Megan Micek is a financial advisor at Vertex Partners with a Series 66 designation and three years of industry experience. She has worked at several firms including LPL Financial LLC and Professional Wealth Advisors. In addition to her advisory role, she provides administrative support to Vertex Partners. Vertex Partners offers advisory services to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and retirement plans. The firm emphasizes tailored portfolios based on clients' risk tolerance, time horizon, and liquidity needs, utilizing a range of investment strategies and ongoing portfolio monitoring.

Dennis Slott is a CFP® with 41 years of industry experience, currently serving at Vestor Capital, LLC in Chicago, IL. He has been with Vestor Capital and its related entities since 2010 and holds the Series 63 and Series 66 licenses. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as a board member of the Father Wasson Legacy Endowment Inc. Vestor Capital is a multi-team investment and wealth management firm serving individuals, families, not-for-profit organizations, foundations, and qualified retirement plans. The firm manages approximately $2.08 billion in discretionary assets through a centralized Investment Committee that focuses on fundamental security analysis and a range of equity and fixed income strategies.

Randall Hughes is a financial advisor with Hunter Capital Management in Lombard, IL. He holds Series 63, Series 65, and Series 66 licenses and has 10 years of industry experience, including a decade at Ballast Equity Management. Hunter Capital Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser managing approximately $1.09 billion in assets with a team of seven advisors. The firm serves a variety of clients including individuals, retirement plans, trusts, estates, and corporations, providing discretionary portfolio management through pooled vehicles, private funds, and a registered mutual fund.

David Krist is a CFP® with 12 years of industry experience, currently serving as an advisor at Millington Financial Advisors, LLC since 2021. Prior to that, he worked for eight years at Vantage Financial Partners, Ltd. He holds a Series 65 license and is based in Naperville, IL. Millington Financial Advisors serves individual and high-net-worth clients, families, estates, corporations, trusts, and retirement plans by providing discretionary investment management alongside financial planning, pension consulting, and retirement-plan advisory services. The firm integrates tax planning and estate-planning facilitation into its offerings and conducts educational seminars on retirement, estate, and college planning.

Gregory Aagaard is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) and holds a Series 66 license with 20 years of industry experience. He is a financial advisor and relationship manager at RAI Wealth in Naperville, IL, having previously worked at Private Client Services, Securities America Advisors, Trust Company of Illinois, and TC Wealth Partners. RAI Wealth serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, families, trusts, estates, corporations, and small businesses, offering tailored investment advice, financial planning, tax services, and retirement plan advisory. The firm uses risk-based proprietary model portfolios and employs modern portfolio theory alongside quantitative tools, with implementation supported by third-party managers on the TownSquare platform.

Jeffrey Hansen is a CFP® with seven years of industry experience, currently serving at Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. He has worked previously at Wells Fargo Advisors, RubinBrown Advisors LLC, and Bank of America, among others. Hansen holds Series 66 and Series 63 licenses. Capstone Financial Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm’s investment approach emphasizes asset-class allocation, cost control, and tax efficiency, utilizing a mix of securities and third-party sub-advisers with a generally multi-year outlook.

Derrick Allen is a financial advisor at The Mosaic Financial Group, LLC in Chicago, IL, holding a Series 65 designation with four years of industry experience. He has been with The Mosaic Financial Group since 2003. The Mosaic Financial Group primarily serves high-net-worth individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and various business entities, managing approximately $898 million in assets. The firm emphasizes asset allocation and integrates accounting and tax services into its advisory platform, offering customized portfolio construction and both discretionary and non-discretionary advisory relationships.

Shawn Kennedy is a financial advisor with Pendulum Wealth Partners in Itasca, Illinois, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 25 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Pendulum Wealth Partners in 2025, he spent 22 years with Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. He is also a licensed insurance agent involved in insurance sales and implementation. Pendulum Wealth Partners is a team of nine advisors managing approximately $254 million across 227 client relationships, providing discretionary investment management, financial planning, and family office services. The firm employs a fundamental, primarily long-term investment approach through diversified portfolios and operates under common control with an affiliated tax and accounting firm offering integrated services.

Carter Millington is a financial advisor at Millington Financial Advisors, LLC in Naperville, IL. He holds a Series 65 designation and has one year of industry experience. Prior to his current role, he worked at Stadium Grill for three years. Millington Financial Advisors serves individual and high-net-worth clients, families, estates, corporations, trusts, and retirement plans by providing discretionary investment management alongside financial planning, pension consulting, and retirement-plan advisory services. The firm integrates tax planning and estate-planning facilitation into its offerings and uses a mix of equities, fixed income, mutual funds/ETFs, and alternative investments in its portfolio management.

Richard Loria is a financial advisor with MPS-LORIA Financial Planners, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 registrations and offering 35 years of industry experience. He has been with MPS-LORIA Financial Planners and Loria Financial Group since 1999. Outside of advisory work, he is an independent licensed insurance agent and a managing member of Loria Financial Group, LLC. MPS-LORIA Financial Planners serves a varied client base including high-net-worth individuals, corporations, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, estates, and trusts. The firm employs an open-architecture, predominantly discretionary investment approach, utilizing diversified allocations primarily composed of no-load mutual funds and ETFs and relies on quantitative screening and ongoing monitoring tools.

