Ivan Havrylyan is a financial advisor with Outside The Box Financial Planning, LLC in Wheeling, Illinois, holding a Series 66 designation and 13 years of industry experience. He has worked at Securities America Inc and Personal Financial Strategies, Inc. prior to his current role, where he has been since 2017. Outside The Box Financial Planning, LLC serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, and business entities by providing comprehensive financial planning, portfolio management, and consulting services. The firm employs a passive, index-based investment approach focused on mutual funds and ETFs, with ongoing supervision and integrated planning across various financial areas, including retirement and employee benefits.

Chetan Notaria is a financial advisor with Investment Resources Center in Palatine, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations and 16 years of industry experience. He has been associated with Planning Resources Center since 2001, where he also serves as president of an insurance agency and is involved in technology and business development consulting. Investment Resources Center provides personalized financial planning and investment advisory services to individuals and business entities, including corporations, pension and profit-sharing plans, estates, and trusts. The firm emphasizes asset allocation and offers proprietary model portfolios alongside customized management, with services that include retirement planning, tax-efficiency analysis, and estate-related investment guidance.

Henry Glodny is a financial advisor with Castling Financial Planning, Ltd. in Hoffman Estates, IL. He holds a Series 65 designation and has 17 years of industry experience. He is the principal and founder of Terra Nimbus Systems, Inc., an IT consulting business that develops software tools for his financial planning practice. Castling Financial Planning, Ltd. is a solo independent firm serving primarily middle-class individual clients with fee-only, hourly financial planning and investment advice. The firm employs an evidence-based, data-driven investment approach using a proprietary Asset Allocation Database to analyze portfolio allocations and risk, and it maintains a policy of no percentage-of-AUM fees, no product sales, and no discretionary trading authority.

Hi, I'm Larry Pershing, CFP® RMA®, a flat fee financial advisor. I focus on helping people age 55+ with their retirement planning and investment management needs for a FLAT fee. Having worked in various wealth management firms in my career, I was surprised to discover many firms try to service everyone, which leads them to being average for all. Some are more concerned with amassing client assets than providing customized recommendations. I started Optimum Retirement Planning because I saw a need for specialists to help clients navigate the complex and challenging financial aspects of retirement. Our offering is different. We don’t work with everyone. We specialize in helping those who are close to and in retirement. We apply the latest financial research for retirement to help answer your complex financial questions. Optimum Retirement Planning is a flat fee financial advisor. This means we charge differently than most financial advisors. We offer retirement planning and investment management for a flat fee. For too long retirees have been overpaying for financial advice due to large commissions and/or being charged a percentage of their assets. When I’m not in the office, I’m on a tennis court, reading a book (finance or science fiction), or spending time with family and friends. I also volunteer for AARP sponsored events that help seniors receive complimentary financial advice. While I live in Chicago, I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I return often, especially during winter. You can take the guy out of California, but you can’t take the California out of the guy!

Krzysztof Marzec is a financial advisor at Trove, LLC with one year of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and previously worked at Geneva Trading LLC for 15 years. Outside of his advisory role, he is the creator of Meegorun, a neighbor-to-neighbor delivery app, and a managing member of Festa, LLC, which invests in several Midwest restaurants. Trove provides continuous, individualized investment management primarily focused on option-based overlay strategies, serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, and corporations. The firm emphasizes protective hedging and listed-options strategies applied to clients’ existing securities, implementing these strategies on a discretionary basis.

Gabriel Salimi is a financial advisor at Watchtower Wealth, LLC with 10 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has previously worked at Red Oak Capital Management, Fifth Third Securities, Fifth Third Private Bank, and BMO Private Bank. Watchtower Wealth is an independent investment adviser serving individuals, trusts, corporations, partnerships, and retirement plans. The firm combines fundamental research with quantitative techniques and technical analysis to manage discretionary portfolios and provide fiduciary services, offering a diverse range of investment vehicles and institutional-style retirement plan support.

