Donald Hartman is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Gainesville, FL. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 25 years of industry experience. Hartman has worked at VALIC Financial Advisors since 2000 and is also an agent with Agia, where he provides non-securities insurance products. Valic Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S.-domiciled individual investors, including high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, as well as corporate and retirement-plan participants. The firm offers discretionary managed-account programs, financial planning, and brokerage services, utilizing Envestnet-developed UMA models for portfolio construction.

William Gecks is a financial advisor at Valic Financial Advisors with 15 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at Valic Financial Advisors since 2013. Gecks also has prior experience at First Command Brokerage Services, Inc. and serves as a non-securities insurance agent outside of his advisory role. Valic Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S. individuals, including high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients, as well as employer-sponsored retirement participants. The firm offers portfolio management, financial planning, and discretionary unified managed accounts through a large network of advisors and utilizes centralized technology and model solutions to support its operations.

Travis Crenshaw is a financial advisor at Empower Advisory Group with nine years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has worked at firms including LPL Financial, CUSO Financial Services, and Wells Fargo. Crenshaw is based in Gainesville, FL. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, as well as select IRA and retail brokerage clients. The firm uses an integrated model connected to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms, offering point-in-time financial plans and optional managed account solutions.

Daniel Sarmiento is a financial advisor at Valic Financial Advisors with one year of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has previously worked at Mi Apa Latin Cafe and Gainesville Health and Fitness. He is also appointed as an agent to sell non-securities insurance products for AGIA. Valic Financial Advisors serves primarily U.S. individuals, including high net worth clients and employer-sponsored retirement participants, offering portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting services through a large network of advisors. The firm utilizes discretionary unified managed accounts via Envestnet’s platform and emphasizes centralized technology and model solutions to manage assets for a broad client base.

John Murray is a financial advisor at Independent Financial Partners with 21 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 designations and has worked with firms including LPL Financial and Covenant Wealth Management. Outside of his advisory work, he volunteers with Stop Children's Cancer, contributing time to the organization’s annual fundraising events. Independent Financial Partners provides investment advisory, financial planning, trust, and retirement-plan services through a nationwide network of independent advisors. The firm supports a multi-advisor platform serving a wide range of clients and offers both discretionary and non-discretionary account management, with particular expertise in retirement-plan advisory and pension consulting.

Kurt Killingsworth is a financial advisor with Steward Partners Investment Advisory, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and possessing 32 years of industry experience. His career includes roles at Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley Private Bank, N.A., where he worked for over a decade before joining Steward Partners in 2023. Steward Partners Investment Advisory, LLC is an enterprise-scale SEC-registered RIA managing approximately $36.7 billion in assets and serving a nationwide client base that includes individuals, pension plans, corporations, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm offers a range of investment advisory and financial planning services with both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management through proprietary and third-party solutions.

Howard Timberlake is a financial advisor with J.W. Cole Advisors, Inc. in Gainesville, FL, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 31 years of industry experience. He has been with J.W. Cole Advisors since 2009 and has operated his own firm, Consolidated Financial Planning, since 1999. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved with Timberlake Preserves LLC, a tour guidance business. J.W. Cole Advisors is an SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, charities, corporations, and retirement plans through a national network of over 400 independent investment adviser representatives. The firm provides portfolio management, fee-based financial planning, access to third-party managers, and various managed account solutions, implementing investment decisions through both discretionary and non-discretionary approaches.

Julio Sarmiento is a financial advisor with VALIC Financial Advisors, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 24 years of industry experience. He has worked at VALIC Financial Advisors since 2001 and is also an agent with Agia. Outside of finance, he serves as a press box announcer for University of Florida football and baseball games and provides official game statistics for CBS Sports broadcasts. VALIC Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S.-domiciled individual investors, including high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, as well as corporate and retirement-plan participants. The firm offers discretionary managed-account programs, financial planning, and brokerage services, utilizing Envestnet-developed UMA models and operating at scale with over 1,200 advisors.

Cody Clayson is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Gainesville, FL, holding a Series 66 designation and seven years of industry experience. He has worked at Valic Financial Advisors since 2018 and is also associated with Agia, where he serves as an agent offering non-securities insurance products. Outside of financial advising, he is a member and capital provider of A&C Business Ventures, LLC, an event equipment rental business. Valic Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S.-domiciled individual investors, including high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, as well as corporate and retirement-plan participants. The firm offers discretionary managed-account programs, wrap programs, financial planning, and brokerage services, utilizing Envestnet-developed UMA models to construct client portfolios.

Ralph Robbins III is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Gainesville, FL, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 27 years of industry experience. He has been with Valic Financial Advisors since 1999 and also serves as an agent with Agia, focusing on non-securities insurance products. Valic Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S.-domiciled individual investors, including high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, as well as corporate and retirement plan participants. The firm offers discretionary managed-account programs, wrap programs, financial planning, and brokerage services, utilizing Envestnet-developed UMA models for portfolio construction.

Brittney Franklin is a financial advisor with Sequoia Financial Group, L.L.C., holding a Series 66 credential and six years of industry experience. Her prior experience includes roles at ValMark Securities Inc., Koss Olinger & Company, Koss Olinger Consulting, LLC, BNP Paribas, and the University of Oxford. Sequoia Financial Advisors, LLC provides wealth planning, investment management, retirement-plan advisory, and related consulting services to a diverse client base, including individuals, family offices, corporations, charitable organizations, trusts, and retirement plans. The firm employs a combination of model and custom portfolio management strategies, utilizing a range of investment vehicles and drawing on fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis supplemented by third-party research.

