Ezekiel Cortez I is a financial advisor with Empower Advisory Group holding a Series 66 designation and has one year of industry experience. Prior to joining Empower, he worked at Vail Resorts and Whole Foods Market. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily for employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, delivering services through an integrated model tied to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms. The firm emphasizes long-term portfolio returns and manages a large participant base relative to its advisor headcount.

John Nielander is a Series 65 licensed advisor at Cerity Partners LLC in San Diego, CA, with approximately one year of industry experience. Prior to joining Cerity Partners, he worked at the University of San Diego and spent eight years in full-time education. Cerity Partners advises a wide range of clients, including high-net-worth individuals, families, institutions, and investment entities, managing approximately $166.2 billion in client assets as of December 31, 2025. The firm offers customized wealth management services and employs a client-specific investment approach that includes proprietary quantitative screening, third-party strategies, and direct security selection, along with access to alternative and private market solutions for qualified clients.

Kevin Yang is a financial advisor with Empower Advisory Group in San Diego, CA, holding Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and two years of industry experience. He has been with Empower Advisory Group since 2025 and was previously affiliated with Empower Financial Services, Inc. from 2023. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, as well as to Empower Premier IRA and certain retail brokerage account holders. The firm’s services are integrated with Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms and emphasize long-term portfolio returns and annual rebalancing.

Elisabeth Cullington is a CFP® with 25 years of industry experience, currently with Focus Partners Wealth, LLC. She previously worked at The Colony Group, LLC for two years and HoyleCohen, LLC for sixteen years. Elisabeth is also associated with Connecticut General Life Insurance Company since 1984. Focus Partners Wealth serves individuals, families, charitable organizations, corporations, and institutional retirement plans by providing investment management, financial planning, tax and compliance support, family office and business management, and employee benefit retirement plan services. The firm uses a long-term investment approach with an enhanced open architecture combining active and passive strategies, customizing portfolios to client needs while offering discretionary and nondiscretionary account management.

Stephen Kelly is a CFP® professional with 11 years of industry experience, currently affiliated with Guardian Life and Park Avenue Securities. He has worked at both firms since 2016 and 2017, respectively. Outside of financial advising, he is involved with Liberty ID, an identity restoration business. Park Avenue Securities LLC, a subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, provides brokerage and investment advisory services to individuals, corporations, retirement plans, and charitable organizations. The firm offers a range of financial planning and advisory services through advisor-led discretionary management, proprietary programs, and third-party platforms.

Jonas Noack is a CFA® charterholder with three years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Mercer Global Advisors Inc. He previously worked at Northrop Grumman and Meketa Investment Group. Mercer Global Advisors serves individuals, families, small business owners, plan sponsors, foundations, non-profits, and endowments by providing investment advisory services along with financial, tax, retirement, and estate planning. The firm employs a globally diversified investment approach grounded in Modern Portfolio Theory, using a mix of low-cost ETFs, index funds, separate account managers, and private funds, and offers specialized programs and tax-management options.

Katherine Fries is a Certified Financial Planner® with 21 years of industry experience. She is currently with Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC and previously spent over 17 years at The Family Firm. Beacon Pointe Advisors provides investment advisory and consulting services to a diverse range of individual and institutional clients. The firm employs a disciplined approach that includes allocating across third-party independent managers selected through a proprietary due-diligence process and offers a variety of services including discretionary wealth management, retirement plan consulting, and outsourced CIO solutions.

Matthew Streeter is a financial advisor with Guardian Life and holds the Series 66 designation. He has one year of industry experience, including prior roles at Park Avenue Securities and PBO Advisory Group. Guardian Life’s subsidiary, Park Avenue Securities LLC, provides brokerage and investment advisory services to individuals, corporate and retirement plan sponsors, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm offers a combination of advisor-led discretionary management and model-based strategies, along with access to proprietary programs, third-party advisory solutions, and integrated lending options.

Arturo Mendez Vega is a financial advisor with Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 10 years of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at Empower Financial Services, TIAA-CREF, Tiaa, and Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. is an enterprise-scale advisory and broker-dealer affiliate of Voya Financial offering financial planning, portfolio management, and retirement-plan advisory services to individuals, pension plans, charitable organizations, and corporate clients. The firm employs investment policy statements and model allocations, combining in-house and external strategists with technology-enabled tools to support both non-discretionary and discretionary management arrangements.

Daniel Parent is a financial advisor with TIAA-CREF in San Diego, CA, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 19 years of industry experience. He has been with TIAA-CREF since 2015. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC’s Advice & Planning Services division offers financial planning and discretionary managed account programs to individuals—often those 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 through managed accounts that utilize model portfolios or customized portfolios managed under client-approved investment policies.

Adriana Pacheco is a financial advisor with VOYA Financial Advisors, Inc. She holds a Series 63 designation and has 23 years of industry experience. Prior to joining VOYA Financial Advisors in 2014, she worked at Voya Financial Partners, LLC and Planmember Securities Corporation. Outside of her advisory role, Adriana is a professional ballroom dancer who performs at events, competes, and occasionally teaches. VOYA Financial Advisors, Inc. is an enterprise-scale advisory and broker-dealer affiliate of Voya Financial that offers financial planning, portfolio management, and retirement advisory services to individuals, pension plans, charitable organizations, and corporations. The firm uses investment policy statements and model allocations, combining internal and external strategies with technology-enabled tools to implement recommendations, primarily on a non-discretionary basis.