Timothy McDonald is the sole advisor at Timothy J McDonald CPA CFP, an independent firm based in Lake Barrington, IL. He holds CFP® and Series 63 designations and has 27 years of industry experience. He is also a partner in the CPA firm McDonald Doherty & Co., where he has been active since 1988. The firm provides personalized financial planning and investment management to individuals and families, integrating tax planning with investment strategies. It employs a combination of fundamental and technical analysis and asset allocation tailored to clients’ risk tolerance and goals, managing approximately $65 million across about 60 client relationships.

Daniel Fudala is a CFP® with 18 years of industry experience and the sole advisor at Hazel Ridge Advisors, LLC, an independent firm based in Palatine, IL. He has been with Hazel Ridge Advisors since its founding in 2015. Hazel Ridge Advisors is a fee-only registered investment adviser serving primarily individual clients with discretionary portfolio management and financial planning. The firm manages client assets entirely in-house, applying a combination of fundamental, cyclical, technical, and modern portfolio theory methods to asset allocation and security selection.

George Panopoulos is the principal advisor at The Panopoulos Group with 34 years of industry experience. He previously worked at Linsco/Private Ledger Corp. for 19 years before founding his current firm in 2017. The Panopoulos Group is an independent registered investment adviser serving high-net-worth individuals with personalized portfolio management and financial planning. The firm utilizes a combination of fundamental, technical, cyclical, and charting analyses, employing both active and passive investment strategies tailored to each client’s objectives and risk tolerance.

Peter Wright is the principal of Wright Benefit Advisors Inc. in Lake Forest, IL, with 26 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at several firms, including Kingsbury Capital, LLC, and Edwin C Blitz Investments, Inc. He is also president of Wright Benefit Strategies, an insurance brokerage and consulting firm licensed for life, health, and property casualty insurance. Wright Benefit Advisors Inc. provides portfolio management, financial planning, pension consulting, and participant education to individuals, high-net-worth clients, businesses, and pension or profit-sharing plans. The firm combines fundamental, quantitative, and technical analysis with modern portfolio theory to implement long-term investment approaches, with a focus on pension consulting and corporate plan services.

Nathaniel Gandy is a CFP® with eight years of industry experience. He is the principal of Obar Wealth Management LLC, an independent firm he joined in 2024. Prior to this, he worked at Wealthfront Brokerage LLC and USAA, among other firms. He also owns Gandy Fintech Solutions LLC, where he consults business owners on fintech and technology integration. Obar Wealth Management is a fee-only registered investment adviser serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, and businesses. The firm offers investment management, financial planning, and tax preparation, using a portfolio approach based on asset allocation and Modern Portfolio Theory. It serves both individual and institutional clients, providing a range of planning services including business and employee benefits planning.

Leonard Fensterheim is a Series 65-licensed financial advisor with 11 years of industry experience. He is the principal of HealthQuant Associates LLC, where he has worked since 2014. In addition to his advisory role, he serves as Director of Clinical Outcomes and Analytics at Catamaran Corporation and is a partner at Highbeam Capital LLC, where he dedicates time to research on biotechnology and healthcare investments. HealthQuant Associates LLC is a state-registered investment adviser that provides discretionary portfolio management with an investment approach combining fundamental, technical, and cyclical economic analysis. The firm focuses on tailored portfolios primarily in the healthcare and life-sciences sectors, employing strategies ranging from long-term buy-and-hold to shorter-term trading, including the use of short sales and options.

Roy Brown is a CFP® with 28 years of industry experience. He has been with Trueman Brown since 2007 and previously worked at Ameriprise for nine years. Outside of his advisory work, he is co-owner and vice president of RVTV Properties. Trueman Brown, LLC is an independent advisory firm managing approximately $196 million for about 128 clients, offering financial planning, consulting, and investment management services to individuals, trusts, charitable organizations, business entities, and institutional clients. The firm employs a long-term growth investment approach combining fundamental and technical analysis, and it is notable for serving pension and profit-sharing plans and recommending private placements and hedge-style collective vehicles.

