Gary Rychtanek is a CFP® and Series 66 registered financial advisor with 29 years of industry experience. He is the sole advisor at GCR Financial Services, LLC, an independent firm based in Naperville, IL. Rychtanek has worked at Chauner Securities, Inc. since 2003 and Clune & Associates since 1996. In addition to his advisory role, he provides tax preparation services as a CPA, focusing on corporate, individual, and partnership tax returns. GCR Financial Services offers fee-based financial planning, investment supervisory services, and tax preparation/advice to individual clients, trusts, small businesses, and retirement plans. The firm manages approximately $47.4 million across about 39 clients, operating primarily on a non-discretionary basis with diversified portfolios and quarterly supervisory reviews. Its integration of accounting and tax services into the advisory process is a distinctive feature.

Mohit Aggarwal is a financial advisor at Century Trace Investment Advisors LLC with four years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has prior work experience with NTT Data and Infosys BPO Ltd. Century Trace Investment Advisors LLC provides personalized investment advisory and portfolio management services primarily to individuals and small businesses. The firm employs a long-term, buy-and-hold investment approach with diversified portfolios and offers both custom and model strategies, delivering services on a non-discretionary basis with client trade approval.

Dina Weiss is a financial advisor at Redwing Financial with 19 years of industry experience. She holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at LPL Financial and The Lighthouse Institute, Inc. In addition to her advisory work, she is a certified holistic nutritional consultant and engages in pro bono speaking on nutritional topics. She is also a co-author and provides public speaking on financial matters. Redwing Financial is an independent firm serving primarily individual clients with investment advisory and portfolio management services. The firm manages approximately $29.5 million across about 95 client relationships and offers a combination of advisory and brokerage services, including educational seminars and pension consulting.

Michael Lavelle is the sole advisor at MLN Investments LLC in Bolingbrook, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations with 25 years of industry experience. He has managed MLN Investments since 2012 and has also been involved with MoneyBlock since 2014. MLN Investments LLC provides discretionary investment supervisory services to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as institutional clients such as banks, pension plans, trusts, and corporations. The firm employs a multi-faceted investment approach incorporating charting, fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis, and utilizes strategies involving mutual funds, equities, bonds, ETFs, REITs, options, and futures.

Daniel Rotter is a CFP® professional with 24 years of experience in financial planning, currently serving at Hampton Financial Services since 2001. He is the president and owner of Hampton Financial Services, a firm he has led since 1991, providing both contracted and pro-bono financial planning, including tax planning and life insurance sales. Hampton Financial Services offers investment advisory and financial planning to individuals, families, trusts, estates, and charitable or business entities, focusing on advice and planning rather than asset management. The firm employs a blend of fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis with an emphasis on long-term strategies and operates primarily on a fee-for-advice basis without exercising discretionary control over client assets.

Andre Thomas is a financial advisor with Elite-Pro Wealth Advisors LLC in Wheaton, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 16 years of industry experience. He has worked at Lincoln Investment since 2018 and previously spent 14 years with Alliance One Food Group. Thomas holds a life insurance license, though he has not actively used it. Elite-Pro Wealth Advisors provides investment management and advisory services to a small client base, including individual investors, trusts, and business entities. The firm offers a range of strategies tailored to client objectives, utilizing equities, fixed income, mutual funds, ETFs, options, and insurance products, with a focus on ongoing monitoring and periodic rebalancing.

Lang Nguyen is a financial advisor at Organize, Protect & Grow Your Wealth, LLC with 10 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has previously worked at firms including Serenity Investment Advisors and Edward Jones & Co. Outside of his advisory role, Nguyen serves as a board member of three nonprofit charitable organizations and works as a TurboTax Live Tax Expert during tax season. Organize, Protect & Grow Your Wealth, LLC provides discretionary portfolio management and investment planning primarily for individual and high-net-worth clients, as well as pension plans, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm employs a blend of analytical methods and modern portfolio theory to manage accounts on a discretionary basis, focusing on a diverse client mix including charities and retirement plans.