Liam Buchanan is a financial advisor with LPL Financial in Gainesville, FL. He holds a Series 66 designation and has begun his advisory career in 2026, previously working at Gateway Financial Partners and VyStar Credit Union. His background also includes experience outside finance, such as roles at Salumeria 104 and educational institutions including the University of North Florida and Buchholz High School. LPL Financial is a national broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, retirement plan participants, banks, trust companies, and institutions. The firm offers a range of advisory and brokerage services, including financial planning, model portfolios, third-party asset management, and institutional platforms, supported by technology tools for operational and research purposes.

Shaun Files is a financial advisor at Merrill with a Series 66 designation and five years of industry experience. Prior to joining Merrill and Bank of America in 2019, he worked at Verizon Wireless for five years. Outside of his advisory role, he sells secondhand items on eBay. Merrill, along with its affiliate Managed Account Advisors LLC, provides managed account services to Bank of America fiduciary clients through the Select Portfolio Solutions Program, offering model-based and discretionary investment strategies tailored to individuals, high-net-worth clients, pension plans, corporations, and charitable organizations.

Zarko Ivanov is a financial advisor with J.P. Morgan Securities, holding a Series 66 designation and bringing 11 years of industry experience. He has worked at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. and J.P. Morgan Securities since 2020, following six years at Valic Financial and Valic Financial Advisors. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC provides institutional consulting services to corporations, foundations, and defined contribution plan sponsors, offering asset allocation advice, investment manager searches, and customized performance reporting. The firm combines large institutional advisory operations with brokerage and investment management capabilities, delivering advisory services on a non-discretionary basis.

Roney Dos Santos Ramos is a Series 66-licensed financial advisor at Thrivent Investment Management with five years of industry experience. He has worked at Thrivent and its affiliates since 2020 and previously held positions at ABS Global Inc and Ourofino Saude Animal. Thrivent Investment Management offers Dedicated Planning Services to individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofit clients, providing written recommendations on a broad range of financial planning topics without discretionary trading authority. The firm’s approach integrates holistic, goal-based analyses and allows clients to combine planning with managed accounts under a consolidated billing option called WealthPlan.

Michele Dubois is a Resident Director and Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, serving clients in Gainesville, Florida. She has been providing wealth management guidance and services since 1994. Michele holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Florida and professional designations including Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC), Accredited Estate Planner (AEP), CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP), and Personal Investment Advisor (PIA). Michele specializes in family wealth management strategies, legacy planning, LGBT wealth planning, liquidity management, managing new wealth, personal retirement planning, philanthropic planning, portfolio management services, women and wealth, and tax minimization. She utilizes multiple disciplined financial strategies tailored to meet the unique goals of her clients. She is qualified as a Senior Portfolio Advisor and manages custom investment strategies on a discretionary basis, selecting from a wide range of Merrill model portfolios and third-party investment strategies. In addition to her professional work, Michele is involved with civic and charitable organizations including the Alachua Conservation Trust and Girls Place, Inc. She balances her professional commitments with personal interests such as boating, cooking, football, gardening, hiking, interior decorating, music, spending time with family, traveling, and yoga.

Jonathan Graber is a financial advisor at Edward Jones in Gainesville, FL, holding a Series 66 designation with five years at the firm and a prior nine-year tenure at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Edward Jones is a wealth management firm serving over four million individual and institutional clients, offering a range of advisory programs and investment strategies supported by approximately $1.01 trillion in assets under management and a large nationwide network of advisors and branch offices.

Jeffrey Hogue is a CFP® professional with 27 years of industry experience, currently advising clients at UBS Financial Services since 2015. He is based in Gainesville, FL, and holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. Outside of his advisory role, Mr. Hogue serves on advisory committees for the Community Foundation of North Central Florida and Anthem Community Church, providing guidance on budgeting and community outreach. UBS Financial Services serves individual, corporate, and institutional clients through a combination of brokerage and investment advisory services, utilizing proprietary research and model-based asset allocations to tailor financial plans. The firm integrates institutional trading capabilities with wealth management, offering a broad range of products and services including discretionary portfolio management and alternative investments.

Michael Relyea is a Wealth Management Advisor with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and a member of Relyea, Barcelona, Sperrazza & Associates. He has worked in the financial services industry since 1997, gaining experience in various positions across three different firms. This diverse background contributes to his approach to providing financial advice. Michael is part of a team that includes partners Mylene Barcelona and Charles Sperrazza, along with assistants Chelsea Pagoaga and Teresa Proulx. The team combines different skill sets to deliver comprehensive resources and perspectives to clients, enhancing the likelihood of achieving their financial goals. He holds the professional designations Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), and Personal Investment Advisor (PIA). Michael earned a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Richmond and completed an Accredited Certificate Program at the American College.

Neil Palka is a Wealth Management Advisor with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. He focuses on providing personalized financial strategies tailored to his clients' unique goals and changing market conditions. Neil collaborates closely with clients throughout different life stages to create, track, and adjust wealth management plans. His expertise includes divorce transition planning, employee benefits planning, executive compensation, services for endowments, foundations, non-profits, defined benefit plans, employee financial health, personal retirement planning, portfolio management, small business strategies, and retirement income. He holds multiple professional designations including CERTIFIED PLAN FIDUCIARY ADVISOR (CPFA), Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS), Personal Investment Advisor (PIA), and Retirement Benefits Consultant (RBC). Neil earned a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Florida and a High School Diploma from Cocoa Beach High School. He is a member of the Gator Family Giving Council and is involved in his community as a mentor for first-generation college students and by providing financial literacy training for University of Florida student athletes. Outside of work, Neil enjoys boating, fishing, running, swimming, volleyball, traveling, and spending time with his family.