Charles Horonzy is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional with eight years of industry experience. He is the principal advisor at Focused Up Financial, LLC, an independent firm based in Riverside, IL, where he has worked since 2017. Prior to founding Focused Up Financial, he was employed at Sullivan Mermel, Inc. and Accountemps. Outside of his advisory role, Horonzy is employed as a tax professional for Intuit and has worked as an independent contractor for Bluestem Financial Advisors, LLC. Focused Up Financial serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, and business owners by providing comprehensive financial planning, investment oversight, and employer-sponsored retirement plan consulting. The firm uses a planning-centered approach that integrates fundamental analysis with mostly passive investment management, delegating investment oversight to a sub-advisor while coordinating tax, estate, and goal-setting services.

I'm Linda Rapisardo, CFP® and founder of Canela Wealth, a flat-fee, advice-only financial planning firm for first-generation wealth builders. My clients are first-gen professionals in their 30s and 40s who have worked hard to build successful careers, but never got a roadmap for what comes next. They're the ones who 'made it,' so the family might turn to them with money questions. Meanwhile, they're asking themselves: Am I saving enough? Am I spending too much? What should I be prioritizing right now? That mental load can feel overwhelming, especially when you've spent most of your life figuring things out on your own. I know that feeling. I grew up in a working-class, immigrant family where my parents navigated an unfamiliar financial system without anyone trustworthy to guide them. The 2008 financial crisis hit us hard. My parents were smart, resourceful, and hardworking, but the system wasn't designed with them in mind. I saw what it costs a family to go it alone, and it shaped who I am as a planner today. My goal is to be the person my parents never had: someone who cuts through the noise, explains how things actually work, and makes sure you never feel alone navigating the financial system. I believe transparency and education are everything. I'm an advice-only planner, which means you pay for advice and maintain control of your assets. I do not sell products or earn commissions. I help with comprehensive financial planning, including cash flow, debt strategy, retirement projections, tax planning, insurance review, home-buying decisions, and investment guidance for those managing their own portfolios. When I'm not helping clients, I'm chasing my two kiddos, Luca (5) and Camila (2), and dreaming up our next big family trip.

Timothy Okeefe is the principal of Okeefe & Associates, P.C., an independent advisory firm based in Orland Park, IL. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 28 years of industry experience, including 25 years leading his current firm. Okeefe is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant and provides accounting, tax advice, and income-tax preparation services, including representation before the IRS. Okeefe & Associates offers non-discretionary investment management and financial consulting to individuals, certain high-net-worth clients, and pension and profit-sharing plans. The firm follows a Modern Portfolio Theory-based approach, utilizing diversified portfolios with equities, fixed income, mutual funds, and ETFs, emphasizing low-cost index funds and total-return/risk management.

Dustin Javier is a financial advisor at Defined Capital LLC with 14 years of industry experience. He holds the CFP® and Series 66 designations. Prior to joining Defined Capital, he worked at Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc. and operates a sole proprietorship focused on fixed insurance sales. Defined Capital provides discretionary asset management, comprehensive financial planning, and retirement-plan consulting for individuals, high-net-worth clients, and plan sponsors. The firm emphasizes customized portfolio construction with regular reviews and offers a specialized limited-scope ERISA 3(21) fiduciary service for retirement plans.

Karen Dowling is a Series 65 licensed financial advisor with nine years of industry experience, currently serving as the principal at Chancellor Financial Services, Inc. in Orland Park, IL. She has held leadership roles in several related businesses, including Dowling Legacy & Retirement, Inc., where she focuses on insurance sales and legacy planning, and she is also CEO of the Dowling Foundation, a nonprofit organization. Chancellor Financial Services, Inc. provides discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and ongoing financial coaching to individuals, trusts, estates, corporations, and charitable organizations. The firm oversees approximately $26.4 million across 85 client accounts and offers public seminars and structured coaching programs alongside its investment management services.

Nicholas Mansour is a financial advisor at New Capital Management, LLC with 28 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been with New Capital Management since 1995. New Capital Management is a fee-only registered adviser serving a single-family office and a small number of discretionary family accounts. The firm focuses on bottom-up growth-at-a-reasonable-price portfolio management through a core-and-satellite construction, emphasizing large- and mid-cap high-quality companies alongside selective satellite exposures.

