Steven Thorpe is the sole advisor at Pragmatic Portfolios, LLC, an independent registered investment adviser based in Durham, NC. He holds a Series 65 designation and has 15 years of industry experience. Thorpe has managed Pragmatic Portfolios since 2010 and previously worked at MCNC for 24 years. Pragmatic Portfolios provides portfolio management and comprehensive financial planning to individuals, families, high-net-worth clients, trusts, and select corporations or small businesses. The firm emphasizes broadly diversified, low-cost passive investments with strategic asset allocation and tax-efficient strategies, and offers client education through complimentary seminars and workshops.

Peter Platt is the sole advisor at Platt Investment Counsel, LLC, an independent firm based in Cary, NC. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 designations and has 12 years of industry experience, having led his firm since 2013. Platt Investment Counsel provides discretionary portfolio management to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and business entities. The firm employs a tactical asset allocation approach using a proprietary model, managing portfolios primarily with exchange-traded funds and no-load mutual funds, and offers institutional-style custodial and reporting services uncommon among similar independent advisers.

Nicholas Faulkner is a CFP® professional with seven years of experience in the financial services industry. He is the sole advisor at Testament Wealth Management, an independent firm based in Cary, NC. His prior roles include positions at Dimensional Fund Advisors, Beacon Financial Strategies Corp, and Mutual of Omaha. Testament Wealth Management provides wealth management and comprehensive financial planning to individuals and high-net-worth clients, as well as retirement plan consulting for employers and plan sponsors. The firm offers both ongoing portfolio management and project-based planning without imposing a minimum account size, using a combination of passive and active investment vehicles tailored to client goals.

Adam Vega is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with 16 years of industry experience. He is the founder of Avance Private Wealth LLC and has previously worked at firms including Goldman Sachs, Gladstone Wealth Partners, and Mercer Allied Company. Vega is also licensed to sell insurance products, dedicating approximately 10% of his time to this activity. Avance Private Wealth LLC provides portfolio management, financial planning, and pension consulting primarily for high-net-worth individuals and retirement plan clients. The firm manages accounts on a discretionary basis using a combination of modern portfolio theory, fundamental analysis, and charting, and offers a broad range of investment products including complex alternatives.

William Bunch II is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license, with 10 years of experience in financial advising. He is the sole advisor at Maze Financial Planning in Chapel Hill, NC, where he has worked since 2016. Maze Financial Planning provides investment management and financial planning services to individuals as well as private foundations, charitable organizations, and participant-directed retirement plans. The firm emphasizes long-term, diversification-centered strategies based on Modern Portfolio Theory and offers fiduciary plan advice, participant education, and monitoring of plan investments.

Mark Vitek is a CFP® professional with 23 years of experience in financial advising. He has been the principal of NC Money Management, Inc. since 1996 and also manages his own CPA firm, Mark Vitek, CPA, PA, which he founded in 1982. He divides his time between his CPA practice and his advisory business. NC Money Management, Inc. serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and businesses with discretionary portfolio management and financial planning. The firm integrates fundamental, technical, and charting analysis to tailor investment strategies and is notable for its affiliation with the principal’s CPA practice, providing tax-preparation support and consulting services uncommon among independent advisors.

Leonard Brooks is a financial advisor with Brooks Financial of North Carolina, LLC in Durham, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and with 28 years of industry experience. He has worked at firms including Cetera and H.D. Vest Advisory Services before founding his current firm. Brooks also owns a tax preparation and filing service and acts as an agent managing small commercial property insurance through Alpha Risk Management Services. Brooks Financial of North Carolina provides financial planning and non-discretionary portfolio management primarily for individual and high-net-worth clients, along with retirement-plan services such as profit-sharing and 401(k)/403(b) planning. The firm offers insurance planning, retirement rollovers, participant education, and tax preparation, managing accounts with client-confirmed trades and tailored asset-allocation strategies based on fundamental and technical analysis.

