Christopher Leader is the sole advisor at Leader Investments LLC in Silver Spring, MD. He holds a Series 65 designation and has two years of industry experience. Prior to founding his firm, he worked in various roles in the technology sector, including positions at Stripe and Preply, where he continues to work as a product manager. Leader Investments LLC provides personalized financial advice to individual investors without managing assets or taking custody of client accounts. The firm focuses on diversified, value-oriented portfolio recommendations primarily involving indices and publicly traded securities, delivering advice through consultations while clients maintain responsibility for executing transactions.

Mary Thomas Spruill is a financial advisor at Serene Financial Solutions in Gaithersburg, MD, holding the ChFC® designation and Series 65 license with six years of industry experience. Prior to founding Serene Financial Solutions in 2020, she worked at The McKelvey Group and held positions at Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Navy Marine Corps Relief Society NMCRS Sasebo, and NBHC Sasebo. Serene Financial Solutions advises individuals, families, and small-business owners, providing portfolio management, comprehensive financial planning, consulting, educational seminars, and tax preparation services. The firm combines passive and active management within a Modern Portfolio Theory framework and is notable for its tax preparation practice staffed by enrolled agents and its range of business support services.

Sara Cavendish is a financial advisor at Plein Air Capital Advisers, LLC with 26 years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at Windward Asset Management, LLC since 2008. Plein Air Capital Advisers provides discretionary investment management and advisory services to individuals, trusts, corporations, and institutional clients. The firm employs a fundamentally driven, long-term, value-oriented investment approach with concentrated portfolios typically holding 15–20 stocks selected below their view of intrinsic value.

Robert Sandler is the sole advisor at Robert A. Sandler, LLC in Clarksville, MD, holding a Series 65 designation with nine years of industry experience. Prior to founding his independent firm in 2017, he worked for four years at Element Fleet Management. Robert A. Sandler, LLC provides personalized financial planning and investment management primarily to individual clients. The firm focuses on diversified, low-cost index mutual funds and ETFs, employing a buy-and-hold strategy with regular rebalancing and tailored asset allocations based on client risk profiles.

Liam Daly is the founder of Daly Capital Management and holds a Series 65 credential. He has been associated with Daly Capital Management since 2024. Prior to founding the firm, he worked in various educational roles at Quince Orchard High School, Ridgeview Middle School, and Diamond Elementary School. Daly Capital Management provides fee-based, discretionary portfolio management and investment advice tailored to individuals, charitable organizations, corporations, and other business entities. The firm employs a tactical allocation approach using fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis across a broad range of securities and offers direct portfolio management with client-imposed investment restrictions.

Alexander Ruda is the sole advisor at Ruda Financial and holds a Series 65 credential. He has eight years of experience with the Internal Revenue Service and two years with Fannie Mae before founding his firm in 2025. Ruda Financial is a fee-only advisory firm that serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, and charitable organizations with investment management and financial planning services. The firm emphasizes individualized investment policies and asset allocation, employing fundamental analysis and Modern Portfolio Theory alongside passive investment strategies.

Edmund Wellington is the sole advisor at Wellington Capital Management, Inc., an independent firm based in Chevy Chase, MD. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has 24 years of industry experience. He has been with Wellington Capital Management since 1996. Wellington Capital Management provides discretionary portfolio management and investment counseling to a select group of private individuals, partnerships, and trusts. The firm employs a conservative, long-term investment approach focused on U.S. large-cap equities and high-quality fixed-income securities, tailoring strategies to clients' objectives and managing accounts on a discretionary basis.

Frank Byskov is a CFP® and CFA® with 12 years of industry experience. He is the sole advisor at Forty4 Financial, an independent firm based in Bethesda, MD. Prior to founding Forty4 Financial in 2023, he worked at Advisory Services Network, LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors. Outside of his advisory work, Mr. Byskov coaches triathlon through Rock Creek Tri Club, serves on the board of Bethesda Green, contributes to financial literacy education via Mentamorph, and co-founded Advisors for Good, a nonprofit focused on climate action and social justice. Forty4 Financial provides investment management, financial planning, and retirement plan advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, businesses, and retirement plans. The firm employs a fundamental analysis-driven approach to build long-term customized portfolios and offers specialized pension and retirement-plan consulting, including 3(21) advisory services for plan sponsors.

Jeyamariappan Ganapathy is a CFA® charterholder and holds a Series 65 license with 10 years of industry experience. He has been the sole advisor at Samatva Wealth Management LLC since 2015 and previously worked at Senaissance Software. Samatva Wealth Management provides personalized financial planning and investment management to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and small businesses. The firm operates on a fee-only basis and focuses on a long-term investment horizon using fundamental analysis and discounted cash flow techniques, with portfolios diversified primarily through actively managed mutual funds.

Lee Miller is a CFP® and Series 65 credentialed financial advisor with 23 years of industry experience. He is the principal of Miller Capital Management, Inc. and also operates Lee J. Miller, CPA, P.C., a public accounting practice. Miller serves on the board of directors of a charitable foundation as its vice president and treasurer and acts as trustee for several trusts. Miller Capital Management provides personalized investment supervisory services and financial planning to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and trusts. The firm focuses on capital preservation through fundamental security analysis and a long-term buy-and-hold strategy, making tailored recommendations and requiring client approval before transactions.

