William Biles is a CFP® professional with 24 years of experience in the financial services industry. He is currently associated with TLG Advisors, Inc. and has a background that includes roles at Bluestone Insurance/PLAN, Investacorp, Highland Capital, and SunTrust Bank. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as president of Insurance Consulting & Design. TLG Advisors, Inc. serves a wide range of clients including individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, charitable organizations, corporations, and institutional investors. The firm focuses on investment supervisory services, portfolio management, and comprehensive financial planning, employing a manager selection process and Modern Portfolio Theory to build diversified portfolios.

Stephen Wilson is a CFA® charterholder with 18 years of industry experience. He is currently a financial advisor at &PARTNERS in Charlotte, NC, where he has worked since 2025. Prior to joining &PARTNERS, he held roles at Wells Fargo Clearing Services, Queens Oak Advisors, Capital Guardian Wealth Management, and Stanford Group Company. Wilson serves as an investment committee team leader for the United Methodist Foundation of Western North Carolina. &PARTNERS serves a diverse client base including high-net-worth individuals, retirement plans, charitable organizations, and corporations. The firm offers investment management and financial planning services, utilizing a combination of fundamental, technical, and quantitative analysis through both discretionary and non-discretionary approaches.

Lincoln Maurer is a CFA® charterholder and holds a Series 65 license with three years of industry experience. He has been with Wells Fargo Investment Institute, Inc. since 2022 and previously worked at Somic America, Inc. from 2019 to 2022. Wells Fargo Investment Institute provides manager research, global investment strategy, and model-portfolio services to Wells Fargo affiliates and unaffiliated financial institutions. The firm acts as a research and model-provider, delivering non-customized portfolio recommendations without managing client accounts or providing individualized financial planning.

Katherine Grier is a financial advisor with Truist Advisory Services in Charlotte, NC. She holds a Series 66 designation and has one year of industry experience. Her prior roles include positions with Truist Investment Services and Truist Bank, as well as ten years with Levy at Truist Field. Truist Advisory Services provides investment consulting, financial planning, portfolio management, and retirement plan services to a diverse client base including individuals, corporations, plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm offers a range of advisory services supported by integrated financial relationships and utilizes both traditional research and AI-enabled tools for ongoing client support.

Ryan Schrift is a financial advisor with Independent Advisor Alliance, LLC and holds a Series 66 designation. He has 19 years of industry experience, including roles at Independent Advisor Alliance since 2016 and LPL Financial since 2012. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as a City Councilman for Belmont, NC, and is a managing partner of The Schrift Boys Farm in South Carolina. Independent Advisor Alliance serves a diverse client base, including individuals, small businesses, pooled vehicles, charitable organizations, and retirement plans. The firm offers asset management, financial planning, and retirement consulting, utilizing both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management supported by various analytical techniques and technology platforms.

Brennon Hawkins is a CFP® with seven years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Savant Wealth Management. His prior experience includes roles at Exencial Wealth Advisors, Wells Fargo, and The Vanguard Group. Savant Wealth Management provides comprehensive wealth management, financial planning, and related services to individuals, families, pension plans, charitable organizations, and high-net-worth clients. The firm combines evidence-based, model-driven asset allocation with actively managed strategies and sub-advised mandates, supported by a broad range of affiliated legal, accounting, and trust services.

Joshua Kenyon is a financial advisor at TIAA-CREF in Charlotte, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 14 years of industry experience. He has been with TIAA-CREF and its affiliated entities since 2016. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC provides financial planning and discretionary managed account programs primarily to individuals connected to TIAA-administered employer retirement plans, as well as to trusts, estates, partnerships, corporate entities, and small retirement plans. The firm’s advisory model separates one-time planning services from ongoing discretionary management, offering both model and customized portfolio options under a fiduciary standard.

Travis Taylor is a financial advisor with TIAA-CREF in Charlotte, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 designations and has 15 years of industry experience. He has worked at TIAA-CREF since 2013. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in real estate investment activities, including co-managing an LLC focused on purchasing, renovating, and selling properties. TIAA-CREF provides financial planning and managed account programs primarily to individuals with existing employer retirement plan relationships, as well as trusts, estates, and small retirement plans. The firm offers both point-in-time planning services and ongoing discretionary management through various portfolio options.

Alysha Humbert is a financial advisor with Principal Financial Services based in Charlotte, NC. She holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has 17 years of industry experience. Her prior work includes roles at Wells Fargo Clearing and Harrisdirect LLC. Principal Securities provides brokerage and registered investment advisory services to a diverse client base, including individual investors, retirement plans, trusts, and military personnel. The firm offers direct advisory programs, financial planning, retirement consulting, and access to third-party money manager solutions through various advisory and promoter arrangements.

Alexander Talley is a financial advisor with First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. based in Charlotte, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and eight years of industry experience. His career includes multiple roles within First Citizens Bank and First Citizens Investor Services, as well as experience at UNC Charlotte. First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. serves a diverse client base, including individuals, pension plans, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm offers advisory and brokerage services with a focus on comprehensive client assessments and portfolio management that utilizes fundamental, quantitative, and technical analysis.