Edward Fulbright is the principal and sole advisor at Fulbright Financial Consulting, PA in Durham, North Carolina. He holds the PFS™ designation and Series 63 license, with 10 years of experience in financial advising and over 40 years managing his CPA firm, Fulbright & Fulbright, CPA, PA, where he provides accounting, tax, and management consulting services. Fulbright Financial Consulting is a fee-only advisory firm serving individual investors, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and employer-sponsored retirement plans. The firm employs a Functional Asset Allocation approach that integrates interest-earning assets, real estate, and equities, and emphasizes low-cost index funds and ETFs, offering both discretionary and non-discretionary services.

I didn't set out to become a financial advisor. I spent 18 years in the music industry as a recording and touring audio engineer. What I saw again and again were hardworking, independent people — musicians, artists, freelancers, and other creative professionals — who wanted the same things everyone wants: stability, a plan, a better financial future. But because their income was unconventional, they felt like the financial industry wasn't designed for them. Honestly, they were right. So in 2019 I launched my business, got my CFP® designation, and built a practice specifically for people who've spent their lives and careers outside the mainstream. I work with artists, musicians, authors, and other independent-minded professionals with unconventional careers and the financial complexity that comes with them. I offer two types of services: financial planning and investment management. Financial planning means identifying the two or three things that would make the biggest difference in your financial life right now and building a clear, actionable plan around them. Investment management means taking that completely off your plate — so you never have to think about it, worry about it, or wonder if you're doing it right. The work behind the scenes is rigorous. The experience on your end should feel like talking to someone who genuinely gets it. I live in Durham, NC with my family and our dog Yoshi. I have a degree in mathematics and grew up on a farm in Michigan. The through line: I've always figured things out on my own terms — and I have a lot of respect for people who do the same. If any of this resonates, I'd love to connect.

John Bland is a financial advisor with Diversified Investment Services LLC in Durham, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 24 years of industry experience. He previously worked at Blackridge Asset Management LLC and Commonwealth Financial Network. Bland is also a licensed insurance agent offering insurance product sales alongside his advisory services. Diversified Investment Services LLC provides portfolio management and financial planning to individual and high-net-worth clients, utilizing a range of analysis methods and investment strategies. The firm offers discretionary management, regular portfolio monitoring, and quarterly reporting, with portfolios that may include mutual funds, ETFs, fixed income, real estate funds, annuities, and non-U.S. securities.

Ryan Bannister is a financial advisor at 1Up Financial Advisors LLC in Cary, NC, holding a Series 65 designation with three years of industry experience. Prior to founding 1Up Financial Advisors, he worked at Duke University Hospital and Carr, Riggs & Ingram. Bannister is also a member of Oak City Investment Group, LLC, a real estate investment company. 1Up Financial Advisors LLC provides investment management and financial planning primarily for individual clients, offering tailored portfolio management, written financial plans, and both ongoing and hourly planning engagements. The firm integrates accounting services such as in-house tax preparation and bookkeeping, along with educational seminars and consulting for content creators, combining passive and active investments with strategic asset allocation.

Stephen Reh is the sole advisor at Reh Wealth Advisors LLC in Raleigh, NC. He holds the CFP®, CFA®, and Series 66 designations and has 21 years of industry experience. Prior to founding his firm in 2010, he worked at PerTronix for 18 years. Outside of his advisory work, he is an independent contractor for a golf course design company and serves as president of a design business. Reh Wealth Advisors LLC provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, financial planning, and employee benefit plan consulting to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and employer-sponsored plans. The firm emphasizes a goals- and risk-based asset allocation approach, primarily using passive management with index funds and ETFs, and offers retirement-plan consulting services including plan design support and fiduciary oversight.

Jesse Bradin is the sole advisor at J Bradin Financial LLC in Cary, NC, with nine years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has worked at firms including Gradient Investments, LLC and JD Melberg Financial. Bradin also operates as a life insurance agent affiliated with his firm. J Bradin Financial LLC is a state-registered, solo investment adviser serving individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations with financial planning, investment supervisory, and management services. The firm’s approach integrates estate, financial, and tax planning and uses discretionary model portfolios with a range of investment instruments, while also providing insurance review and educational seminars.

