Katrina Lessard is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with 24 years of industry experience. She is the sole advisor at Lessard Wealth Management, an independent registered investment adviser based in Scottsdale, AZ. Prior to founding her firm, Lessard has been affiliated with LPL Financial since 2015. In addition to her advisory work, she conducts financial education seminars and serves as a notary for client documents. Lessard Wealth Management provides financial planning, consulting, and discretionary portfolio management services primarily to high-net-worth individuals and their families. The firm employs a value-oriented, long-term investment approach combining fundamental and technical analysis, with customized advice delivered through modular written plans or ongoing portfolio management.

Edward Heintz III is the principal of Heintz Wealth Management, LLC, a Scottsdale-based independent firm. He holds the CFP® designation and has 26 years of industry experience, including prior work at RHG Advisors LLC. Heintz has been leading his own firm since 2016. Heintz Wealth Management provides fee-only financial life planning and investment management services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, and retirement plan sponsors and participants. The firm employs a four-stage financial life planning process and typically constructs portfolios using mutual funds and ETFs, with a focus on long-term holding and tactical asset allocation.

Branch Johnson is a CFP® professional with 19 years of industry experience. He is the owner and president of Vault Financial, LLC, an independent advisory firm he has led since 2008. Vault Financial provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, and business entities. The firm employs a combination of fundamental and technical analysis, including option strategies, to manage portfolios on a discretionary basis in alignment with client goals and risk tolerance.

Eric Burns is a Wealth Management Advisor with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. He has over 18 years of experience in the financial services industry, covering areas such as wealth management, lending, and banking. Eric focuses on offering comprehensive wealth management strategies tailored to individual client goals, including family wealth management, managing new wealth, personal retirement planning, small business strategies, and retirement income. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and holds the Personal Investment Advisor (PIA) designation. Eric earned a Bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Arizona State University. He is committed to honesty, simplicity, and transparency in his practice, aiming to help clients make smart financial decisions that positively impact their lives and legacies. Eric works in Scottsdale, Arizona, and lives in Gilbert with his wife and three children. Outside of his professional work, Eric participates in community activities, including volunteering with local organizations such as Gilbert Youth Sports. His personal interests include camping, golfing, ice hockey, and spending time with his family.

Ana Olaya is a financial advisor at Uncaged Impact with Series 65 credentials and experience dating back to 2014. Her prior roles include positions at CK Blueshift LLC and First Affirmative Financial. Uncaged Impact provides investment management, financial planning, and consulting services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and charitable organizations. The firm emphasizes values-driven investing and philanthropic planning, combining passive and active strategies with ESG considerations and offering both ongoing advice and limited-scope consulting engagements.

Ascension Advisors was created to deliver a more personalized level of service and financial planning. I believe an investment strategy should align with one's values, priorities, and purpose. I created a firm where advisors have the flexibility, technology, and autonomy to craft tailored strategies that empower clients to pursue their goals with intention and confidence. Early in my career, I learned to value quality over quantity—sometimes, less is more. Deep, meaningful relationships built on empathy and trust are the foundation of delivering true client value. Managed growth enables me to cultivate these relationships with intention and provide exceptional client experiences, regardless of client net worth. The need for comprehensive, personalized fiduciary financial planning continues to grow—particularly among select client segments. Ascension Advisors was created to meet that demand. While the core principles of building, managing, protecting, and transferring wealth remain constant, the broader economic and capital markets landscape is dynamic and continuously evolving. Clients are well served when partnering with an advisor who genuinely understands and appreciates their journey—and is committed to helping them reach their destination.

Kevin Schaefer is a CFP® professional with 15 years of industry experience currently serving as the sole advisor at Spirit West Advisors, LLC in Scottsdale, AZ. He has been with Spirit West Advisors since 2017 and has operated Spirit West Certified Planning, LLC since 2014, where he is also involved in insurance sales. His prior experience includes Gradient Advisors, LLC and managing land investment entities. Spirit West Advisors, LLC is an independent, fee-based investment adviser providing discretionary portfolio management and financial planning to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs fundamental analysis and modern portfolio theory to construct portfolios and serves an unusually large client base for a solo advisor.

