Jason Roth is a financial advisor at Centoic with two years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has prior work history spanning seven years at StackFlip LLC and seventeen years at LogicEase Solutions Inc. Centoic provides advisory services focused on education savings for individual investors through a technology-driven platform that offers subscription-based access to online educational materials, planning tools, and portfolio guidance, complemented by optional hourly financial-planning consultations. The firm emphasizes passive asset management using automated analysis and delivers advice without holding client assets.

Jake Birnberg is a financial advisor at Empowering Financial in Berkeley, CA, with 10 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has previously worked at Portsmouth Financial Investment Advisory. In addition to his advisory role, Birnberg operates Deduction Detectives, a tax planning, preparation, and representation business, and holds active licenses as a real estate and insurance agent. Empowering Financial provides ongoing investment management and financial planning services to individuals, small business owners, trustees, and fiduciaries. The firm uses a diversified investment approach and offers personalized Investment Policy Statements, combining fundamental, quantitative, and tactical asset-allocation analysis with hands-on oversight that integrates investment, tax, insurance, and real estate matters.

Herb Meiberger is a CFA® charterholder and principal of Gator Investment Advisors, LLC, with 11 years of industry experience. Prior to founding his independent firm in 2022, he worked at Berkeley Investment Advisors for eight years and held long-term academic positions at San Francisco State University and Hult International Business School. He also served on the San Francisco Retirement Board for 25 years. Gator Investment Advisors provides discretionary asset management to individual and high-net-worth clients, tailoring investment programs to each client’s goals and risk tolerance using fundamental and cyclical analysis. The firm maintains a small client base and operates with a designated custodian, Charles Schwab.

Stephen Miles is a financial advisor at Sutro Advisors with 24 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and previously worked at Charles Schwab Bank and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. for 13 years before joining Sutro Advisors in 2018. Sutro Advisors provides tailored investment management and financial planning to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and businesses. The firm primarily uses passive portfolios with index mutual funds and ETFs, complemented by fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis, and also offers portfolio management for corporate and institutional clients.

Stephen De Luchi is the sole advisor at De Luchi Investment Management in Alameda, CA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with five years of industry experience. He has been self-employed as a consultant since 1992 and has operated his investment management firm since 1996. De Luchi Investment Management provides ongoing investment supervisory services to a primarily individual clientele as well as pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and business entities. The firm emphasizes fundamental analysis of economic value and growth potential, supplemented by technical analysis, and employs a range of strategies including long- and short-term positions, short sales, margin transactions, and option writing.

Daryl Wong is the sole advisor at Tula Investment Group LLC in Oakland, CA, holding a Series 65 credential with 13 years of industry experience. He has been with Tula Investment Group since its founding in 2013. Tula Investment Group LLC provides discretionary investment management and financial advisory services to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm emphasizes a value-oriented, small-cap, and contrarian equity approach, complemented by opportunistic, event-driven research, and employs performance-based compensation for eligible investors.

Randy Benning is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with 33 years of industry experience. He is the principal of Benning Financial Group, LLC, an independent firm he has led since 2002. Prior to founding his firm, he worked at Triad Advisors, Inc. for nine years. In addition to his advisory work, he is also an insurance broker and owner, licensed with several carriers. Benning Financial Group provides discretionary portfolio management for individual investors, corporate entities, charitable organizations, and pension and profit-sharing plans. The firm employs a combination of fundamental and cyclical analysis and utilizes long-term, short-term, and trading strategies, including derivatives and option strategies, tailored to client objectives.

Wenjia Liu is a CFA® charterholder with five years of industry experience. Liu is the sole advisor at Teapot Investments LLC, having previously worked at Nuveen and Ned Davis Research, Inc. Teapot Investments provides advisory services to registered investment advisers, family offices, endowments, foundations, corporations, and individual clients. The firm combines fundamental analysis, proprietary quantitative models, and tax-aware strategies to design strategic asset allocations, offering both institutional and individual advisory services alongside a subscription-based software platform.

Much like you don't wait to join a gym until you're healthy, you shouldn't wait to work with a financial planner until you're wealthy. Unfortunately, the financial industry historically only wants to work with clients who have -insert any seven-digit-minimum amount of assets-. The good news is there are now plenty of financial planners who will gladly work with clients regardless of how much they have already saved. I am one of those planners. ;) I've been a financial planner for over a decade now, and I've worked lots of different clients from all walks of life. I've come to learn that sticking to the basics and keeping things simple is the best approach when helping clients develop a financial plan. My role is to help guide you on your path to financial freedom. New clients start with a financial plan. This is where we talk about your goals, time horizon, and all the numbers. We’ll review different scenarios so you can see what’s possible. By the end of the initial plan, you should be up and running, moving in the general direction of your goals. From there, we move to ongoing financial planning in which we meet semi-annually to monitor your plan and make adjustments when needed.

Bruce Ritter is the sole advisor at Ritter Wealth Counsel, an independent fee-only wealth management firm based in San Rafael, CA. He holds a Series 65 designation and has over 36 years of experience in the industry. Ritter Wealth Counsel serves primarily high-net-worth individuals and families, as well as trusts, estates, pension, and charitable organizations. The firm offers customized investment programs implemented mainly with passive index funds or ETFs, maintaining predominantly non-discretionary client relationships and a small, concentrated client roster.

