John Polk is a CFA® charterholder and Series 65 licensee with six years of industry experience. He has worked at Portage Capital Management LLC since 2018 and previously spent 14 years at KWK Management, LLC. Portage Capital Management provides discretionary portfolio management for a small number of high-net-worth clients, including individually managed accounts and a private pooled investment vehicle. The firm employs fundamental and statistical analysis, asset allocation, and both long- and short-term trading strategies, distinguishing itself through active management of a private hedge fund and the use of performance-based compensation.

Jeremy Murphy is the sole advisor at Munifi, LLC, an independent firm, and holds Series 65 and Series 66 licenses with two years of industry experience. He is also the CEO of Civic Innovations, a technology holding company that owns Munifi, and serves as president of travel technology company Clicktripz LLC. Additionally, Murphy is a board member of Research Solutions, a document management and analytics company. Munifi, LLC offers automated, algorithm-driven portfolio management primarily through an online platform, serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, charitable organizations, and business entities. The firm emphasizes municipal bond investments and employs model-based strategies such as modern portfolio theory and quantitative analysis, with a noteworthy technology-focused ownership structure.

Gregory Meyer is a CFP® and holds a Series 63 license with 11 years of experience in financial advisory. He has been the principal of New Wave Financial Services since 2014. In addition to his advisory role, he provides accounting and tax services as a CPA and consults for Retire Sound, Inc., a financial technology firm where he contributes to product development and educational content. New Wave Financial Services is an independent advisory firm serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, and small businesses with financial planning, portfolio management, ongoing tax planning, and tax preparation. The firm combines fundamental and technical analysis within a Core + Satellite and Modern Portfolio Theory framework, emphasizing tax-efficient strategies and low-turnover investments.

Jason Tani is a financial advisor at Pure Wealth Management with 28 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at Innovation Partners LLC and PURSHE KAPLAN STERLING INVESTMENTS, Inc. prior to his current role. Outside of investment advising, he is also an independent agent for health, medical, dental, and vision insurance through Pure Health Management. Pure Wealth Management provides financial planning and investment management services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and small businesses. The firm uses a tactical asset-allocation approach focused on non-correlation, concentrated holdings, and global diversification, primarily implementing portfolios with no-load and low-load mutual funds and ETFs.

Stephen Price Hughes is a CFP® with 23 years of experience in financial advising and has been with Excelsus Capital Management since 2004. He holds the Series 63 designation and operates his independent firm in Manhattan Beach, CA. Excelsus Capital Management provides portfolio management and financial planning services to individual and corporate clients, managing approximately $49.6 million across about 72 accounts. The firm employs a multi-faceted investment approach combining fundamental, technical, quantitative, and qualitative analysis, and utilizes a variety of investment instruments tailored to client needs.

Rene Rigard is a financial advisor at R. L. Rigard & Associates Ltd. in Los Angeles, CA, holding a Series 65 designation with nine years of industry experience. He has managed his firm since 2015 and also serves as CFO of Nikkimomo, LLC, a catering company where he oversees financial management and marketing. R. L. Rigard & Associates Ltd. offers portfolio management, financial planning, pension consulting, and related advisory services to a diverse client base including investment vehicles, pension plans, corporations, charitable organizations, and individual clients. The firm employs a fundamental, long-term value-oriented investment approach and provides services such as a subscription newsletter, investor events, educational seminars, and private fund management.

Mazi Malekafzali is a financial advisor at Afzali Investments, LLC, holding a Series 65 designation with seven years of industry experience. He has worked at Afzali Investments since 2019 and is also involved with the Palos Verdes Peninsula School District since 2018. Afzali Investments provides discretionary investment supervisory and portfolio management services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and select entities such as trusts and charitable organizations. The firm employs a client-specific, long-term growth approach using fundamental, economic, and technical analysis, and distinguishes itself by utilizing margin and derivatives within separately managed accounts and negotiating performance-based fee arrangements.

Amin Khakiani is the sole advisor and owner of his independent firm, with 21 years of industry experience. The firm provides discretionary investment advisory and portfolio management services to individual investors and select institutions, including charitable organizations and foundations. It manages approximately $19.3 million in regulatory assets from a single office in Torrance, CA. The firm’s investment approach emphasizes diversified asset allocation across multiple asset classes, utilizing equities, mutual funds, and ETFs, with portfolios managed on a discretionary basis and reviewed quarterly.

Rainee Handley is a financial advisor at Wentworth-Baer Wealth Management in San Pedro, CA, holding CFP® and Series 65 credentials with one year of industry experience. Prior to joining Wentworth-Baer, Handley worked in various roles including positions at the Law Office of Raymond Green and Andrade & Associates Income Tax Service, Inc. Wentworth-Baer Wealth Management provides investment management and limited-scope financial planning to individual clients, including high-net-worth individuals. The firm uses personalized investment policies and asset-allocation-driven portfolios that combine passive and active vehicles, operating with a non-discretionary account supervision model and integrating behavioral finance training into its planning process.

Marcos Chavira is the sole advisor at TaxDude Financial Advisor in Long Beach, CA, holding Series 63 and Series 66 registrations with 24 years of industry experience. He previously worked at H.D. Vest Advisory and Investment Services and operates his own accounting and tax preparation business. Outside of financial advising, Chavira owns Big Ass Fortune Cookie.com, where he bakes and sells oversized fortune cookies locally. TaxDude Financial Advisor provides non-discretionary investment management, financial planning, and educational workshops to a range of clients including individuals, trusts, and corporations. The firm’s investment approach is client-specific, combining fundamental analysis with long- and short-term strategies, and maintains a close affiliation with an accounting practice.

