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.

Nirmal Kartari is a CFP® and holds a Series 66 license with nine years of industry experience. He has previously worked with Avantax Advisory Services and HD Vest Investment Services. Kartari is also the owner and sole proprietor of a tax preparation and accounting business. Financial Solutions, Inc. is an independent investment adviser providing investment management and comprehensive financial planning services for individuals, high-net-worth clients, and businesses. The firm emphasizes tax-aware planning and employs a combination of fundamental, technical, and charting analyses alongside both passive and active strategies.

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.

Louis Orloff is a financial advisor with Reserve Fund Advisers, holding a Series 65 credential and four years of industry experience. He has been involved with several business ventures since 1988, including founding Orloff Advisers LLC and operating multiple companies over the past decades. His various companies require minimal time commitment. Reserve Fund Advisers specializes in financial planning, investment monitoring, and consulting for condominium and homeowner association reserve funds, offering educational seminars at no charge. The firm serves individuals, associations, trusts, estates, and business entities using an academic-based investment approach that incorporates fundamental and technical analysis across diverse strategies.

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.

Monarch Bhatt is a CFP® professional with five years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Ascent Fintech LLC. His work background includes roles at Ascent Infotech LLC and Roadrunner Transportation Services, where he is a Senior Financial Analyst in the shipping and logistics sector. He holds an executive position in an IT services business through Ascent Infotech LLC. Ascent Fintech LLC is an independent advisory firm that serves individuals, families, pension and retirement plans, and institutions, managing approximately $4.85 million in discretionary assets. The firm employs both passive and active investment strategies tailored to client goals and offers a range of services including asset management, financial planning, and ERISA-related retirement plan services.

Mark Nelson is a financial advisor at NFO Financial Advisory LLC in Westmont, IL, holding a Series 65 designation with six years of industry experience. He previously worked at Crestline Denali Capital from 2014 to 2020. NFO Financial Advisory LLC serves individual clients through a subscription membership model with no minimum asset requirement. The firm provides financial planning, investment guidance, tax filing services, and consulting, emphasizing long-term investing with strategic and tactical asset allocation primarily using ETFs and mutual funds. NFO charges fixed monthly fees rather than asset-based fees and does not manage or take custody of client assets.

Jac Cerney is the principal of JAC Wealth Management Services, LLC, an independent registered investment adviser based in Evanston, IL. He holds CFP® and CFA® designations and has 21 years of industry experience. Cerney has led his firm since 2009, providing financial planning and portfolio management services. JAC Wealth Management Services, LLC offers fee-only financial planning and discretionary portfolio management to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, corporations, and charitable organizations. The firm uses fundamental analysis and longer-term purchase strategies, typically employing exchange-traded funds and bank certificates of deposit, with portfolio allocations tailored to clients’ objectives, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs.

Bradford Tyl is a CFP® professional with 22 years of industry experience and the principal of Bradford Capital Management, LLC, an independent advisory firm he founded in 2003. He also serves on the faculty of Keller Graduate School of Business since 2003. Bradford Capital Management provides investment advisory services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and other business entities. The firm emphasizes ETF-based portfolios using Modern Portfolio Theory with a passive asset-allocation and regular rebalancing approach, and it is noted for its pension consulting services and work with charitable organizations.

Jon De Vries is a financial advisor at Kiddos Capital with a Series 65 designation and one year of industry experience. His prior roles include positions in healthcare advisory, medical technology, publishing, and technology firms. Kiddos Capital is an independent advisory firm that serves parents saving for college through a membership-based model. The firm offers customized financial planning, portfolio management with tax-aware strategies like direct indexing and tax-loss harvesting, socially responsible screening, and lender auctions to secure favorable student loan terms.

Jeffrey Smith is a CFP® professional with 21 years of experience in financial advising. He has been the sole advisor at North Shore Investment Consulting LLC since 2004. North Shore Investment Consulting LLC provides fee-only investment management, comprehensive financial planning, and consulting primarily to high-net-worth individuals, professionals, retirees, and select profit-sharing plans. The firm emphasizes Modern Portfolio Theory, diversification, indexing, and quantitative optimization, managing portfolios largely on a non-discretionary basis with client consent for trades.

Brian Peterson is the principal of Pluto Wealth Management, an independent firm based in Woodridge, Illinois. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has six years of industry experience. In addition to his advisory role, he operates a corporate consulting business focused on reviewing and establishing Treasury functions and department structures on a project basis. Pluto Wealth Management serves individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and business entities, providing comprehensive financial planning, discretionary investment management, and project consulting. The firm employs a mixed analytical approach to portfolio management and offers services such as subscription-style planning, client newsletters, and educational seminars.

Leela Rao is a CFA® charterholder and holds a Series 65 license, with 20 years of industry experience. She has been with Goodwin Asset Management Inc. since 2002. Rao serves as a director of the Raagalaya Foundation Inc., a nonprofit organization registered in Florida. Goodwin Asset Management provides discretionary investment management and comprehensive financial planning primarily to high-net-worth individuals, families, trusts, and retirement plans. The firm employs a conservative, value-oriented investment strategy combining top-down macro allocation with bottom-up security selection, and it also offers pension-plan consulting and retirement-plan management services.

Darryl Franklin is a financial advisor at Oakwood Wealth Advisors Ltd. in Naperville, IL, holding a Series 66 designation with 16 years of industry experience. He has been with Oakwood Wealth Advisors since 2012. In addition to his advisory work, he serves as a graduate school lecturer at Benedictine University. Oakwood Wealth Advisors provides portfolio management and comprehensive financial planning to individuals, high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm utilizes a combination of fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis, offering both active and passive management along with discretionary account authority and performance-based fee arrangements for qualified clients.

Michael Bloom is a CFP® and ChFC® with 26 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Grosse Point Capital Management in Evanston, IL. His prior roles include positions at THE O.N. Equity Sales Company, Ohio National Financial Services, and Eusebius Advisors LLC. In addition to his advisory work, he manages an insurance agency focusing on life, disability income, long-term care insurance, and fixed annuities. Grosse Point Capital Management provides discretionary investment management, IRA services, and both standalone financial planning and ongoing consulting to individuals, families, and closely held businesses. The firm employs a Modern Portfolio Theory-based approach using diversified asset classes primarily implemented through low-cost mutual funds and ETFs, with a focus on long-term asset allocation, periodic rebalancing, and attention to tax and transaction costs.

Galia Felemovicius is a CFP® professional with nine years of experience in the financial advisory industry, currently serving as the sole advisor at Foresight Wealth Advisors. Her prior experience includes roles at Maimon Wealth Management LTD. and Dimeo Schneider & Associates. She is also affiliated with a non-US investment adviser as an investment advisory representative, dedicating about 15% of her time to this separate activity. Foresight Wealth Advisors provides wealth management services to individual and high-net-worth clients, offering portfolio management, third-party sub-adviser selection, and comprehensive financial planning across various areas including retirement and estate planning. The firm constructs customized portfolios through a combination of fundamental, quantitative, and technical analysis, frequently utilizing institutional strategies via a third-party sub-adviser platform.