My goal is to provide working professionals with sound financial advice to help them best position themselves and their financial lives for success. While the majority of our clients have medical backgrounds or are business owners, our services are best targeted to those with investable assets and are in the asset accumulation phase of their life. I provide comprehensive financial planning services as well as investment advisory services. PVA Financial LLC is a SEC-registered RIA firm. We focus our business on providing PRACTICAL, VALUABLE and ALIGNED advice. I found that to be missing when I was looking for an advisor more than two decades ago and have vowed to keep focused on those three tenets. Before founding PVA Financial, I worked as a private equity executive. With over 15 years of financial services experience, I've spent the majority of my career evaluating businesses, investing in them, finding ways to accelerate their growth and improve their operational efficiency. This background has given me unique insight into the importance of building strong foundations and the necessity for clear and effective communication...both of which are incorporated into our relationships with clients. I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. I also received my MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, with a focus on Finance & Accounting. I also hold the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation, which requires comprehensive knowledge in all areas of financial planning, including insurance planning, risk management, employee benefits planning, investment planning, income tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning. On the personal side, I enjoy spending time with my wife, three kids and our goldendoodle Leo. I was the Cubmaster for my kids Scout group (sadly a while ago) and am heavily involved in a few charitable organizations. I'm an avid Chicago Bears fan and enjoy playing tennis, basketball and golf. Additional information can be found at www.pvafinancial.com and I can be reached at [email protected]

Lauren Hunt is a CFP® professional with 11 years of industry experience. She is the sole advisor at Daybreak Wealth, LLC, where she has worked since 2022. Prior to this, she spent eight years at Pinnacle Financial Group LLC. Daybreak Wealth, LLC provides customized financial planning and ongoing wealth management to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and estates and trusts. The firm focuses on primarily passive, long-term portfolios using low-cost mutual funds and ETFs, applying principles from Modern Portfolio Theory and the Fama–French three-factor model.

Brian Huckstep is a CFA® charterholder and principal of Huckstep Asset Management, LLC with five years of industry experience. He previously worked at Morningstar Investment Management from 2016 to 2019. Huckstep Asset Management provides financial planning, investment management, and model portfolio services to a diverse client base including individuals, families, trusts, charitable organizations, and institutional investors. The firm focuses on low-cost, globally diversified portfolios using asset allocation as the primary driver of returns and offers both strategic and tactical portfolio strategies, including customized institutional mandates and wrap-model portfolios for third-party platforms.

Andrew Baxley is a CFP® professional based in Oak Park, IL, with 10 years of industry experience. He is the principal advisor at Two Trails Financial Planning, an independent firm he has led since 2024. His prior experience includes roles at BuilderFP, The Planning Center, TIAA, Strategic Advisers, Inc., and Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC. Two Trails Financial Planning provides comprehensive financial planning and discretionary investment management to individuals and high-net-worth clients. The firm uses proprietary portfolio models blending passive and active funds tailored to client risk tolerance and preferences, including options for values-based investing, and operates on a fee-only basis without percentage-of-AUM charges.

Erik Barnes is a financial advisor at Retirement Portfolio Partners in Warrenville, IL, holding a Series 66 designation with 17 years of industry experience. He has been with The Farm Capital Management, LLC since 2008. Retirement Portfolio Partners provides wealth management services to individuals, high-net-worth households, and families, combining portfolio management with comprehensive financial planning. The firm employs passive, cost- and tax-aware strategies using mutual funds, ETFs, and select individual securities, and offers ongoing portfolio oversight through quantitative tools and client digital portals.

Anthony Krcmar is the managing member of Paisley Financial LLC with 16 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has held roles at Grassland Capital, LLC and Bluestem Capital Partners, LLC. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved with Kwiktrading, where he dedicates time as an associated person. Paisley Financial serves individual clients, including high-net-worth households, as well as pension and institutional clients, providing financial consulting, retirement and estate planning, and portfolio management. The firm employs an individualized asset-allocation approach using a broad range of securities and strategies, with regular portfolio reviews and third-party custodianship.

