James Spirko is the sole advisor at Sovereign Financial Group in Raleigh, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations with 21 years of industry experience. He has been with Sovereign Financial Group since its founding in 2005. Sovereign Financial Group provides investment advisory and financial planning services primarily to individual and high-net-worth clients through programs that include portfolio management, financial planning, and coordination with tax, estate, and insurance professionals. The firm is notable among solo independent advisors for sponsoring a wrap-fee program and focuses client intake mainly on its Wealth Management offering.

Lyle Finley Jr. is a CFP® professional with over 31 years of experience in the financial industry. He currently serves as the sole advisor at RJ20, Inc. His prior roles include positions at Wells Fargo Bank, Wells Fargo Clearing, and Cic Advisers, LLC. Finley also served 14 years in the North Carolina National Guard. RJ20, Inc. provides non-discretionary investment guidance and educational tools to participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans through an online platform. The firm acts as an ERISA fiduciary focused on participant-level advice, using proprietary modeling and established analytical methods to deliver recommendations electronically without exercising investment discretion or holding custody of client assets.

Sherri Rose is a CFP® and Series 63 credentialed financial advisor at Azimuth Planning Group, LLC with no prior industry experience. She is the founder and managing director of Rose Group CPAs, PLLC, a CPA firm where she oversees auditing, accounting, tax preparation, and business consulting. Rose is also involved in several business ventures, including founding FastFile1040, LLC, providing online tax filing services, and co-founding SageCFO Group, Inc., which offers outsourced CFO advisory services. Azimuth Planning Group, LLC provides fee-only financial planning primarily to solopreneurs, service-based founders, and business owners, focusing on business planning, retirement and estate coordination, tax-aware wealth strategies, and succession planning. The firm delivers written financial plans and investment recommendations emphasizing asset allocation, tax efficiency, and passive investment strategies rather than discretionary asset management.

Carolyn Larsen Wieber is a PFS™ credentialed financial advisor with 15 years of industry experience. She founded CLW Financial Planning LLC in 2018 after prior roles at Paraklete Financial and Steward Ingram & Cooper PLLC. In addition to her advisory work, she owns a CPA practice providing tax compliance and consulting services for small business owners and their families. CLW Financial Planning LLC is an independent, fee-only advisory firm serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, and small businesses. The firm combines discretionary investment management based on Modern Portfolio Theory with comprehensive financial planning and integrated tax preparation services.

Pomeroy Smith II is a financial advisor at Bison Wealth Management, LLC in Raleigh, NC, holding a Series 66 designation with 10 years of industry experience. He has worked at Bison Wealth Management since 2018 and previously at Pathway Wealth Management, LLC from 2016 to 2019. Bison Wealth Management provides discretionary asset management primarily to individuals, high net worth clients, and trusts, focusing on customized portfolios and active asset management. The firm uses both fundamental and technical analysis to guide asset allocation, emphasizing capital appreciation alongside asset preservation.

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.

Thomas Kelly III is a CFP® professional with five years of industry experience, currently operating Kelly Investment Management, LLC in Raleigh, NC. His prior experience includes roles at Curi Capital, TD Ameritrade, and Scottrade. Kelly Investment Management, LLC provides investment advisory services and financial planning to individuals, families, and small-business owners, with a focus on tailored advice based on client objectives and risk tolerance. The firm offers both discretionary and non-discretionary managed accounts, written investment strategies, and fixed-fee standalone planning services without commissions or referral fees.

Jim Wyatt is a Series 65 licensed financial advisor with 17 years of industry experience. He is the principal of Wyatt Financial L.L.C. and also owns Wyatt Family Office, L.L.C., where he provides tax and planning services, spending up to 30% of his time on this practice. His career includes over two decades as a CPA through his own firm, Jim K Wyatt CPA. Wyatt Financial L.L.C. is an independent, single-advisor registered investment adviser managing approximately $39 million for about 56 clients. The firm offers discretionary portfolio management to individuals and various institutional clients, using customized investment policies and a range of securities including equities, mutual funds, ETFs, REITs, and bonds.

Jose Maldonado is a financial advisor with CIMA Financial in Raleigh, NC, holding a Series 66 designation and nine years of industry experience. He has worked at firms including First Command Financial Planning and MassMutual Life Insurance Co. In addition to advising, Maldonado is president of EnFe Business Advisors, a business coaching and consulting firm, and a founding partner of Golden Arrow Properties LLC, a rental and short-term rental property business. CIMA Financial provides fee-only investment management and financial planning services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and business owners. The firm employs a modern portfolio theory approach with strategic asset allocation, combining passive and active investments, and offers planning advice covering retirement, tax, risk management, and business exit strategies.

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.

William Newcomb is a CFP® and holds a Series 66 license with 16 years of experience in financial advising. He founded Newcomb Financial Advisors, LLC in Chapel Hill, NC, where he has been the sole advisor since 2010. Newcomb Financial Advisors is an independent, fee-only firm serving individuals, trusts, estates, and small businesses with financial planning and investment management. The firm employs a core-and-satellite investment approach focused on strategic asset allocation, managing approximately $13.9 million across 14 clients, primarily on a discretionary basis.

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.