James Webster is a financial advisor at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, Inc. with eight years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked previously at Adhesion Wealth Advisor Solutions and LPL Financial. Based in Charlotte, NC, Webster has been with Wells Fargo Investment Institute since 2024. Wells Fargo Investment Institute provides manager research, global investment strategy, securities research, asset allocation analysis, and model-portfolio services to Wells Fargo affiliates and other financial institutions. The firm operates as a research and model-provider, delivering non-discretionary, non-customized investment solutions rather than individualized financial planning or portfolio management.

Karen Shane is a CFP® professional with 21 years of industry experience. She is currently an advisor at &PARTNERS and has previously worked at Wells Fargo Clearing and A. G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. &PARTNERS serves a diverse client base including high-net-worth individuals, retirement plans, charitable organizations, and private businesses. The firm offers investment management, financial and tax planning, and municipal advisory services, utilizing a combination of proprietary and third-party strategies with ongoing monitoring and periodic reviews.

Jonathan Ganzert is a financial advisor with Janney Montgomery Scott in Charlotte, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 registrations and bringing 47 years of industry experience. He has been with Janney Montgomery Scott since 2005. Ganzert serves as a board member of the Village of Morrocroft Homeowners Association, contributing to community management on a volunteer basis. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC is a large, dually registered broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser managing around $110 billion in client assets. The firm serves a diverse client base including individuals, families, trusts, estates, corporations, retirement plan sponsors, charitable organizations, and municipal clients, offering brokerage, financial planning, consulting, and multiple advisory programs.

Philip Lee is a financial advisor with Independent Advisor Alliance, LLC, holding the CFP® designation and Series 63 and 66 licenses. He has 22 years of industry experience and has worked with LPL Financial LLC for the past 10 years. Independent Advisor Alliance serves a diverse client base including individuals, small businesses, charitable organizations, and retirement plans, providing asset management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting. The firm combines a network of advisory representatives with access to various portfolio management strategies and technology platforms to support its services.

Deidre Caldwell is a financial advisor at Janney Montgomery Scott with 38 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and previously worked for Robert W Baird for 10 years prior to joining Janney Montgomery Scott in 2024. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC manages approximately $110 billion in client assets and serves a diverse client base including individuals, families, trusts, estates, corporate and retirement plan sponsors, charitable organizations, and municipal clients. The firm offers brokerage services, financial planning, consulting, and multiple advisory programs, combining in-house portfolio management with third-party managers across various investment platforms.

Thomas Murray is a financial advisor at TIAA-CREF in Charlotte, NC, holding a Series 66 designation with two years of industry experience. Before joining TIAA-CREF, he worked at Principal Life Insurance Company and Principal Advised Services, where he provided one-on-one investment advice to retirement plan participants. TIAA-CREF’s Advice & Planning Services division offers financial planning and managed account programs to individuals, trusts, estates, partnerships, corporate entities, and small retirement plans, often serving clients connected to TIAA-administered employer retirement plans. The firm combines point-in-time planning services with ongoing discretionary management and acts as adviser to the TIAA Donor Advised Fund.

Jacob Hackney is a financial advisor with Empower Advisory Group in Charlotte, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 registrations and five years of industry experience. His career includes roles at Wells Fargo Clearing Services, P.J. Robb Variable Corp., and Crump Life Insurance Services. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, using an integrated model linked to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms. The firm offers point-in-time financial plans and optional managed account solutions within plan lineups selected by plan sponsors.

James Schenck is a financial advisor at Truist Advisory Services with 26 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked within the Truist organization and its predecessors since 2000, including BB&T Investment Services and BB&T Securities. Truist Advisory Services offers investment consulting, financial planning, portfolio management, and retirement plan services to a diverse range of clients, including individuals, corporations, plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm utilizes a combination of traditional research and AI-enabled tools to provide ongoing monitoring and reporting, working through platforms such as Envestnet and partnering with Envestnet Retirement Solutions for retirement plan services.

Ronald Carland is a CFP® professional with 21 years of industry experience, currently serving as an advisor at Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC since 2022. He previously worked at Altavista Wealth Management, Inc. for 17 years and has been president of Carland & Andersen CPA, a non-investment related CPA firm, since 1980. Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC provides wealth advisory, financial planning, retirement-plan services, and outsourced CIO solutions to individual investors, corporations, pension and profit-sharing plans, and other institutional clients. The firm utilizes a combination of asset-allocation modeling and third-party independent managers, employing both active and passive strategies across public and private asset classes.

Shawn Ford is a financial advisor at TIAA-CREF in Charlotte, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 24 years of industry experience. He has been with TIAA-CREF since 2007. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC’s Advice & Planning Services division offers financial planning and discretionary managed account programs to individuals, trusts, estates, partnerships, corporate entities, and small retirement plans, often serving clients connected through TIAA-administered employer retirement plans. The firm provides both point-in-time planning services and ongoing management through various managed account programs, acting as adviser to a donor-advised fund and operating within a vertically integrated group using affiliated funds.