Theodore Buckley is a financial advisor with VestGen Advisors, LLC in Chicago, IL, holding a Series 66 credential and 11 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Triad Hybrid Solutions, Triad Advisors, Sequoia Wealth Management, and LPL Financial. Outside of his advisory work, he is an author and motivational speaker, conducting seminars and coaching sessions unrelated to investments. VestGen Advisors, LLC is a multi-team registered investment adviser managing approximately $3.47 billion for over 9,400 individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, financial planning, and retirement plan services, utilizing a combination of analytical methods and third-party managers to tailor portfolios to client goals.

Matthew Tucek is a financial advisor with Highpoint Planning Partners, holding Series 65 and Series 63 licenses and one year of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at Morgan Stanley, Apple Inc., and Old Second National Bank. Outside of finance, he owns Creme Design Studios LLC, a graphic design business. Highpoint Advisor Group serves individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as various institutional entities, offering discretionary asset management and financial planning. The firm uses a consultative approach to develop personalized investment policies and employs a range of investment vehicles and third-party platforms to deliver advisory services.

Chad Tuneberg is a financial advisor with World Equity Group, Inc. in Schaumburg, IL, holding Series 65 and Series 63 licenses and bringing 29 years of industry experience. He has been with World Equity Group since 2009. In addition to his advisory role, Tuneberg serves as an alderman representing the 3rd Ward of Rockford, Illinois, participating in municipal legislative and policy-making activities. World Equity Group, Inc. offers fee-based investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as pension plans, trusts, and businesses. The firm utilizes a risk-tolerance based asset allocation process and provides access to discretionary third-party money managers through various managed portfolio programs.

Daniel Peltier is a financial advisor at CL Wealth Management LLC with 29 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at firms including Cabot Lodge Securities, SB Advisory, and Raymond James & Associates. CL Wealth Management LLC serves a diverse client base including individuals, pension plans, trusts, and charitable organizations. The firm offers portfolio advisory services, financial planning, and access to the Envestnet platform, tailoring investment strategies through fundamental and technical analysis combined with custom model portfolios and ongoing monitoring.

Jerome Bellm is a financial advisor with Highpoint Planning Partners, holding Series 63 and Series 66 registrations and 34 years of industry experience. He has been with Highpoint Advisor Group, also known as Midwest Family Wealth Management, since 2014 and has worked with LPL Financial for over 15 years. HighPoint Advisor Group serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporate entities with services including discretionary asset management, financial planning, retirement plan advisory, and wrap-fee program management. The firm uses fundamental analysis and diversified investment approaches, leveraging both internally managed and third-party platforms to meet client needs.

Steven Ostrander is a financial advisor at Highpoint Planning Partners with 38 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and has been with Highpoint Planning Partners since 2012. Outside of his advisory role, he provides insurance illustrations and products for term life, long-term care, and disability insurance through Leaders Partners. Highpoint Planning Partners serves individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm offers discretionary asset management and financial planning services, constructing investment policies through personal consultations and implementing portfolios using fundamental analysis across a range of securities and third-party platforms.

Ryan O'Connor is a financial advisor with Advisory Alpha, LLC, holding a Series 65 designation and two years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Brookstone Wealth Advisors, Gradient Advisors, AE Wealth Management, and managing O'CONNOR Wealth Management. He is also co-owner of Naser & O'Connor Wealth Management and involved in insurance services through John O'Connor and Associates, LLC. Advisory Alpha manages over $4.3 billion for individual and high-net-worth clients, offering financial planning, specialty retirement-plan solutions, and subadvisory services. The firm employs a centralized Investment Team that uses a fund-of-funds approach with factor-based equity strategies, structured-product allocations, and fixed income solutions, typically managing portfolios on a discretionary basis.

Joseph Orsolini is a financial advisor with World Equity Group, Inc. in Schaumburg, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 34 years of industry experience. He has been with World Equity Group since 2002 and also serves as President and Owner of College Aid Planners, Inc., a firm specializing in college financial aid consulting and tax preparation. Outside of his advisory roles, Orsolini is involved in youth wrestling as an assistant coach and serves as Treasurer and Board Member for Rising Tide Wrestling, a nonprofit supporting economically challenged youth in the sport. World Equity Group, Inc. provides fee-based investment advisory and financial planning services to a wide range of clients, including individuals, pension plans, trusts, and charitable organizations. The firm offers managed portfolios through its Adhesion Money Management wrap-fee program, utilizing third-party money managers and risk-tolerance assessments to guide investment strategies.

Lawrence Kimmel Jr. is a financial advisor at Harbour Investments, Inc. with 28 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at Harbour since 2018, following nine years at Ausdal Financial Partners and over three decades running his own CPA and tax preparation firm. He also maintains an active role as president of Lawrence J. Kimmel, P.C., providing accounting and tax services. Harbour Investments offers investment advisory and financial planning services to a diverse client base including individuals, charitable and corporate clients, and retirement plans. The firm uses a combination of fundamental and technical analysis to develop customized investment strategies and provides various portfolio management and model-based solutions.

Samuel Lee is a CFP® with 12 years of industry experience and currently serves at Highpoint Planning Partners. His prior experience includes roles at Kovack Advisors, Financial Engines Advisors, Bank of America, and Merrill. Highpoint Planning Partners serves a range of clients including individuals, pension plans, trusts, and corporate entities, offering services such as discretionary asset management, financial planning, and retirement plan advisory. The firm employs fundamental analysis to construct client investment policies and utilizes various platforms to deliver consolidated advisory services.