Tedd Meyer is a Series 66-licensed financial advisor with seven years of industry experience. He currently works at TLG Advisors, Inc. and has previously held roles at J Alden Associates, Inc., Hornor Townsend & Kent Inc., Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co., and Northrop Grumman. Meyer is also a director at Newcleus LLC, where he provides life insurance solutions to credit unions, and he maintains an independent insurance agent role focused on life insurance sales. TLG Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser managing approximately $2.0 billion in discretionary assets, serving a diverse client base including individuals, retirement plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, businesses, and institutional investors. The firm offers investment supervisory services, comprehensive financial and estate planning, and ERISA fiduciary services, employing a research approach based on fundamental analysis and Modern Portfolio Theory.

Stephan Sandoval is a financial advisor with Principal Financial Services in San Diego, CA, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 21 years of industry experience. He has been with Principal Securities and Principal Life Insurance since 2010. Sandoval also serves as a bank officer with Principal Bank and Principal Trust Company, supporting retirement plan account relationships across multiple offerings. Principal Securities provides brokerage and registered investment advisory services to a diverse client base, including individual investors, retirement plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and active-duty U.S. military personnel abroad. The firm offers financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and access to third-party money manager programs under various advisory and promoter arrangements.

Alan Pamintuan is a financial advisor at VALIC Financial Advisors with 25 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked previously at Forthright Capital Partners, Forthright Capital Advisory, Pruco Securities, and The Prudential Insurance Company of America. He is also appointed as an agent to sell non-securities insurance products. VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc. serves primarily U.S. individuals, including high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients, as well as employer-sponsored retirement participants. The firm offers wrap programs, portfolio management, and financial planning through a large network of advisors, utilizing discretionary unified managed accounts on Envestnet’s platform combined with tax-aware and impact overlays.

Jeremy Runnels is a CFP® professional with 12 years of industry experience, currently serving as an advisor at Cerity Partners LLC since 2025. Prior to joining Cerity Partners, he spent eight years at West Coast Financial, LLC. He is involved with several nonprofit organizations, including serving on the investment committee for the Lawrence Family JCC endowment and the Trusts & Estates Council at the Rady Children's Hospital Foundation. Additionally, he advises startups through the San Diego Sports Innovators business incubator. Cerity Partners advises a diverse client base, including high-net-worth individuals, families, trusts, business entities, and institutional investors, managing approximately $166.2 billion in client assets as of 2025. The firm offers customized wealth management services and employs an investment framework centered on client-specific profiles, combining quantitative screening, manager selection, and access to alternative and private market solutions.

Gary Hirschfeld is a financial advisor at Hightower Advisors in San Diego, CA, with eight years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at Hightower Advisors since 2019, after four years at Delphi Private Advisors. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse range of individual and institutional clients, offering discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting. The firm emphasizes manager selection and multi-manager solutions and utilizes both affiliated and third-party managers with proprietary research to support portfolio construction.

Dauna Bohlken is a financial advisor at Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. with 29 years of industry experience. She holds the Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has been with Voya in various capacities since 2014. Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. provides financial planning, portfolio management, and retirement advisory services to individuals, pension plans, charitable organizations, and corporations. The firm combines in-house and external strategists with technology-enabled tools to deliver both discretionary and non-discretionary investment solutions through a large network of advisors.

Michael Simon is a financial advisor with RBC Rochdale, LLC in La Jolla, CA. He holds a Series 66 designation and has five years of industry experience. His prior work history includes roles at Merrill and City National Rochdale, as well as positions outside the financial sector, including at Cinemark and Sal's Pizza and Baglery. RBC Rochdale serves a diverse client base, including high net worth individuals, corporations, charitable organizations, and government entities. The firm employs an active, multi-strategy investment process that integrates quantitative screening, fundamental analysis, and proprietary tools to tailor portfolios across various asset classes.

Ashkan Ghahremani is a financial advisor with Guardian Life and Park Avenue Securities in San Diego, CA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and 18 years of industry experience. He has worked with both firms since 2015. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved with Disaster Pro, LLC, a public adjusting business that assists clients with insurance claims. Park Avenue Securities, a subsidiary of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, provides brokerage and investment advisory services to individuals, corporate and retirement plan sponsors, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm offers a range of financial planning, consulting, and advisory solutions, combining advisor-led discretionary management with model-based strategies and proprietary programs.

Elaine Rodriguez is a financial advisor at Empower Advisory Group with Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and three years of industry experience. Her prior roles include positions at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and J.P. Morgan Securities, where she worked for four years. Empower Advisory Group primarily serves employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, offering financial planning and investment management services integrated with Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms. The firm emphasizes long-term portfolio returns and savings rates through its planning service, supporting a large participant base with a relatively high client-to-advisor ratio.