David Merkel is a CFA charterholder and principal of Aleph Investments, LLC, an independent advisory firm he founded in 2010. He has 15 years of industry experience. Outside of his advisory work, he maintains AlephBlog.com, a website providing educational content for investors since 2007. Aleph Investments manages discretionary portfolios primarily for individual investors, as well as charitable organizations and small pension clients. The firm employs fundamental equity analysis and a risk-conscious fixed income approach, offering strategies including a yield-oriented balanced portfolio and customizable accounts, with features such as hedged equity options and client-imposed ethical restrictions.

Kendell Phillip is a financial advisor at Lockstep Financial LLC with five years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and previously worked at Maverick Trading and Northrop Grumman. Lockstep Financial LLC is an independent advisory firm serving individual and high-net-worth clients with financial planning and discretionary portfolio management. The firm employs a primarily passive investment approach using index funds and ETFs, supplemented by fundamental and technical analysis, and manages held-away assets through third-party platforms.

John Gillick is a CFP® with four years of industry experience currently serving as the sole advisor at Adenry Wealth LLC in Columbia, MD. His prior experience includes roles at Commonwealth Financial Network, Financial Council, Inc., and The Colony Group. Adenry Wealth LLC provides discretionary asset management, financial planning, and an online educational workshop to individuals, small businesses, trusts, estates, and high-net-worth clients. The firm’s investment approach is based on modern portfolio theory, offering customized asset allocation using mutual funds and ETFs, with portfolio reviews that include rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting.

John Fremont Smith is the sole advisor at Friends Wealth Management in Ellicott City, MD, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 26 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Ameriprise Financial, Calamos Advisors LLC, and several Prudential entities. He is also a licensed insurance agent. Friends Wealth Management offers portfolio management and comprehensive financial planning for individuals, high-net-worth clients, and business entities. The firm employs a combination of analytic approaches and manages accounts directly, providing both discretionary and non-discretionary services aligned with client-specific investment policies.

Melissa Mazard is a financial advisor at Seek the Plan with 13 years of industry experience. She holds the Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been involved with several nonprofit and educational organizations, including Junior Achievement and Spark Business Academy, where she supports financial literacy and business education programs. Prior to founding her firm, she worked at Foresters Financial. Seek the Plan provides tailored financial planning and investment advice to individual clients, focusing on education, asset allocation, and comprehensive non-investment planning topics such as tax optimization and cash-flow management. The firm emphasizes a long-term investment perspective, offers financial education seminars, and uses non‑AUM fee structures without holding custody of client assets.

WHO WE SERVE We specialize in working with three types of clients: 🔹 High-Net-Worth Retirees — You've built significant wealth and want a coordinated plan to make it last. We help you design a sustainable, tax-efficient retirement income strategy, optimize Social Security timing, and ensure your assets are structured to support a 30+ year retirement. 🔹 Pre-Retirees (50s–early 60s) — You're in the final years of your career with serious assets and serious decisions ahead. We help you model retirement readiness, execute Roth conversion strategies, and build a transition plan so you retire on your terms. 🔹 High-Earning Professionals (30s–40s) — Your income is strong but your financial picture is complex — equity compensation, rising taxes, multiple accounts, and long-term goals competing for attention. We bring structure and strategy to the complexity. WHAT WE DO We offer fee-only, advice-only financial planning — no products, no commissions, no conflicts of interest. ✅ Retirement Income Design — Building sustainable, tax-efficient withdrawal strategies for 30+ years ✅ Roth Conversion & Tax Planning — Identifying multi-year windows to reduce lifetime tax burden ✅ Equity Compensation Planning — RSUs, ISOs, NSOs, ESPP — timing, taxation, and concentration risk ✅ Portfolio Construction & Risk Management — Evidence-based investing aligned to your goals ✅ Comprehensive Financial Planning — A coordinated, big-picture approach across all areas of your finances WHY WORK WITH US 🔹 Featured in Business Insider, Forbes, Fortune, Investopedia, and U.S. News & World Report. 🔹 No Sales. No Commissions. Just Advice. — Our only priority is your financial success. 🔹 Institutional-Grade Expertise — 10+ years managing $800M+ institutional portfolios before founding Wealthwyzr. 🔹 Complex Topics, Simplified — We translate financial complexity into clear, actionable decisions. 🔹 Fiduciary, Fee-Only — We always act in your best interest, with complete transparency.

