Bryan Ellis is a financial advisor with Horizon Investment Counsel LLC in Marietta, GA. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 17 years of industry experience, including 10 years at Horizon Investment Counsel and its predecessor firm. In addition to his advisory role, Bryan operates a licensed insurance agency offering life, property, and casualty insurance products. Horizon Investment Counsel provides discretionary portfolio management through two equity-focused programs, serving moderate to high net worth individuals and various institutional clients. The firm’s investment approach emphasizes long-term ownership of high-quality companies purchased at reasonable prices, managing primarily common stocks with a defined sell discipline.

Christopher Brown is the sole advisor at Brown Capital Advisors, LLC in Marietta, GA, holding a Series 66 designation with 11 years of industry experience. He previously worked at LPL Financial LLC and Hennsler Financial before founding his current firm in 2018. Brown Capital Advisors provides discretionary portfolio management, comprehensive financial planning, and CFO advisory services primarily to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and entrepreneurs or small-business owners. The firm manages approximately $16.7 million across about 20 client relationships, emphasizing fundamental analysis, asset allocation, diversification, and risk management, with the use of equities, ETFs, and select alternative investments. Its CFO advisory services to small businesses, combined with a willingness to utilize derivatives and complex investment vehicles, distinguish its offerings from many independent advisory firms.

Joel Smith is the principal and owner of Joel Smith & Associates, LLC, an independent investment advisory firm based in Atlanta, GA. He holds a Series 63 designation and has 27 years of industry experience, including 20 years at Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as a director for the FBI Georgia Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar and assists the Euharlee Police Department on weekends. Joel Smith & Associates provides financial planning, investment advisory, and consulting services to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as charitable organizations, foundations, and municipalities. The firm offers both discretionary and non-discretionary investment management and emphasizes strategic asset allocation, diversification, and periodic rebalancing in its client portfolios.

Benjamin Baldwin III is a CFP® professional with 27 years of experience in the financial advisory industry. He has been with Responsive Financial Group, Inc. since 2003. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in commercial property leasing through ownership of RBC Phoenix Inc. Responsive Financial Group, Inc. is an independent firm providing discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, financial planning, and consulting services to individuals, families, trusts, estates, foundations, corporations, and other institutions. The firm utilizes model Risk Adjusted Portfolios (RAPs) across various management styles to address client needs, and it serves a range of clients including pension and profit-sharing plans, offering specialized ERISA plan consulting and fiduciary services.

Robert Samsel is a financial advisor at Fortress Capital in Marietta, GA, holding a Series 65 license with five years of industry experience. Prior to founding Fortress Capital in 2021, he worked at Zep, Vanderlande Industries, and Cortland Partners. He is also involved with Top Tier Trees, an outside business activity. Fortress Capital provides discretionary portfolio management primarily to qualifying and high-net-worth individuals and entities, focusing on a single investment strategy based on bottom-up fundamental equity analysis. The firm manages concentrated portfolios emphasizing long-term capital growth and employs performance-based compensation arrangements for qualified clients.

Robert Frank III is the principal of Atlas Investment Advisory LLC in Canton, GA, and holds the CFP® designation along with Series 63 and 66 licenses. He has 24 years of industry experience, including ten years with LPL Financial and founding his independent advisory firm in 2016. Outside of his advisory work, he is a co-owner of Twin Ridge Defence, LLC, a non-investment-related business. Atlas Investment Advisory serves individual and high-net-worth clients, offering discretionary portfolio management and financial planning. The firm utilizes a combination of fundamental, quantitative, technical, cyclical, and modern portfolio theory analyses across a wide range of investment instruments and strategies, conducting quarterly account reviews.

Troy Harmon is a CFA® charterholder and holds a Series 66 license, with three years of industry experience. He is the principal advisor at Due West Wealth Advisors LLC and serves as an adjunct professor at Kennesaw State University. Harmon is also the treasurer of the ASFIP Foundation, a nonprofit focused on financial education, and is CEO of A&E Investment Properties, Inc. Due West Wealth Advisors provides discretionary wealth management and financial planning services to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs fundamental analysis and a primarily long-term investment approach, managing portfolios that often include ETFs, equities, mutual funds, and options contracts.