I launched my firm in July of 2024 to continue working with my clients on my own terms. I work with a wide range of types of clients. However, most of my clients tend to fit into a few archetypes; wealth accumulators, wealth distributors, and business owners. The clients I work with benefit when we take a comprehensive approach to their financial picture. Each client receives assistance with retirement planning, investment management, tax planning, insurance/estate planning, and behavioral finance. Does your situation feel familiar? - Accumulator - These clients come to me after some early career success or receiving a windfall (i.e inheritance or large cash distribution). I help clients navigate their financial life from now until retirement and beyond. In many cases this can be 25+ years in the future. I help ensure that you are doing the correct actions each year to build your wealth and enjoy your time and money now... - Distributor - Clients in this stage of their life have regularly saved in their employers retirement plan or independently over their working career. Now that retirement is looming or in motion, you need a plan to distribute your assets and pay your bills. We work together to prepare a distribution plan that coordinates social security, pensions, and distributions from retirement accounts to be the most tax efficient as possible. You've saved all this time, now it is time to enjoy! - Business Owners - My business owner clients fit into a combination of accumulation and distribution. Wherever your business is, we will navigate growing, preserving, and distributing the assets through the lifetime of your business. I am proud to be a fee-only, fiduciary, Certified Financial Planner™️ practitioner in my day-to-day working life. Outside of work you can find me spending time with my wife and kids, playing golf/basketball, and enjoying the Fox River Valley where we have set our roots. I can be reached directly at [email protected] or at www.rhodowealth.com for more information. Thanks!

Sharon Adelmann is a CFP® professional with 24 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Prairie Investment Advisors, LLC since 2014. She holds a Series 63 license and has a background that includes her role as Vice President of Adelmann Florist Inc. Prairie Investment Advisors provides discretionary portfolio management and financial planning services to individuals, trusts, estates, retirement plans, charitable organizations, and business entities. The firm employs a blend of modern portfolio theory and fundamental analysis, tailoring portfolios to client objectives and risk tolerance, and is notable for managing over $100 million with a single advisor while regularly working with non-traditional investments.

Sean Rhodes is the owner and sole advisor at Rhodes Capital Management, Inc., an independent firm based in Batavia, Illinois. He holds Series 65 and Series 63 licenses and has 33 years of industry experience. Rhodes has worked at Rhodes Capital Management since 2012 and previously at Elite Investment Team LLC and Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC. Rhodes Capital Management provides portfolio management and financial planning services to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, pension and profit-sharing plans, and small businesses. The firm uses a strategic asset-allocation approach that combines passive index-tracking core positions with active satellite holdings, employing a range of investment techniques including options, futures, and margin strategies tailored to client objectives and risk tolerances.

Sukumar Thanawala is the principal of Vigness Advisory LLC and holds the CFA® designation. He has been working in investment research and financial analysis since 2014 as president of Vigness Analytics, and has been with Vigness Advisory since its founding in 2024. Vigness Advisory LLC is an independent investment manager offering fee-based portfolio management and financial planning to pooled vehicles, private funds, trusts, estates, and other institutional or entity clients. The firm employs a tactical allocation strategy focused on managing downside risk and seeks performance through fundamental and cyclical analysis, utilizing a broad range of investment instruments.

John Marc Berthoud is a financial advisor with Cornerstone Asset Management, Inc. in Naperville, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and over 24 years of industry experience. He has served as president of Cornerstone Asset Management since 2001 and has worked independently as an insurance agent selling life insurance and annuities since 2010. Cornerstone Asset Management offers personalized portfolio management and financial planning services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm manages client assets on a non-discretionary basis using a variety of analytical methods and tailored strategies, with a focus on monitoring and adjusting portfolios according to market conditions and client needs.

Gary Tagtmeier is the sole advisor at Financial Awareness Institute, where he has worked since 1985. He holds a Series 65 designation and has 28 years of industry experience. Based in Woodridge, IL, Tagtmeier focuses on delivering financial education and counseling services. Financial Awareness Institute primarily serves employers and their employees through workplace financial wellness programs, while also offering individual counseling and portfolio management. The firm emphasizes behavioral finance and personalized money-management strategies, providing non-discretionary advisory services with detailed employer usage reporting and educational content.

Norman Sehnoutka III is a financial advisor at Naperville Private Wealth, LLC with nine years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has worked at firms including Edward Jones, Morgan Stanley, The Huntington Investment Company, and The Leaders Group, Inc. He is also a licensed insurance agent, dedicating a portion of his time to implementing insurance recommendations. Naperville Private Wealth is an independent advisory firm serving individual and high-net-worth clients with discretionary wealth management and financial planning. The firm employs a fundamental, long-term investment approach using low-cost mutual funds, ETFs, and individual securities, and operates as a single-advisor practice without imposing a minimum relationship size.