John Persico is the sole advisor at Persico Asset Management in Severna Park, MD. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 4 years of industry experience, alongside 25 years at Peregrine Capital Management, LLC / PERSICO Capital, LLC. Persico Asset Management is a fee-only independent advisory firm managing approximately $90.3 million across 88 client relationships. The firm serves individuals, trusts, estates, small businesses, charitable organizations, and pension or profit-sharing plans, employing a core-and-satellite investment approach with a range of instruments and an explicit pension consulting practice.

Myron Howie is a financial advisor with Casi Investments in Baltimore, MD, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and with 20 years of industry experience. He has worked with Casi Institutional Consulting, Inc. and Casi Investments for more than two decades. He is also a principal of Casi, Inc., a group of companies focused on strengthening churches and charitable organizations by building long-term sustainability. Casi Investments primarily serves churches, charitable organizations, and individual clients, offering investment supervisory services, financial planning, tax preparation, and advice engagements. The firm employs a documented goal-setting process, using a core-and-satellite investment approach with global diversification and ongoing portfolio monitoring.

Youfeng Jiang is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license with six years of industry experience. He is the sole advisor at Beyond Profit and Wealth Consulting, an independent firm he founded after positions at Kestra Financial, Offit Advisors, and MuniCap. He also has experience as a self-employed financial professional over the past decade. Beyond Profit and Wealth Consulting serves individuals, businesses, charitable organizations, and retirement plans, offering discretionary investment management, financial planning, employee benefit plan consulting, and tax preparation. The firm emphasizes passive investment strategies with tailored portfolios while providing specialized services in pension and profit-sharing plan advisory.

Louis Baviello is the principal of Baviello Investment Management, LLC, an independent advisory firm based in Baltimore, MD. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 14 years of industry experience, including prior roles at Great Valley Advisor Group and LPL Financial LLC. In addition to his advisory work, he publishes the Baviello Bulletin, a financial publication offering investment research reports. Baviello Investment Management provides discretionary investment management and financial advisory services to individuals, families, endowments, foundations, and other institutions. The firm employs a value-oriented, bottom-up equity strategy focused on small-to-mid-cap U.S. companies, alongside bond portfolios and mutual fund allocations, tailored to clients’ objectives with flexibility in portfolio construction.

Richard Biniak, Jr. is a financial advisor at RLMS Business Consultants with over 20 years at the firm and four years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation. In addition to his advisory role, he is involved in computer and business consulting activities. RLMS Business Consultants provides discretionary portfolio management and advisory services to individuals, small businesses, and trust funds, with a focus on retirement, college savings, and charitable planning. The firm primarily serves women investors and employs a process combining fundamental analysis and Modern Portfolio Theory to manage portfolios using low-cost ETFs, no-load mutual funds, stocks, and short-dated fixed income instruments.

Hi! I’m Sylvie. I spent years in dance studios and theaters, alongside a handful of corporate offices, before I became a financial planner. I know what it feels like when the next gig is a question mark.
 I work with the people behind the show in theater, film and TV. Crew, designers, technicians (and actors are welcome too), as well as other artists looking for long, sustainable creative careers. Many of my clients have been at it for decades. You might have a union pension, a couple of retirement accounts from old jobs, many different income streams, and chunky income that has never once looked the same two years in a row. And you're tired of every money decision feeling like a guess.
 That's where I come in. We build a money system that fits the way you actually get paid, so the slow months don't scare you and the big checks go towards supporting your version of financial freedom. 
 I also work with younger artists and self-employed creatives who want a plan in place before the big decisions show up.
 I'm NYC-raised, East Coast based, and I work virtually.

David Bonnichsen is the sole advisor at Phoenix Financial Engineering, LLC in Baltimore, MD, with 14 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66 designation and has been with Phoenix Financial Engineering since 2016. In addition to his advisory role, he serves as an adjunct professor. Phoenix Financial Engineering, LLC provides fee-based financial planning and non-discretionary investment management to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and small businesses. The firm constructs tailored portfolios using both fundamental and technical analysis and conducts regular account reviews, while also offering educational seminars and workshops.

