning, and brokerage services, employing Envestnet-developed UMA models for portfolio construction.

Jonathan Ludwig is a financial advisor at United Planners Financial Services of America and holds a Series 65 credential. He has one year of advisory experience and previously worked at Accenture Federal Services as a Growth & Strategy Manager. United Planners Financial Services is a national wealth-management enterprise serving a diverse client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, and institutional clients. The firm delivers advisory and brokerage services through independent representatives and employs a combination of custodians, third-party managers, and platform programs to implement client strategies.

James Appleby is a CFP® certified financial advisor with 21 years of industry experience. He has worked at Truist Advisory Services since 2018, including leadership roles at Truist Investment Services and Bb&T Securities. Appleby serves as a local board member for Beginnings, a nonprofit focused on education and assistance for children with hearing loss. Truist Advisory Services provides investment consulting and advisory services to individuals, corporate clients, retirement plan sponsors, and charitable organizations, utilizing a combination of discretionary and non-discretionary manager arrangements and AI-enabled equity research tools.

Rajesh Chundi is a financial advisor at Transamerica Financial Advisors with 10 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at firms including Change Healthcare Inc. and Optum Services Inc. Outside of advising, he serves as a database administrator for the Orange Water and Sewer Authority and operates Chundi Financial Services, LLC. Transamerica Financial Advisors provides investment advisory, brokerage, and retirement-plan services to a diverse client base, utilizing model portfolios and third-party managers across multiple platforms such as Transamerica ONE and the TFA365 Advisory Program.

Sarah Hickey is a Planning Consultant at Fidelity Investments, a role she has held since 2023. She has accumulated over a decade of experience in financial services, working in various capacities including service management, investment solutions, and client relationship management. Her professional background includes positions at RBC Wealth Management, Fidelity Investments, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, and Barclays Wealth. Throughout her career, she has focused on understanding clients' unique needs and circumstances to develop financial plans that align with their goals and values. Outside of her professional work, Sarah has interests in art, food, parenthood, and yoga.

Jacob Niles is a financial advisor at Empower Advisory Group with one year of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and previously worked at Raleigh Capital Management and Fidelity Investments. Outside of his advisory role, he is also an insurance agent with Raleigh Wealth Solutions. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and participants, as well as Empower Premier IRA and retail brokerage clients. The firm uses an integrated model tied to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms, focusing on long-term portfolio returns and client savings rates through point-in-time financial plans and optional managed account solutions.

Hans Scheil Jr. is a CFP® and ChFC® with 20 years of experience in financial advisory. He is currently with Brookstone Capital Management LLC and serves as CEO and insurance agent at H.E. Scheil & Associates, Inc., where he spends a significant portion of his time. His prior experience includes roles at Insurance Advisor Associates, Inc., Cardinal Retirement Planning, Inc., and Gradient Investments, LLC. 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 broad client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, and institutional clients, and supports a large advisor network with back-office and sub-advisory services.

James Chetwood III is a CFP® with 21 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Allworth Financial. His prior experience includes roles at Adams Chetwood Wealth Management and Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments. He is an elder at The Summit Church and author of *Retire to the Fullest: Four Dimensions of Financial Peace of Mind*. Allworth Financial is a fee-based SEC-registered adviser serving individual, retirement, trust, charitable, and corporate clients. The firm offers customized portfolio strategies, including model allocations and options-based overlays, and incorporates technology to manage held-away retirement accounts.

Kennedy Taylor is a Series 66-licensed financial advisor with five years of industry experience. He currently works at Empower Advisory Group and previously was employed by Fidelity Investments and First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, delivering services through an integrated model connected to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms. The firm emphasizes long-term portfolio returns and savings rates in its financial planning, serving a large participant base with a higher client-to-advisor ratio than many peers.

James Simone is a financial advisor with TIAA-CREF in Durham, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and 30 years of industry experience. He has been with TIAA and TIAA-CREF since 2013. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC’s Advice & Planning Services division offers financial planning and discretionary managed account programs to individuals, trusts, estates, and corporate entities, often serving clients connected to TIAA-administered employer retirement plans. The firm also advises donor-advised funds and combines point-in-time planning with ongoing portfolio management under a fiduciary standard.

Robert Mouro is a CFP® with 22 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has worked at Janney Montgomery Scott since 2019 and previously held roles at Bank of America and Merrill. He serves on the advisory board of the Northwest Cary YMCA, acting as an ambassador for the organization in the community. Janney Montgomery Scott is a large enterprise firm managing approximately $110 billion in client assets. The firm offers a wide range of services to individuals, families, trusts, corporate and retirement plan sponsors, and municipal clients, utilizing in-house and third-party portfolio management across multiple advisory programs.

Joseph Miller is a CFP® professional with 32 years of industry experience. He is currently with Concurrent Investment Advisors, LLC and has previously worked at Arky & Miller Financial Group and The Variable Annuity Marketing Company. Miller also teaches CFP Board educational courses as an adjunct faculty member at Guilford College. Concurrent Investment Advisors, LLC is a multi-team registered advisory firm serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, families, trusts, estates, businesses, and retirement plans. The firm emphasizes customized, primarily long-term portfolios using ETFs, mutual funds, individual securities, bonds, alternative investments, and independent sub-advisers, supported by a network of approximately 286 advisors serving over 13,000 clients.

Robert Hill is a CFP® affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network and has one year of industry experience. He is co-owner of Cardinal Hill Wealth Management, LLC, a private entity engaged in securities, advisory, and insurance business. Prior to his current roles, he worked at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Premier Inc. Commonwealth Financial Network is a registered investment adviser serving a national network of approximately 2,950 advisors and their retail and institutional clients. The firm provides advisory programs, technology, and compliance support, offering a range of portfolio management options including discretionary model portfolios and personalized indexing strategies.

Halah Little is a financial advisor at Transamerica Retirement Advisors, LLC with two years of industry experience. She holds the Series 66 designation and has previously worked at Fidelity Investments and Barings. Transamerica Retirement Advisors serves participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans and IRA owners through managed advice programs and investment education services, utilizing proprietary software and third-party model portfolios to provide both discretionary and non-discretionary investment recommendations.