Thomas Cloud is a CFP® and ChFC® with 21 years of experience in financial advisory services. He has worked at Eleven Two Fund Management for 12 years before founding Third Act Retirement Planning, Inc. in 2017, where he remains the sole advisor. Third Act Retirement Planning provides individualized financial planning, discretionary portfolio management, estate-planning consulting, and insurance guidance to individuals, retirement plans, trusts, estates, and other entities. The firm manages approximately $30.4 million on a discretionary basis and offers modular and holistic planning services, utilizing a variety of investment strategies and ongoing portfolio monitoring.

Jay Thurlow is the sole advisor at Kinetic Pathways Company in Dunwoody, GA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with five years of industry experience. He has worked at Alphastar Capital Management, LLC, and has been involved with The Insurance Shop LLC, where he is co-owner and active in life and health insurance sales and client service. Kinetic Pathways Company provides fee-based investment management and financial planning for individuals, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations, offering discretionary, custom portfolio management with an emphasis on income-oriented portfolios using structured notes and market-linked CDs. The firm also assists with startup services for employer retirement plans and integrates significant insurance activities alongside its specialized investment approach.

Alexander Kutyukhin is a financial advisor at VCM Capital with four years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at VCM Capital since 2018, following prior roles at Sistema Capital / Redline Capital and as a self-employed market researcher. Outside of finance, he serves as the director of VCM Technologies, a software development company based in London. VCM Capital provides portfolio management services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, and corporations using a blended investment approach that incorporates global macro, fundamental, and technical analysis across a broad range of asset classes. The firm manages accounts on both discretionary and non-discretionary bases and may allocate assets to third-party managers.

Portia Ryan Gerton is the sole advisor at Transformation Wealth Management, LLC in Atlanta, GA, with 18 years of industry experience. She holds the Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has held prior roles at Ameritas Investment Company, Blue Clover Financial, Mass Mutual Investors Services, and Edward Jones. Outside of financial advisory work, she owns and operates Eye Design Interiors, LLC, an interior design business. Transformation Wealth Management is an independent, single-advisor firm providing investment management, financial planning, and consulting services to individuals, trusts, estates, and business entities. The firm combines discretionary SEI-sponsored programs with a significant share of non-discretionary assets and offers ongoing portfolio monitoring and planning, including held-away account management and referrals to third-party managers.

Ashley Roth is a financial advisor with Arrowhead Investment Advisors, LLC, holding a Series 65 designation and 14 years of industry experience. She has been with Arrowhead since 2011. Arrowhead Investment Advisors is a fee-only registered investment adviser managing approximately $43.1 million for individuals, families, trusts, non-profit organizations, and corporate retirement plans. The firm focuses on long-term growth through equities and bonds using a fundamentally driven research process and provides tailored portfolio management with discretionary authority.

Gary Hyde Jr. is a CFP® professional with 11 years of experience in financial advisory roles. He currently serves as the principal advisor at Shepherd Financial LLC, where he has worked since 2020. Prior to that, he held various positions at Northwestern Mutual from 2015 to 2020. Outside of his advisory work, he provides baseball instruction to children. Shepherd Financial LLC offers wealth management, discretionary portfolio management, and financial planning to individuals, high-net-worth households, trusts, estates, and retirement plans. The firm’s investment approach emphasizes long-term, ETF-oriented portfolios with flexibility for individual securities and short-term trades, and it also provides retirement plan advisory services, including plan sponsor consulting and participant education.

Matthew Checkon is a financial advisor at MJ Wealth Management LLC in Roswell, GA. He holds a Series 65 designation and has one year of industry experience. Prior to founding MJ Wealth Management, he worked at Ernst & Young for ten years. MJ Wealth Management LLC provides investment management and financial planning services to individuals, families, trusts, estates, and small businesses, with offerings that range from foundational planning for lower- and middle-net-worth households to comprehensive wealth management. The firm’s investment process focuses on asset allocation guided by an Investment Policy Statement and includes discretionary management, educational workshops, and flexible billing arrangements.