Amitabh Godha is a financial advisor at Unstoppable Asset, holding a Series 65 designation with experience since 2010 across various roles at Vistaar Capital LLC, Hill Fort Capital Partners Ltd, and Unstoppable Asset LLC. He is based in Phoenix, AZ. Unstoppable Asset provides automated investment management through a proprietary digital platform primarily serving individual retail clients with Roth IRAs focused on teenagers, young adults, and minors. The firm uses a low-cost, passive investment approach emphasizing equity-heavy ETF and mutual fund portfolios tailored by age-appropriate models with automated rebalancing.

Kyle Spahn is a CFP® professional with 17 years of industry experience. He has been the principal advisor at Spahn Wealth & Retirement LLC since 2016 and briefly worked at Taurum Retirement Partners, LLC in the same year. Spahn Wealth & Retirement provides discretionary portfolio management and tailored asset-allocation advice to individual and high-net-worth clients, managing approximately $167.4 million across about 120 client relationships. The firm’s investment approach is based on Modern Portfolio Theory with tactical adjustments, focusing on diversified allocations and periodic rebalancing aligned with clients’ objectives and risk tolerance.

Peter Martin is the sole advisor at Martin Financial Solutions, LLC, an independent firm based in Sun City West, AZ. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 14 years of industry experience, having led his firm since 2012. In addition to his advisory work, Martin is an independent insurance agent specializing in disability, life, accident, and health insurance. Martin Financial Solutions provides discretionary portfolio management and financial consulting to individuals, trusts, and estates. The firm focuses on asset allocation primarily using exchange-traded funds, incorporating fundamental, cyclical, and technical analysis, and also offers a bi-monthly economics newsletter on a subscription basis.

Carlos Alvarado is a financial advisor with Alvarado & Associates, LLC and holds a Series 65 designation. He has seven years of industry experience and also works full-time as a financial analyst at Jacobs Solutions. Alvarado is licensed to provide investment advisory services in Panama and holds a position with Caudal Capital, an investment advisory firm based there. Alvarado & Associates provides discretionary portfolio management to individuals and families, including high-net-worth households, with portfolios tailored to clients’ financial goals and risk tolerance. The firm emphasizes diversified, income-generating investments and manages accounts on a discretionary basis with regular reviews.

Courtney Mason is a CFP® and Series 65 credentialed advisor with seven years of industry experience. She has been with CMC Advisors LLC since 2019, which she founded as an independent firm based in Scottsdale, AZ. Prior to this, she was focused on homemaking from 2016 to 2019. CMC Advisors provides investment management, financial planning, and consulting services to individual clients and families. The firm employs a core-satellite investment approach with fundamental and technical analysis, emphasizing large-cap growth positions, active risk management, and the use of derivatives within separately managed accounts.

Gregory Lane is a CFP® with 22 years of industry experience and is the sole advisor at Wellfit Financial in Phoenix, AZ. He has been operating Lane Financial, P.C. since 2009. Wellfit Financial provides asset management and financial consulting primarily to individual and high-net-worth clients, focusing on portfolios composed mainly of ETFs, mutual funds, and other publicly traded securities. The firm emphasizes continuous account supervision with regular reviews and employs a mix of fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis without accepting discretionary trading authority.