Brian Gilmartin is the sole advisor at Trinity Asset Management, Inc. in Clarendon Hills, IL. He holds the CFA® designation and has 27 years of industry experience, having been with Trinity since 1995. Trinity Asset Management provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment management primarily for individual investors, including taxable brokerage and IRA accounts, as well as higher-net-worth clients and a family foundation. The firm constructs long-only portfolios using mutual funds, individual equities, ETFs, and fixed income, applying modern portfolio theory to tailor asset allocations based on client-specific factors.

Steven Johnson is a financial advisor at SRJ Financial Consulting LLC in Lombard, IL, holding a Series 65 designation with one year of industry experience. His prior experience includes roles at Willamette Management Associates and Charles River Associates. SRJ Financial Consulting LLC provides investment advisory services, financial planning, tax-planning analyses, and tax-return preparation for a diverse client base that includes individuals, small businesses, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm offers investment advice on a non-discretionary basis and features a formal no-fee program of educational seminars and workshops along with compensated tax-return preparation.

John Beck is a financial advisor at Midwest Retirement Partners, LLC with 10 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has worked previously at ADP LLC, ADP Broker-Dealer Inc., and Inland Securities Corporation. Midwest Retirement Partners is an independent, single-advisor firm that primarily serves pension and profit-sharing plans. The firm emphasizes quantitative analysis and a long-term investment approach, focusing on plan consulting and referring clients to third-party advisers rather than managing individual client portfolios directly.

Michael Von Lunen is the founder and sole advisor at Wheel Advisors LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with four years of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at Harrer Law, P.C., T3 Trading Group, LLC, and Purchasing Platform. Outside of financial advising, he owns and operates Ripple360 LLC, a professional coaching business assisting entrepreneurs in building and managing their businesses. Wheel Advisors LLC provides discretionary asset management and advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and small businesses, with an investment approach focused on asset allocation and low-cost index investing. The firm offers financial planning and small-business consultation tailored to employers with 1–20 employees and combines percentage-based asset management with hourly-billed planning services.

Theodore Barnhart is the sole advisor at Barnhart Investment Advisory in Elmhurst, Illinois, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials with 20 years of industry experience. He has led Barnhart Investment Advisory since 2009. Barnhart Investment Advisory serves individuals, families, trusts, and estates with discretionary portfolio management and investment consulting, focusing on active, tactical asset allocation and inflation-sensitive strategies. The firm manages a concentrated client base with customized solutions and requires clients to use a designated custodian platform for managed-account services.

Steven Petrovich is the sole advisor at Petrovich Capital Advisors LLC in Burr Ridge, IL. He holds a Series 65 designation and has prior work experience with Dodger Investments LLC from 2017 to the present and NYC Health and Hospitals Corp. from 2009 to 2017. Outside of his advisory role, he operates a separate non-investment consulting business. Petrovich Capital Advisors LLC provides discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management to individuals and high-net-worth clients, focusing on long-term investment strategies with publicly traded liquid securities such as ETFs and individual equities. The firm emphasizes fundamental analysis, asset allocation, and diversification, avoiding leverage, derivatives, margin, and private placements, and offers ongoing portfolio monitoring and account reviews.

Clayton Lawrie is a Series 65 licensed financial advisor at Trac Asset Management LLC with 17 years of industry experience. He has worked at Trac Asset Management since 2015. Trac Asset Management provides investment advisory and portfolio management services to high-net-worth individuals as well as institutional clients including trusts, estates, and corporations. The firm employs both discretionary and non-discretionary strategies, using fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis across a range of investment vehicles, and offers educational seminars and workshops for clients and the public.

Elizabeth Buffardi is a CFP® and Series 65 registered advisor with 14 years of experience. She is the President and Investment Adviser Representative of Crescendo Financial Planners, Inc., where she has worked since 2009. Prior to Crescendo, she was with FinancialPlanning4Me, LLC for one year. Crescendo Financial Planners provides fee-only holistic financial planning to individuals and families, focusing on middle-income clients without a formal asset minimum. The firm emphasizes long-term, primarily passive investment strategies using ETFs and index mutual funds, and operates on a non-discretionary basis with a fee structure based on fixed retainers and hourly engagements.