Caroline McInerney is a CFP® with nine years of industry experience currently serving as the principal of HWM Wealth Management LLC in Atlanta, GA. She previously worked with Nicholas Hoffman & Company, Raymond James & Associates, Clements Financial Services, and HD Vest Investment Services. In addition to her advisory role, she operates Owner's Dividend LLC, a separate business that publishes educational content on financial and business planning. HWM Wealth Management LLC provides fee-only investment management and financial planning services to individuals, families, businesses, and foundations. The firm employs a long-term, principles-based investment approach focused on asset allocation, diversification, and tax-aware strategies, managing portfolios primarily on a discretionary basis.

Jonathan White is a financial advisor at Pearson Investment Management, LLC with nine years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at both Pearson Investment Management and AonHewitt since 2015. Pearson Investment Management provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and corporations, with a particular focus on corporate benefit plans and retirement arrangements. The firm’s investment approach integrates fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis across various asset classes and may include frequent trading and short sales, while also utilizing third-party managers and digital custody platforms.

I’ve spent two decades in an industry that doesn’t always make it easy to know who to trust. Hidden fees, half-answers, and vague promises aren’t good enough. That’s why everything we do is transparent—how we charge, how we plan, how we execute. You should never wonder what’s happening with your money. Our flat fee structure is based on a commitment to placing client interests first, reducing conflicts of interest, providing transparent & predictable pricing, and making financial advisory services more accessible. Financial Review (aka “Try before you buy”) clients and full-service clients will receive a comprehensive financial review & retirement field guide to achieve their retirement field guide to achieve their desired goals. I started Sonas FP to help individuals and families like you understand how a healthy relationship with your money can lead to a lifetime of financial peace, wellness, and freedom. Sonas Financial Planning is owned and operated by Bradley Hilton, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, MBA, and Tax Planning Certified Professional® with over 18 years of experience as the sole financial advisor to more than 110 clients throughout the U.S., including dentists, small business owners, millionaires next door, and top executives at Fortune 500 companies. We’re constantly asking ourselves how we can do more and make a greater impact – and that is part of the reason Sonas Financial Planning was launched. Every good idea starts with a problem. Here was ours: Quality retirement planning and investment management can be expensive for clients under the traditional asset under management (AUM) fee structure. Also, many people fear working with a financial advisor because of either the high fees or the reputation that advisors earn commissions and will sell you products you don’t need. And finally, many wealth management firms do not emphasize financial planning or deliver data-driven financial roadmaps to guide clients. We take a people-centered approach. Our process begins with a free Zoom call so we can get to know one another and learn about your needs. There is no cost and no pressure to move forward. If we are not a good fit for each other, we will let you know upfront and try to recommend an alternative. Schedule a free consultation by calling 404-545-5368 or email [email protected].

Jeffrey Barnard is a financial advisor with Barnard Financial Group, LLC in Roswell, GA, holding a Series 65 designation and 18 years of industry experience. He previously worked at AE Wealth Management, LLC and Global Financial Private Capital, LLC. In addition to his advisory role, he is active in insurance sales through an affiliated business. Barnard Financial Group offers discretionary asset management and retirement-plan advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and corporate retirement plans. The firm provides both limited-scope ERISA 3(21) and full discretionary 3(38) investment management, with a focus on pension consulting and an insurance-affiliated business.

Cass Chappell III is a CFP® professional with 30 years of industry experience. He is the sole advisor at Chappell Financial Group, an independent firm he has led since 2012. Prior to founding his firm, he worked with LPL Financial, LLC for 21 years and PRUCO Securities, LLC for two years. He is also a licensed insurance agent offering various insurance products. Chappell Financial Group serves individuals, families, business owners, and employer plan sponsors through wealth management, financial consulting, and retirement-plan advisory services. The firm utilizes a diverse range of securities and incorporates quantitative and qualitative analysis, modern portfolio theory, and charting in its investment process.

Aaron Gaines is a CFP® and Series 66 holder with 10 years of experience in financial services. He currently leads Gaines Capital Management, an independent firm based in Smyrna, GA, and has prior experience with Edward Jones and multiple advisory firms since 2016. Gaines also operates an affiliated insurance agency, GCM Wealthshield LLC, providing a range of insurance products. Gaines Capital Management offers financial planning, discretionary portfolio management, and consulting services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and small businesses. The firm employs fundamental analysis and strategic asset allocation with ETFs and individual equities, focusing on long-term holdings, and provides customized solutions including options and private equity for qualified clients.