Maria Tipton is a financial advisor at KCD Financial, Inc. with 38 years of industry experience. She has worked at KCD Financial since 2012 and was previously with PRUCO Securities, LLC. from 1998 to 2011. In addition to her advisory work, she is licensed as an insurance agent and sells fixed annuities, life insurance, long-term care, and disability products. KCD Financial, Inc. is a multi-team registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, corporate pension plans, and charitable organizations. The firm offers asset management, financial planning, and portfolio appraisal services, using a range of investment strategies and third-party management programs.

Joel Clousing is a financial advisor with Highpoint Planning Partners in Downers Grove, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and bringing 39 years of industry experience. He has been with Highpoint Advisor Group, LLC and LPL Financial since 2013. Outside of his advisory role, he prepares personal taxes as a CPA and serves as a basketball referee. HighPoint Advisor Group serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm provides discretionary asset management, financial planning, retirement plan advisory, and sponsors wrap-fee programs, utilizing personal consultations to build client investment policies and diversified portfolios across multiple asset classes.

Jack Grzenia is a financial advisor with Forum Financial Management, LP, holding Series 65 and Series 66 licenses and bringing ten years of industry experience. His background includes roles at Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, Cetera, and MP360 Financial Services. Outside of advisory work, he is a partner at ZEN Installations, a vinyl sign installation business, and engages in insurance sales as a sole proprietor. Forum Financial Management, LP serves individuals, retirement plan sponsors, charitable organizations, and institutional clients, offering portfolio management and financial planning services. The firm builds portfolios based on Modern Portfolio Theory, primarily utilizing institutional mutual funds and ETFs, and supports other RIAs through a turn-key asset-management platform and back-office services.

John Lancaster III is a financial advisor with Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc., holding CFP® and ChFC® designations and over 40 years of industry experience. He has been with Ausdal Financial Partners since 2009 and also serves as president of The Lancaster Company, Inc., a firm specializing in insurance brokerage. Ausdal Financial Partners serves individuals, trusts, estates, retirement plans, and business entities, managing approximately $3.73 billion for more than 16,000 clients. The firm offers a range of services including advisor-managed accounts, separately managed accounts, unified managed accounts, and retirement-plan advisory, tailoring investment strategies to client objectives and utilizing multiple custodians and third-party money managers.

Tina Meckaroski is a financial advisor with Highpoint Planning Partners who holds a Series 66 designation and has 16 years of industry experience. Her prior work includes roles at Nuveen Investments, Merrill, Morgan Stanley, PIMCO Investments, and LPL Financial. She provides financial planning and consulting services through HighPoint Advisor Group, an independent registered investment advisor. HighPoint Advisor Group serves individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as pension plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm offers discretionary asset management, financial planning, retirement plan advisory, and operates a wrap-fee program, implementing portfolios using fundamental analysis across various securities and leveraging multiple platform solutions.

Lori Hall is a Series 66 licensed financial advisor with 25 years of industry experience. She has worked at Sowell Financial Services, LLC since 2016 and previously at Concert Wealth Management Inc for four years. In addition to her advisory role, she is involved as a planning specialist at Sapphire Wealth Management, where she supports sales, client relationship management, and financial planning. Sowell Management is a multi-team registered investment adviser serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, retirement plans, corporations, and other RIAs. The firm offers discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement-plan advisory services through an independent-contractor model with over 100 investment advisor representatives.

Andrea Schreiber is a financial advisor at Forum Financial Management, LP with 13 years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and has been with Forum since 2012. In addition to her advisory role, she owns The Schreiber Group, Inc., a certified public accounting firm in Naperville, Illinois. Forum Financial Management, LP provides fee-based wealth management, financial planning, qualified plan services, and educational workshops to individual and institutional clients. The firm also serves as a sub-advisor and turnkey asset management platform for other independent RIAs, utilizing model portfolios primarily invested in DFA mutual funds and ETFs within a Modern Portfolio Theory framework.

William German is a CFP® professional with 15 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at JMG Financial Group Ltd since 2012. He holds Series 63 registration and has involvement in agricultural business activities, including serving as treasurer and secretary for two farmland management companies. JMG Financial Group advises individuals, trusts, retirement plans, business entities, and charitable organizations with a planning-based, long-term investment approach that includes comprehensive wealth and portfolio management, as well as in-house tax consulting and private investment fund advisory services.

Christopher Jahntz is a financial advisor with First Advisors National, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 33 years of industry experience. He has worked at Mid America Financial Inc since 1989 and Harvest Investment Services, LLC from 2012 to 2018. Outside of financial services, Jahntz is involved in music production and performance as a recording artist and producer. First Advisors National provides investment management, asset allocation advice, and retirement plan consulting primarily to individual clients, utilizing a combination of third-party money managers and individual securities to implement discretionary portfolio strategies.

Robert Batutis II is a financial advisor at Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc. with eight years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has been with Ausdal since 2017. In addition to his advisory role, he owns and operates MBC Insurance Group, where he sells individual health, life, and senior market insurance products. Ausdal Financial Partners is an SEC-registered investment adviser and FINRA-member broker-dealer managing approximately $2.13 billion in client assets through a network of 152 advisors. The firm offers investment advisory programs, retirement plan services, and financial planning to a diverse client base, including high-net-worth individuals, trusts, corporations, pension plans, and charitable organizations.