David Lundberg is a financial advisor at WisePath Wealth LLC in Cary, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses with 10 years of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at Merrill Lynch, Equitable Advisors, and various other firms. Lundberg is also the owner of Awaken Financial Designs, an outside business focused on fixed insurance and fixed annuity sales. WisePath Wealth LLC provides comprehensive financial planning and consulting to individual and high-net-worth clients, offering full financial plans, topic-specific consultations, and discretionary asset management through third-party model portfolios. The firm schedules planning and investment reviews throughout the year based on client objectives and maintains responsibility for suitability in its investment decisions.

Bert Bennett IV is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with 15 years of industry experience. He is the principal of West Fork Wealth Management LLC, an independent firm he joined in 2024 after working at Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated and Morgan Stanley. Outside of his advisory role, Bennett teaches summer camp at Carolina Friends School in Durham, NC. West Fork Wealth Management provides discretionary asset management and financial planning services to individuals, high-net-worth families, non-profits, endowments, trusts, small businesses, and estates. The firm manages portfolios tailored to clients’ investment goals and risk tolerance, employing fundamental, technical, cyclical analysis, and modern portfolio theory.

Ohan Kayikchyan is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with seven years of industry experience. He is the principal and sole advisor at Alohana Financial, LLC, an independent firm based in Durham, NC. His prior experience includes roles at Wells Fargo Clearing and Wells Fargo Bank NA. Alohana Financial, LLC provides investment management and financial planning services to individuals and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs an asset-allocation driven approach grounded in Modern Portfolio Theory, combining passive and active investment vehicles with options for ESG customization upon client request.

Benjamin Birken is a CFP® with 18 years of industry experience, currently serving as the principal advisor at Pisces Financial Advisors, LLC in Chapel Hill, NC. He previously worked at Woodward Financial Advisors, Inc. for 12 years and holds a leadership role at Holistiplan, LLC, a financial services software company, where he is Vice-President for Customer Success and Engagement. Pisces Financial Advisors provides comprehensive financial planning and discretionary investment management to individuals, families, high-net-worth clients, and small businesses. The firm’s investment approach focuses on strategic asset allocation using low-cost, diversified mutual funds and ETFs with attention to diversification, cost control, and tax efficiency.

Gary Balunas is a financial advisor with Unlimited Timing Service Inc in Creedmoor, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 24 years of industry experience. He has worked at Unlimited Timing Service since 2007 and also has a long tenure with Comprehensive Asset Management beginning in 2003. In addition to advisory work, he is registered as an insurance agent in Florida. Unlimited Timing Service Inc provides discretionary portfolio management primarily for high-net-worth individuals, trusts, estates, and pension and profit-sharing plans. The firm applies a market-timing approach with daily portfolio reviews and manages accounts on the Interactive Brokers platform, operating as a solo practitioner model where the principal assumes full responsibility for investment decisions within agreed client guidelines.

Christopher Harp is the sole advisor at CH Capital Management, an independent registered investment adviser based in Chapel Hill, NC. He holds a Series 66 designation and has 22 years of industry experience, having led CH Capital Management since 2010. CH Capital Management provides discretionary investment management and financial planning services to individuals, families, trusts, endowments, charitable organizations, and pension or profit-sharing plans. The firm typically serves clients with substantial assets and combines a solo advisor model with institutional-style client relationships, outsourcing operational functions to third-party providers.

Kathleen Scharl is the principal advisor at Scharl Advisory Services, Inc. in Durham, NC, holding CFP® and Series 63 designations with 23 years of industry experience. She has led her independent practice since 1989. Outside of advising, she is involved in tax preparation, bookkeeping, and small business consulting through Scharl & Associates, Inc., primarily during tax season. Scharl Advisory Services, Inc. provides fee-only financial planning and investment management to individuals and small businesses, focusing on retirement, tax, cash-flow, education funding, and estate planning. The firm employs a strategic, core-and-satellite asset allocation using no-load or low-load funds, and operates on fixed and hourly fees rather than asset-based charges.