Daniel Fisher is the sole advisor at Fisher Financial Group, LLC in Kildeer, IL, with 20 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has led Fisher Financial Group since 2008. In addition to his advisory role, he is an independent insurance agent involved in the sale of annuity, life, health, and accident insurance. Fisher Financial Group serves individual investors, trusts, estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and business entities with personalized financial planning and portfolio management. The firm combines fundamental and technical analysis, employs both long- and short-term strategies, and offers modular planning and third-party manager selection tailored to clients’ objectives and risk tolerance.

Edward Leszynski is a financial advisor at KGL Financial Advisors, LLC with seven years of industry experience. He holds the PFS™ and Series 66 designations and previously worked at Praetorian Wealth Management Inc for ten years. Outside of advising, he is a CPA involved in individual tax preparation and holds a significant ownership interest in a sports and events center. KGL Financial Advisors is an independent wealth management firm serving individual and high-net-worth clients with combined financial planning and discretionary portfolio management. The firm manages approximately $30 million in assets and employs a long-term investment approach using diversified portfolios of mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, bonds, and options.

Michael Mc Clain is a CFA® charterholder with nine years of industry experience. He is currently the sole advisor at PAC Capital, LLC in Lake Forest, IL. Prior to founding PAC Capital, he worked at Hedeker Wealth LLC and Hedeker Capital, LLC from 2016 to 2019. PAC Capital provides discretionary and occasional non-discretionary investment management through separately managed accounts, sub-advisory services, and institutional consulting. The firm serves individual, high-net-worth, and institutional clients, employing a multi-strategy approach that includes hedge-style strategies such as convertible arbitrage and active shorting, combining fundamental and systematic analysis tailored to client mandates.

Gary Hart is a financial advisor with Wealth Management Associates, Inc. in Lincolnshire, Illinois, holding a Series 63 designation and 38 years of industry experience. He previously worked at GSH Advisory Services, Inc. for over three decades and has been with Mowery & Schoenfeld, LLC since 2016, where he provides tax and financial consulting services. Wealth Management Associates offers discretionary portfolio management and asset-allocation services to a select group of clients, including high-net-worth individuals and institutional entities. The firm emphasizes tailored investment strategies and continuous portfolio supervision, serving a concentrated client base with approximately $78.8 million in assets under management.

Aaron Shafter is the principal advisor at Great Mountain Capital Management LLC, holding a Series 66 designation with 21 years of industry experience. He has been with Great Mountain Capital Management since 2004. Great Mountain Capital Management provides discretionary investment management and financial consulting to individuals, institutional, and corporate clients, including pension plans, charitable organizations, municipalities, and sovereign funds. The firm combines fundamental stock screening with technical analysis and market-timing strategies, often utilizing derivatives and leverage in managed accounts.

Christina Walasik is a CFP® professional with nine years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Pickwick Wealth Management. She previously worked at Gradient Advisors, LLC and Goldbloom and Associates. Walasik also operates an affiliated insurance business as an independent insurance agent. Pickwick Wealth Management is a small independent advisory firm offering discretionary asset management and financial planning services primarily to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs a client-tailored investment approach based on fundamental analysis and provides ongoing portfolio management with quarterly reviews.

Gregory Smith is a CFP® with 14 years of industry experience and has served as an independent consultant since 2009. He is the sole advisor at Long Run Investment Management, LLC, an independent firm based in Long Grove, IL. Long Run Investment Management provides discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting services to individual investors, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, corporations, and unaffiliated advisers. The firm emphasizes pension consulting and retirement-plan fiduciary services, implementing portfolios using a combination of fundamental, charting, and cyclical analysis within a Modern Portfolio Theory framework.