Brian Cleugh is a Series 65-licensed financial advisor with nine years of industry experience. He is the principal of Rhubarb Investments, LLC, an independent firm he has led since 2016. Prior to founding Rhubarb Investments, he worked at Flinn West from 2008 to 2021. Cleugh holds an active California real estate broker’s license, though he is not currently engaged in real estate activities. Rhubarb Investments provides discretionary portfolio management and individualized investment advice to both non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individual clients. The firm employs a model-driven investment process that combines fundamental, quantitative, and qualitative analysis, with a focus on asset allocation across diverse proprietary portfolios. It also accepts performance-based fee arrangements for qualified clients and uses derivatives in managed accounts, practices that are relatively uncommon among similarly sized independent advisers.

Anjali Jayakumar is a CFP® and Series 65-licensed financial advisor with 12 years of industry experience. She is the sole advisor at Fit Advisors LLC, where she has worked since 2015. In addition to her advisory role, she works part-time as a tax manager at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP, a full-service accounting and advisory firm. Fit Advisors LLC provides fee-only financial planning and discretionary investment management primarily for individual and high-net-worth clients, along with retirement plan consulting. The firm employs a largely passive, index-oriented investment approach using model portfolios and integrates tax and accounting considerations into its services.

Richard Veerman is an independent financial advisor with over four years of industry experience. He has a background spanning 18 years at Farmers and Merchants Bank of Long Beach and has operated his own advisory firm since 1994. His firm is a sole-proprietorship registered investment adviser managing approximately $27.8 million in discretionary assets for around ten client accounts. It serves individuals, corporations, and institutional clients with tailored asset and portfolio management, employing a range of investment methods including fundamental and technical analysis, modern portfolio theory, and ESG considerations.

I'm Jason Stein, CFP®, RICP®, founder of Bluepoint Wealth Advisors, an independent, fee-only firm serving Irvine and Orange County. I started my career at Vanguard in 2013 and spent years at large firms. I saw how hard it is to give personal advice when each advisor carries too many clients. I built Bluepoint around the opposite: fewer clients and more time with each one. I work with people approaching or in retirement who have spent their careers saving and making good decisions, but are at a stage of life where the decisions ahead change: when to claim Social Security, how to draw from savings, Roth conversions, and how those decisions fit together over time. As a fiduciary, I'm paid only by my clients. No commissions and no products to sell. We work together over the long term.

Kenneth Funsten is a CFA® charterholder with 23 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at FamCo. He has operated Funsten Asset Management Co. since 1993. Outside of investment management, he is president of FamCo Advisory Services, providing business and litigation consulting, and founder of Homegrown USA, a media company focused on artisanal food and beverage products. FamCo is an investment manager developing new products and offering investment advice and portfolio management to a broad range of clients, including individuals, businesses, pension plans, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a multi-disciplinary approach using fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis, incorporating timing services and short-term trading techniques.

Kevin McGuan is the principal of Kevin P. McGuan, LLC, an independent advisory firm based in Long Beach, CA. He holds a Series 63 designation and has 37 years of industry experience, including prior roles at Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. Outside of his advisory work, he is the owner of a real estate investment trust. Kevin P. McGuan, LLC provides investment advisory and portfolio management services to individuals, high net worth clients, pension and profit sharing plans, charitable organizations, and business entities. The firm offers both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, employing a range of analytical techniques and tailored strategies, with ongoing account monitoring and periodic reviews.

Pablo Lopez is a financial advisor at PFL Partners LLC with Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and four years of industry experience. He has been with PFL Partners since 2017 and was self-employed for one year prior. Outside of investment advisory services, he provides Consulting CFO and strategic advisory services to early and mid-stage companies. PFL Partners LLC offers investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and businesses. The firm focuses on evaluating and recommending third-party Outside Managers, employs passive investing and fundamental analysis strategies, and provides consulting CFO services as a distinct business line.

Daniel Goldberg is the principal of Goldberg Financial Advisors, LLC in El Segundo, CA. He holds the CFA® designation along with Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 14 years of industry experience. In addition to his advisory role, he performs strategic planning and corporate development consulting for various companies, which is separate from his investment advisory services. Goldberg Financial Advisors serves individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporate plan sponsors by providing portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting. The firm employs a range of investment strategies, including the use of derivatives in managed accounts, and offers specialized services such as institutional retirement plan consulting and charitable organization management.

Yuanming Mao is a financial advisor at Sapphire Wealth Advisory in Westminster, CA, holding a Series 65 designation with one year of industry experience. Prior to founding Sapphire Wealth Advisory, Mao has been involved in various business activities including roles at Siam Sapphire Inc, Navigators Real Estate, Inc., Bittalk Tech Inc., and An Francis LLC. He also has experience in education, having worked at University of California, Berkeley and Long Beach City College. Sapphire Wealth Advisory provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals and families, including both retail and high-net-worth clients. The firm focuses on long-term, diversified portfolio construction using a variety of asset classes and offers non-discretionary portfolio management alongside financial planning on fixed-fee or hourly terms.

Joseph Guo is a CFP® and holds a Series 66 designation, with eight years of industry experience. He has worked at Empath Wealth LLC since 2024 and previously spent seven years at Ameriprise Financial. Empath Wealth LLC is a fee-only registered investment adviser serving individuals and high-net-worth clients through financial planning and investment management. The firm emphasizes asset allocation using a combination of passive and active strategies and coordinates with outside managers and model-portfolio providers to implement client portfolios.