Kelly Mc Shane is a financial advisor at Chicory Wealth in Naperville, IL, holding a Series 65 designation. Mc Shane has been with Chicory Wealth since 2026 and has 13 years of experience operating Kamm Creative LLC, an entrepreneurial venture outside the financial advisory industry. Chicory Wealth provides financial life planning and discretionary portfolio management to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm also offers tax preparation, estate planning assistance, business consulting, and model portfolio services to other registered investment advisers, employing a process that integrates fundamental analysis, modern portfolio theory, quantitative methods, and ESG metrics to construct diversified, long-term portfolios.

Jaxon Bennett is a financial advisor at Timothy Financial Counsel, Inc. with a Series 65 designation and under one year of industry experience. His prior roles include various positions at Wheaton College and local financial institutions. Timothy Financial Counsel, Inc. is a fee-only, hourly financial planning firm serving individuals, families, businesses, trusts, charities, and retirement plans. The firm provides project-based advice on a range of financial topics and emphasizes diversified investment exposure through no-load mutual funds and ETFs, asset allocation, and periodic rebalancing.

Ryan Vance is a CFA® charterholder with over 20 years of industry experience. He joined Pendulum Wealth Partners in 2025 after two decades at Northern Trust Investments, Inc. He is based in Itasca, IL. Pendulum Wealth Partners is a team of nine advisors managing approximately $254 million for individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, businesses, and retirement plans. The firm employs a fundamental, primarily long-term investment approach across diversified portfolios and offers discretionary investment management, financial planning, and family office services.

Tyler Jones is a CFA® charterholder with two years of industry experience. He currently serves as an advisor at RAI Wealth and previously worked at First Trust Portfolios and Wheaton College. RAI Wealth provides investment advice and financial planning to a diverse client base, including individuals, families, trusts, corporations, and retirement plans. The firm uses a combination of third-party model portfolios and in-house management, employing modern portfolio theory and quantitative analysis to tailor client strategies.

Martin Buehler is a financial advisor with Vestor Capital, LLC in Chicago, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations and 35 years of industry experience. He has been involved with VC Management, LLC and various Vestor Capital entities since 2010. Outside of his advisory work, he is a limited partner and passive investor in Aurora Sports Venture, LLC, a private real estate limited partnership. Vestor Capital provides investment and wealth management, portfolio management, and financial planning services to individuals, nonprofits, foundations, and qualified retirement plans. The firm employs a centralized Investment Committee that uses internal fundamental research to manage diversified portfolios across multiple asset classes and offers co-advisory and sub-advised strategies, supported by an affiliation with Focus Financial Partners.

James Varner is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license with seven years of industry experience. He currently works at Financial Solutions Advisory Group in Chicago, where he has been since 2025. Prior to this, he spent seven years at HighTower Advisors LLC and over two decades at Leonetti & Associates, Inc. Financial Solutions Advisory Group serves individuals, corporations, pension and profit-sharing plans, and trusts through continuous investment advisory and portfolio management services. The firm employs a diversified investment approach combining fundamental, technical, quantitative, and qualitative analysis, and is notable for its pension plan consulting and quarterly newsletter publication.

Jeffrey Witz is a CFP® professional with nine years of experience at MEDIQUS Asset Advisors, Inc., where he has worked since 2011. He is based in Chicago, IL, and coordinates life and disability insurance sales for the firm’s clients. MEDIQUS Asset Advisors serves individuals, retirement plans, and medical groups with investment advisory, financial planning, and ERISA plan advisory services. The firm emphasizes long-term asset allocation and uses a combination of third-party research and platform algorithms to manage discretionary assets.

Michael Corbett is a financial advisor with Perritt Capital Management Inc. in Chicago, IL, holding Series 65 and Series 66 designations and possessing 15 years of industry experience. He has been with Perritt Capital Management since 2010 and currently serves as President of the Perritt Funds, Inc., overseeing several microcap-focused mutual funds. Corbett also holds a leadership role at Rothschild Wealth, LLC. Perritt Capital Management provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, institutions, trusts, retirement plans, and other entities. The firm specializes in micro- and small-cap equity strategies with a long-term, fundamental analysis approach and manages both separately managed accounts and registered investment companies.

Thomas Grooms is a CFA® charterholder with seven years of industry experience. He has worked at Sierra Summit Advisors LLC since 2024 and previously held roles at Northern Trust and Premier Asset Management LLC. Sierra Summit Advisors primarily serves high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients, providing discretionary investment management, financial planning, and consulting services. The firm employs a combination of fundamental, quantitative, and technical analysis across various strategies and routinely uses third-party managers under its oversight.

Brian Peterson is a CFP® professional with two years of industry experience at Capstone Financial Advisors Inc, where he has been working since 2009. He is based in Downers Grove, IL. Capstone Financial Advisors serves individuals including high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, charitable organizations, and corporate clients. The firm emphasizes asset-class allocation, cost control, and tax positioning, offering portfolio management, financial planning, pension consulting, and access to private fund investments under a multi-advisor team managing approximately $2.44 billion in assets.