If you are within a few years of retiring, or you have just inherited money and are not sure what to do with it, you are probably weighing decisions that are hard to reverse. When to claim Social Security. Whether to convert to a Roth before required distributions start. Which account to spend down first. What the rules are on an inherited IRA and how much time you actually have. Those questions are all tax questions before they are investment questions. That is the part most people are not getting help with. I am Aaron Randak, a CFP® professional and an Enrolled Agent. The EA credential means I am licensed to represent clients before the IRS and that I prepare tax returns. So when we decide on a Roth conversion or a withdrawal sequence in October, I am the one filing it in April. Nothing gets lost between the advice and the paperwork, because there is no handoff. Most of my clients come to me at one of two points. They are five to fifteen years from retirement and want a straight answer on whether the plan works, what it costs in taxes, and what has to change. Or a parent has died, and there is now an inherited retirement account with distribution rules attached, a house to deal with, and a stack of paperwork that arrived at a difficult time. Some of it can wait. Some of it has deadlines with real money attached. We figure out which is which first. Golden Acre Wealth Management is fee-only and independent. My compensation comes from my clients and nowhere else. I do not sell insurance, I do not earn commissions, and I serve as a fiduciary at all times. I work alongside your estate attorney rather than in place of one, since I am not an attorney and do not draft documents. There are no account minimums. I built the firm that way deliberately, because the people with the most complicated tax situations are not always the ones with the largest portfolios. Here is what happens if you reach out. We spend about thirty minutes on a call. You tell me what is going on and what is worrying you. I tell you what I see, what I would look at first, and whether I am the right person for it. There is no cost and no obligation, and if your situation calls for someone else, I will say so and point you in that direction. I grew up on a farm in rural Iowa and studied Finance and Financial Counseling and Planning at Iowa State. I now live and work in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Charles Herman Jr. is a ChFC® credentialed financial advisor with five years of industry experience, currently practicing at Authentic Financial Planning in Peoria, AZ. His background includes roles in financial planning, tax preparation, mortgage brokerage, insurance, and real estate sales. Outside of advisory services, he is involved in tax preparation and accounting through his business, The Money Agency, and operates a mortgage lending firm. Authentic Financial Planning serves individuals, families, business owners, and corporations with ongoing financial planning and investment management through tiered packages and project-based services. The firm offers a multi-meeting initial planning process, regular reviews, and a mix of billing options, supported by affiliated businesses in insurance, tax, real estate, and mortgage services disclosed as separate lines of business.

Saul Medina is a CFP® professional with 13 years of experience in the financial services industry. He is the principal of True Fiduciary Financial Advisors, LLC and previously worked at Vanguard for seven years. Outside of his advisory role, he is also involved in real estate sales as a licensed Realtor. True Fiduciary Financial Advisors, LLC provides portfolio management and standalone financial planning primarily to individuals and high-net-worth clients. The firm uses modern portfolio theory with a long-term trading approach, employing mutual funds, equities, fixed income, and ETFs, and accepts both discretionary and non-discretionary mandates.

Jonmark Richardson is a financial advisor with Valhalla Advisors LLC in Glendale, AZ, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and having five years of industry experience. He is also the owner of Financial Partners of America LLC, a licensed insurance agency. Richardson has been with Valhalla Advisors since 2020 and has maintained his role at Financial Partners of America since 2011. Valhalla Advisors serves individual and business clients with portfolio management, financial planning, and estate-planning services, offering both discretionary and non-discretionary management across a range of asset classes. The firm uses a combination of cyclical, fundamental, and technical analysis and employs strategies including derivatives and structured products to manage risk and income.

David Fernandez is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) with 26 years of experience in the financial advisory industry. He has been the principal advisor at Wealth Engineering, LLC since 2003. The firm is a fee-only investment management and financial planning practice serving individuals, families, retirement plans, trusts, and estates. Wealth Engineering emphasizes macroeconomic fundamental analysis and strategic asset allocation, utilizing broad-based index and passively managed funds with tax-aware management techniques.

Shawna Moore is the owner and principal advisor of Moore Wealth Partners, LLC in Glendale, AZ, with 10 years of experience in the financial industry. She holds the Series 63, 65, and 66 registrations and has worked at several firms including Foundations Investment Advisors, LLC and McKinney Financial Group. Outside of advisory services, she operates an insurance business offering life, annuities, and long-term care products. Moore Wealth Partners provides discretionary asset management, financial planning, and consulting to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and qualified retirement plans. The firm employs a model-based investment approach through sub-advisors and third-party managers, retaining discretion over model selection and performance monitoring.

Ryan Haas is a Series 65-licensed financial advisor based in Scottsdale, AZ, with two years of industry experience. He is the sole advisor at Your Investment Advisor, an independent firm he has been with since 2024. Prior to his advisory role, Haas held positions at Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Ekso Bionics, and Textron Systems. He maintains full-time employment in the aerospace and defense industry alongside his advisory work. Your Investment Advisor provides discretionary portfolio management to individuals and trusts, focusing on asset-allocation-based portfolios using equities, fixed income, mutual funds, ETFs, government and municipal securities, and cash equivalents. The firm combines a strategic passive investment framework with fundamental security analysis and macroeconomic assessment.