David Berendt is a financial professional at Capital Analysts with three years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and previously worked at Lincoln Investment. In addition to his advisory role, Berendt serves as a small groups coach for the Boomerang Project, teaching educators how to facilitate a mentoring program for high school students. Capital Analysts serves a diverse client base including individual and high-net-worth investors, trusts, foundations, businesses, and charitable organizations. The firm offers customized portfolio management and retirement-plan advice through both discretionary and non-discretionary investment approaches, supported by an in-house research team and a nationwide network of independent advisors.

Daniel Mccabe is a financial advisor with Highpoint Planning Partners in Downers Grove, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and bringing 38 years of industry experience. He has been with Highpoint Advisor Group, LLC (DBA McCabe Financial Group) and LPL Financial since 2013. HighPoint Advisor Group serves a diverse client base including individuals, high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm provides discretionary asset management, financial planning, retirement plan advisory, and acts as sponsor and manager of a wrap-fee program, utilizing a variety of investment strategies and third-party platforms.

Paul Draniczarek is a financial advisor at Forum Financial Management, LP with 16 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has operated his own tax and accounting firm, Paul R. Draniczarek, Ltd., since 1988, where he provides financial statement preparation and tax services. He has been with Forum Financial Management since 2012. Forum Financial Management, LP offers fee-based wealth management, financial planning, qualified plan services, and educational workshops to individual and institutional clients. The firm also serves as a sub-advisor and turnkey asset management platform for other independent RIAs, implementing model portfolios primarily with institutional mutual funds and ETFs following a Modern Portfolio Theory approach.

Carla Reilly is a financial advisor at Highpoint Planning Partners with 26 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has worked at firms including LPL Financial, Level Four Advisory Services, U.S. Bancorp Investments, Citizens Securities, Chase Investment Services, and Banc One Securities. Carla provides investment advisory services through HighPoint Advisor Group, an independent registered investment advisor. HighPoint Advisor Group serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm offers discretionary asset management, financial planning, retirement plan advisory, and manages a wrap-fee program, implementing client portfolios using fundamental analysis and a range of investment vehicles.

Brandon Harwell is a financial advisor with Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc., holding a Series 66 designation and 13 years of industry experience. He has been affiliated with Cornerstone Securities, Crown Capital Securities, and TJ Stearns, Inc. for over a decade. Harwell is also involved as president and investment advisor of BCH Tactical L.P., a hedge fund designed to serve higher net worth clients. Ausdal Financial Partners serves individuals, trusts, estates, retirement plans, and business entities, managing approximately $3.73 billion for over 16,000 clients. The firm offers a range of advisory services including managed accounts, third-party manager access, and financial planning, with investment strategies tailored at the advisor level to client objectives and risk profiles.

Stephen Perl is a financial advisor with Calamos Wealth Management LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 26 years of industry experience. He has been with Calamos Wealth Management since 2014 and has concurrently worked at Calamos Financial Services LLC since 2008. Calamos Wealth Management LLC provides discretionary wealth management and institutional advisory services to high-net-worth individuals, family offices, endowments, private foundations, and retirement plans. The firm’s investment process includes idea sourcing, quantitative and qualitative evaluation, portfolio construction, and ongoing monitoring by an Investment Committee, often recommending affiliated Calamos Funds and investment vehicles.

Eric Berkowitz is a CFP® professional with six years of experience at JMG Financial Group Ltd in Downers Grove, IL. He has been with JMG since 2016 across various roles. JMG Financial Group advises individuals, trusts, retirement plans, business entities, and charitable organizations with comprehensive wealth and portfolio management, in-house tax consulting, and private investment fund advisory. The firm uses a planning-based, long-term investment approach focused on strategic asset allocation and employs a variety of investment vehicles including ETFs, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, and alternatives.

Nirav Batavia is a CFA® charterholder with 14 years of industry experience, currently serving as an advisor at Forum Financial Management, LP since 2014. He is also the manager of Owl Technologies, LLC, a technology development and licensing company. Forum Financial Management, LP provides fee-based wealth management, financial planning, and qualified plan services to individual and institutional clients, while also acting as a sub-advisor and turnkey asset management platform for other independent RIAs. The firm uses a Modern Portfolio Theory approach, primarily implementing portfolios with DFA institutional mutual funds and ETFs, and manages approximately $9 billion in assets.

Matthew Tucek is a financial advisor with Highpoint Planning Partners, holding Series 65 and Series 63 licenses and one year of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at Morgan Stanley, Apple Inc., and Old Second National Bank. Outside of finance, he owns Creme Design Studios LLC, a graphic design business. Highpoint Advisor Group serves individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as various institutional entities, offering discretionary asset management and financial planning. The firm uses a consultative approach to develop personalized investment policies and employs a range of investment vehicles and third-party platforms to deliver advisory services.

Michael Bellah is a CFP® and holds a Series 66 license with eight years of industry experience. He is currently with JMG Financial Group Ltd and has previously worked at Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Wealth Planners, LLC, and Northern Trust Company. JMG Financial Group provides wealth management, portfolio management, and financial consulting services to individuals, trusts, retirement plans, business entities, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a planning-based, long-term investment approach with strategic asset allocation, utilizing a range of investment vehicles and offering specialized features such as held-away account management and tax-aware strategies.