Ronald Aubrey is the sole advisor at RJ Aubrey Investments Corp., an independent firm based in Glen Ellyn, IL. He holds a Series 65 designation and has 21 years of industry experience, having founded the firm in 1989. RJ Aubrey Investments Corp. is a fee-only registered investment adviser offering discretionary investment management and limited financial planning to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and pension and profit-sharing plans. The firm focuses on asset allocation and long-term investing, using quantitative, fundamental, and technical analysis to select securities while managing portfolio volatility through mutual funds, ETFs, and fixed income.

Michael Alexenko is a CFA® charterholder with 23 years of industry experience, serving as the sole advisor at Royal Asset Managers in St. Charles, IL since 2003. He holds the Series 63 designation and has authored numerous articles and periodic commentary. Alexenko also runs targeted programs for smaller and military clients and coordinates plan recordkeeping through selected custody arrangements. Royal Asset Managers provides discretionary asset management, financial planning, investment consulting, and business advisory services to moderate- to high-net-worth individuals, small businesses, and employer-sponsored retirement plans. The firm emphasizes diversification and client-specific investment policy statements, using index funds and ETFs to manage portfolios with equity allocations ranging from 0% to about 85%, and is notable for its pension consulting and retirement-plan management services.

Andrew Powers is a financial advisor at Powers Financial Group, LLC in Naperville, IL, with 18 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66 designation and has previously worked at Ventoux Financial Advisors and TradingBlock. Powers is also a volunteer with the Naperville Jaycees. Powers Financial Group is an independent investment adviser serving individuals, trusts, foundations, and institutional clients, including pension and profit-sharing plans. The firm manages approximately $5.73 million in client assets and employs a range of investment strategies including fundamental and technical analysis, actively managed option overlays, and block trading.

Edward Vanhecke is the sole advisor at Edvestment Solutions L.L.C. in Lemont, IL, holding a Series 65 designation with nine years of industry experience. He founded Edvestment Solutions in 2016 and has managed the firm since then. Edvestment Solutions provides fee-based portfolio management services primarily to individual clients and individual retirement accounts. The firm uses a top-down approach focusing on macroeconomic factors to guide asset allocation, combining passive index strategies with active equity and options positions tailored to client objectives.

I'm a CFP and flat fee-only financial planner in Aurora, IL. I specialize in helping families answer financial questions that keep them up at night including: • What do I do to avoid tax surprises again this year and pay as little as possible? • How can I get my spouse on board and involved in our family finances? • If something unexpected happens, will our family be OK? • Are our investments the right fit for us? • How do I create something resembling a paycheck in retirement? • Can I leave this life-sucking job while maintaining my family’s financial stability? My typical clients share many of these characteristics: ✓ Are between the ages of 30 and 60 ✓ Earn a household income of $200,000 or more ✓ Are married or preparing for marriage ✓ Have combined or are seeking to combine their finances ✓ Want to journey toward or are already living a debt-free life ✓ Have kids at any age and stage, or are planning for them ✓ Hold only U.S. citizenship and own no foreign assets ✓ Have no unresolved complex income tax issues ✓ Want to exit or do not own complex, private, & illiquid investments If you are seeking clarity and confidence in making these and other important financial decisions and you live in the Chicagoland or across the country, let’s chat for 30 minutes. When I'm not deep in a client's financial plan, you'll find me on a long bike ride listening to encouraging music, sparking new ideas and fresh vision, sitting at a summer travel league baseball game cheering on the guys, or enjoying a night out with my wife and two boys here in Aurora.

Daryl Varney is a financial advisor at Lotic Financial Planning LLC in Naperville, IL, holding a Series 65 designation with one year of industry experience. Prior to entering financial planning, Varney spent 18 years in homemaking. Lotic Financial Planning LLC offers fee-only, project-based financial planning services to individuals, families, small businesses, and high-net-worth clients through limited-scope, one-time engagements. The firm’s advice incorporates modern portfolio theory and fundamental analysis, focusing on standalone planning without ongoing portfolio management or custody.