John Dowling is a CFA® charterholder and principal advisor at JFD Capital, LLC, with nine years of industry experience. He previously worked at Fairview Capital and the Golub Group (now Summitry) before founding his current independent advisory firm. JFD Capital is a small independent registered investment adviser that provides ongoing, tailored portfolio management primarily to high-net-worth individuals. The firm employs a bottom-up, fundamental research approach focusing on undervalued equities and fixed-income securities, offering discretionary management and performance-based fee arrangements to qualified clients.

Tyler Ribera is the sole advisor at RIBERA Investment Management, LLC, an independent firm based in Alameda, CA. He holds a Series 63 designation and has 26 years of industry experience, having led his firm since 1999. RIBERA Investment Management, LLC provides discretionary portfolio management and investment advice to individuals, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a diversified asset-allocation approach focused on risk control and primarily uses no-load and load-waived mutual funds, ETFs, and other securities, with accounts generally managed on a discretionary basis.

Matthew Wright is the principal of Wright Financial, LLC in Pleasant Hill, CA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 26 years of industry experience. His career includes roles at Geneos Wealth Management Inc, Independent Financial Group, LLC, NPB Financial Group, LLC, and Seel & Wright, LLC. He also serves as a trustee for a family trust. Wright Financial, LLC provides investment management and financial planning services to individuals, trusts, estates, and small businesses. The firm manages approximately $74 million for around 118 clients, using a non-discretionary advisory approach based on Modern Portfolio Theory and a core-and-satellite investment strategy.

Donald Wong is the sole advisor at AVEC LLC, an independent firm based in San Francisco. He holds a Series 65 designation and has five years of experience as a financial advisor, following over two decades in consulting and three years at Pacific Gas and Electric Company. AVEC LLC provides fee-only wealth management services to individuals, high-net-worth families, trusts, donor-advised funds, and business entities. The firm employs a customized, unconstrained investment approach with a focus on long-term, risk-aware portfolios implemented through a variety of investment vehicles, and offers comprehensive financial planning and family-office services under a single asset-based advisory fee.

Matthew Stebnicki is a CFP® professional with six years of experience at Stebnicki Financial Planning, an independent firm he founded in 2020. Prior to that, he worked in software and consulting roles and spent time in full-time education. Based in San Francisco, he provides financial planning and investment management services. Stebnicki Financial Planning offers fee-only financial planning and discretionary investment management tailored to individuals and small businesses. The firm emphasizes customized investment plans considering client goals, risk tolerance, and macroeconomic trends, serving a very small client base to maintain concentrated advisor-to-client relationships.

Edi Alvarez is a CFP® with 19 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at AIKAPA since 2014. He is also the CEO of Dual Enterprises, a publishing business he founded in 1990 that produces niche books for smaller audiences. AIKAPA provides comprehensive wealth and financial planning services to individuals, families, trusts, and small businesses, with a client base that includes executives and business owners. The firm emphasizes financial plans as the foundation of its investment advice and offers both managed and guided planning models, incorporating diversified portfolios and ongoing education through seminars and a published blog.

Robert Harden is a financial advisor with Silicon Valley Capital Management in San Francisco, CA, holding a Series 63 designation and over 30 years of industry experience. He has been with Silicon Valley Capital Management since 1995. Silicon Valley Capital Management provides comprehensive securities investment management for individuals, families, trusts, and small companies. The firm employs a top-down, macro-driven investment approach focused on secular trends and offers services including portfolio management, tax and financial planning coordination, and specialized programs such as 10b5 plan administration and 529 college funding.

Caxton Rhodes is the sole advisor at Rhodes Consulting Group LLC, an independent firm based in Orinda, CA. He holds a Series 65 designation and has 15 years of industry experience. Since founding Rhodes Consulting Group in 2006, he has focused on providing personalized investment counseling and portfolio management. Rhodes Consulting Group LLC is a fee-only investment adviser serving individuals, trusts, accredited investors, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and corporations. The firm employs a client-oriented, long-term, global investment approach that combines fundamental and technical analysis to build diversified portfolios emphasizing cost efficiency and tax considerations.

Claudia Fitch is the principal of Fitch Financial Advisors LLC in San Francisco, where she has provided financial advisory services for 23 years. She holds the CFP® designation and Series 63 license. In addition to her advisory work, she manages a tax preparation and representation business. Fitch Financial Advisors LLC offers financial planning, investment planning, and portfolio management services alongside tax preparation and representation for individuals and related entities. The firm provides both finite financial planning projects and ongoing engagements, employing an active, medium-to-long-term investment approach primarily using managed vehicles such as mutual funds and ETFs.

Jeffrey Milewski is a financial advisor at Moat Capital in San Francisco, holding a Series 65 credential with two years of industry experience. He serves as CEO of a financial technology company focused on stablecoins and teaches online courses at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business. Milewski’s prior experience includes roles at Goss & Associates and the Glo Development Foundation. Moat Capital provides discretionary investment management and advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, and businesses. The firm uses fundamental analysis to develop customized portfolios primarily composed of exchange-traded funds, individual stocks, bonds, and options, emphasizing ongoing client communication and tax-aware portfolio management.