Peter Penoyar is a financial advisor with Meridian Financial Group in Arnold, MD, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 27 years of industry experience. He has worked with Westminster Financial Securities, Inc. since 2004 and has been with Meridian Financial Group since 1997. Meridian Financial Group provides investment management and financial-planning services to individuals, families, trusts, estates, small businesses, and sponsors of defined-contribution plans. The firm employs a conservative, institutionally influenced approach emphasizing strategic asset allocation and global diversification, constructing customized portfolios with a mix of passive and active investment vehicles.

Niall O'Malley is a Series 65-credentialed financial advisor with 20 years of experience at Blue Point Investment Management in Baltimore, MD. He serves on the advisory board of the CFA Society Baltimore and is a member of the investment committees for the Maryland Center for History & Culture and Boys' Latin School of Maryland, volunteering regularly in these roles. Blue Point Investment Management provides discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management primarily for individuals, trusts, IRAs, endowments, and corporate clients. The firm employs a Growth-At-a-Reasonable-Price (GARP) investment approach within a global, equity-oriented framework emphasizing tax efficiency, diversification limits, and active downside-risk management.

Antoine Orr is the sole advisor at Plancorr Wealth Management, LLC in Nottingham, MD, with 18 years of experience in financial consulting. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been self-employed since 1998, primarily working as an independent insurance agent alongside his advisory practice. Plancorr Wealth Management, LLC provides fee-only financial consulting and personalized planning services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm emphasizes cost-benefit and risk-management analyses, offering services through consultations and detailed written reports without taking custody of client assets or discretionary trading authority.

Urenna Okoye is a financial advisor at Izuchi LLC in Beltsville, MD, holding a Series 65 designation with two years of industry experience. Prior to joining Izuchi, Okoye worked at CSP Financial Group LLC and has been involved with The Wealth Building CPA since 2018. Outside of advisory work, Okoye provides financial education through courses, speaking engagements, social media, and writing. Izuchi LLC offers financial planning and non-discretionary investment monitoring and consulting services to individuals, trusts, and estates. The firm emphasizes educational workshops and supports clients in managing self-directed brokerage accounts using fundamental and technical analysis without accepting performance-based fees.

Zhi Wang is the sole advisor and owner of Genesis Capital Management, LLC, an independent firm based in Ellicott City, MD. He holds the CFA® designation and Series 63 license, with 13 years of industry experience. Mr. Wang has a long tenure at OneMain and World Financial Group, Inc. Outside of advisory work, he is involved in statistical analysis and operational support within the lending industry. Genesis Capital Management provides discretionary portfolio management and financial planning to individuals, businesses, and institutional clients. The firm offers balanced and alternative managed-account strategies that incorporate proprietary analytical models and valuation techniques, with an emphasis on options trading and portfolio monitoring.

Joseph Flynn is the sole advisor at Flynn Capital Management LLC in Severna Park, MD, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses with 16 years of industry experience. He has operated Flynn Capital Management since 2010 and is also involved in Eastern Shore Beverages LLC, a non-alcoholic beverage company. Flynn Capital Management LLC provides investment supervisory services and one-time financial planning primarily to individual and high-net-worth clients, managing approximately $23 million in assets. The firm uses a combination of charting, fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis to develop tailored investment strategies and requires clients to use a recommended custodian for trading and account management.

Raul Shah is a financial advisor at DocShah Financial, LLC in Ellicott City, MD, holding a Series 65 designation and with three years of industry experience. He is also the owner of DocShah Goods, LLC, a wholesale business selling products on Amazon, and has been an author for Seeking Alpha since 2017, writing on economics, finance, and stock topics. Additionally, he has engaged in professional baseball since 2017. DocShah Financial provides discretionary asset management, financial planning, and portfolio review services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, small businesses, and estates. The firm combines fundamental and technical analysis, Monte Carlo simulations, and modern portfolio theory to construct and monitor portfolios, and offers public educational seminars alongside its advisory services.