Kenneth Diehl is a CFP® professional with over 25 years at Cornerstone Financial Planning, Inc. in Gaithersburg, MD. He has four years of industry experience. Cornerstone Financial Planning, Inc. offers personalized, fee-only financial planning and advisory services to individuals, trusts, estates, and small businesses. The firm follows Modern Portfolio Theory and efficient-market principles, focusing on diversified, low-cost index funds and ETFs, and operates on a fixed-fee basis without accepting commissions or referral fees.

Scott Vicary is a CFA charterholder and founder of Rookwood Wealth Management in Silver Spring, MD, with five years of industry experience. Prior to establishing his independent advisory firm in 2025, he worked at Sulzberger Capital Advisors, Inc. and held roles at affiliated Rookwood investment entities. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as managing director of a real estate apartment rental business. Rookwood Wealth Management is a fee-only registered investment adviser that provides discretionary investment management and comprehensive financial planning to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs an investment approach based on modern portfolio theory and fundamental analysis, combining passive and active vehicles to align portfolios with client risk tolerance and tax considerations.

Chung Hei Sing is the sole advisor at Applied Derivative Research (ADR) with four years of industry experience. He holds the Series 65 designation and previously worked at Arquitos Capital Management for one year. He serves as a board member of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, focusing on economic development through early-stage investments. Applied Derivative Research provides discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management and advisory services to high-net-worth individuals, institutional investors, and pooled investment vehicles. The firm employs a combined bottom-up and thematic top-down investment approach with sustainable and impact-oriented opportunities, offering both strategic asset allocation advice and active portfolio implementation.

Edward Lazerow is the sole advisor at EJL Asset Management, LLC, an independent registered investment adviser based in Bethesda, MD. He holds the Series 66 designation and has 25 years of industry experience. Lazerow has managed EJL Asset Management since its founding in 2011. EJL Asset Management provides discretionary investment supervisory services primarily to individuals and high-net-worth clients. The firm uses fundamental analysis to construct portfolios across a broad range of instruments, employs both long- and short-term trading strategies, and operates with discretionary authority guided by individualized Investment Policy Statements.

Michael Worch is the principal of Worch Financial Group, LLC, an independent advisory firm based in Rockville, MD. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 10 years of industry experience, including prior roles at ON Investment Management Co and Guardian Life. Outside of advisory services, he is also involved in insurance sales as a licensed agent. Worch Financial Group serves individual and high-net-worth clients by providing financial planning, portfolio management through third-party managers, and insurance product implementation. The firm employs fundamental analysis with both long- and short-term investment approaches and operates primarily through referrals to external managers without taking investment discretion.

Steve Jefferys is a CFA® charterholder based in Bethesda, MD, with 16 years of industry experience. He previously worked at Jefferys Capital Management from 2009 to 2012. He is the sole advisor at Arch Financial Advisors LLC, an independent firm that provides comprehensive financial planning and investment advisory services primarily to middle- and upper-middle-income individuals and families. The firm offers fee-only, non-discretionary advice with a tax-aware, client-specific asset allocation approach, and emphasizes a planning-focused relationship model.

Stephen Berube is the sole advisor at Echo Creek Capital, LLC, an independent investment advisory firm based in Rockville, MD. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 27 years of industry experience. Berube has led Echo Creek Capital since 2013. Echo Creek Capital manages discretionary and non-discretionary portfolios for individual and institutional clients, focusing on tailored investment strategies that combine fundamental and technical analysis. The firm utilizes a range of instruments including equities, fixed income, ETFs, derivatives, and option strategies, and incorporates borrowing and margin as part of its approach.

Wenhai Tu is a financial advisor at FortuneNavi Capital Inc. with seven years of industry experience. He has held his current position since 2016. FortuneNavi Capital Inc. provides financial planning and discretionary investment management primarily for pooled vehicles and institutional-type clients such as family offices, retirement plans, endowments, foundations, trusts, and high-net-worth individuals. The firm employs Modern Portfolio Theory and fundamental analysis to construct portfolios, using model portfolios, mutual funds, ETFs, options, and margin transactions, and it conducts quarterly reviews and rebalancing aligned with client objectives and risk tolerances.

Thomas Steeley is a CFP® with 28 years of industry experience. He is the sole advisor at Steeley Advisory, LLC and has held prior roles at SMG Advisory, LLC, Steeley & Associates, and Ameriprise Financial. He also owns and manages a CPA practice that advises clients on tax and business matters and operates a shared office suite for independent business owners. Steeley Advisory, LLC serves individual clients as well as pension and profit-sharing plans and corporate entities. The firm provides discretionary portfolio management and financial planning, using individualized Investment Policy Statements and a long-term, fundamental analysis approach to investing.

Sean Defrehn is a financial advisor at DeFrehn Consulting with 9 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has previously worked at Triad Advisors, Inc. and OSAIC. Outside of financial advising, he teaches hunter safety classes for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. DeFrehn Consulting is an independent firm serving clients from Adamstown, MD.