Keith Mooney is a CFP® and ChFC® with 31 years of industry experience. He is currently an advisor at VestGen Advisors, LLC and has previously worked at firms including LPL Financial and Sequoia Wealth Management. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as president and educator for a nonprofit that conducts financial education seminars. VestGen Advisors, LLC is a multi-team registered investment adviser managing approximately $3.47 billion for over 9,400 clients. The firm serves individual and high-net-worth clients with discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, financial planning, and retirement plan services, employing a mix of analytical methods and third-party managers to implement client portfolios.

Michael Seidler is a financial advisor with Gradient Advisors, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and eight years of industry experience. He has worked previously at Bankers Life and Bankers Life Securities, and currently also serves as an associate and investment advisor representative at Burling Wealth Advisors Inc. in addition to his role at Gradient Advisors. Gradient Advisors, LLC provides investment management, financial planning, and consulting services to individuals, retirement plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and other business entities. The firm operates primarily through a network of investment advisor representatives and third-party money managers, employing a largely non-discretionary model that incorporates fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis in portfolio construction.

Cole Swearingen is a CFP® professional at Brookstone Capital Management LLC with four years of industry experience. He has worked at Franklin Wealth Advisors, RMB Capital, and Prizm Financial Advisors. Outside of finance, he owns and operates a small business raising beef cows, selling meat cuts directly to consumers. Brookstone Capital Management is an SEC-registered adviser providing fee-based asset management and financial planning through a turnkey asset management platform and wrap-fee program. The firm serves a diverse client base including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, charitable organizations, other registered investment advisers, sovereign wealth funds, and banking institutions.

Benjamin Parker is a financial advisor at Brookstone Capital Management LLC with seven years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at Brookstone since 2018. Outside of finance, he has been involved in music instruction through his business, Ben Parker Music Instruction, since 2009. Brookstone Capital Management is an SEC-registered adviser that provides fee-based asset management and financial planning services to a diverse client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, and sovereign wealth funds. The firm delivers investment management primarily on a discretionary basis through model portfolios, unified managed accounts, and separately managed accounts, supporting a large network of advisors with back-office and turnkey asset management platform services.

Michael Peregrym is a financial advisor with Brookstone Capital Management LLC in Wheaton, IL, holding a Series 66 designation and 10 years of industry experience. His career includes 11 years at Edward Jones before joining Brookstone Capital Management and Dowling Financial Services in 2025. Brookstone Capital Management is an SEC-registered adviser that provides fee-based asset management and financial planning through a turnkey asset management platform and a wrap-fee program. The firm serves a diverse client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, charitable organizations, sovereign wealth funds, and banking institutions, offering discretionary investment management primarily via model portfolios, unified managed accounts, and separately managed accounts.

Alan Flota is a financial advisor with Eagle Strategies (NY Life) based in Elgin, IL. He holds Series 66 and Series 63 licenses and has two years of industry experience. Before entering the financial industry, he worked for over three decades at School District U-46. Eagle Strategies serves a diverse range of individual and institutional clients by providing financial planning, investment management, and retirement-plan advisory services. The firm offers multiple program types and primarily manages assets on a non-discretionary basis, working closely with both retail and institutional sponsors within an integrated New York Life affiliate structure.

David Hanson is a financial advisor with Benjamin F. Edwards & Company, Inc., holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and bringing 46 years of industry experience. He has been with Benjamin F. Edwards since 2010. Outside of his advisory role, Hanson is a minority partner in a partnership involved in land ownership, farming, and wetland creation, and he owns a farm property management business in Wheaton, IL. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company is an SEC-registered adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, institutions, and retirement plans through various fee-based wrap programs and investment management services. The firm utilizes a range of model strategies and portfolios, combined with both discretionary and non-discretionary management, supported by an internal trading desk and a centralized Investment Strategy Committee.

Brandi Ruffalo is a financial advisor at Independent Financial Group, LLC with 24 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and has been with Independent Financial Group since 2009. Outside of her advisory role, she owns Valuation & Forensic Partners, LLC, which provides business valuation, litigation, and divorce consulting services. Independent Financial Group, LLC offers investment advisory and brokerage services to a diverse client base, including individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, and corporate and pension plans. The firm employs a combination of firm- and third-party investment models and utilizes both passive and active management across multiple risk profiles.

Casey Madden is a CFP® professional with 17 years of industry experience, currently serving at Brookstone Capital Management LLC since 2009. He also operates CM Financial Planning, where he provides annuities, long-term care, and life insurance services. Brookstone Capital Management is an SEC-registered adviser offering fee-based asset management and financial planning through a turnkey asset management platform and wrap-fee program. The firm serves a diverse client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, charitable organizations, other registered investment advisers, sovereign wealth funds, and banking institutions.

Justin Wilson is a CFP® with 21 years of industry experience, currently serving at Fifth Third Securities, Inc. since 2006. He also has concurrent experience with Fifth Third Bank over the same period. Fifth Third Securities provides brokerage and investment advisory services through its Passageway Managed Account Program to individuals, charitable organizations, corporate clients, and institutional investors. The firm combines its municipal-advisor registration with a corporate affiliation to a large bank, offering multiple discretionary managed-account options, including direct indexing and tax-overlay services.