Sarah Hickey is a Planning Consultant at Fidelity Investments, a role she has held since 2023. She has accumulated over a decade of experience in financial services, working in various capacities including service management, investment solutions, and client relationship management. Her professional background includes positions at RBC Wealth Management, Fidelity Investments, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, and Barclays Wealth. Throughout her career, she has focused on understanding clients' unique needs and circumstances to develop financial plans that align with their goals and values. Outside of her professional work, Sarah has interests in art, food, parenthood, and yoga.

Guy Swain is a financial advisor with Commonwealth Financial Network in Raleigh, NC, holding CFP® and ChFC® designations and possessing 40 years of industry experience. He has been affiliated with Commonwealth Equity Services, Inc. since 1995. Outside of his advisory role, he is co-owner of LifeTime Tax Management, a private entity focused on tax-related services. Commonwealth Financial Network is a registered investment adviser supporting a national network of nearly 3,000 advisors and their clients. The firm offers a variety of advisory programs and services, including discretionary model portfolios and customized investment solutions, while providing operational, compliance, and technology support to affiliated advisors.

Jacob Niles is a financial advisor at Empower Advisory Group with two years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66 designation and has worked at firms including Raleigh Capital Management and Fidelity Investments. Outside of advisory work, he is also an insurance agent with Raleigh Wealth Solutions. 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 retail brokerage clients. The firm uses an integrated model tied to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms and focuses on long-term portfolio returns and annual rebalancing.

Noah Fitzgerald is a Series 66 licensed financial advisor with TLG Advisors, Inc. in Raleigh, NC, with four years of industry experience. Prior to joining TLG Advisors, he held roles at The Leaders Group Inc, MWA Financial Services Inc, and Modern Woodmen of America. Outside of advising, he is involved as a junior varsity offensive line football coach at Cardinal Gibbons High School. TLG Advisors, Inc. serves a wide range of clients including individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, charitable organizations, corporations, and institutional investors. The firm’s investment approach emphasizes manager selection, fundamental analysis, and portfolio diversification, offering both sub-advisor managed accounts and a direct-to-consumer digital program called Starlight Portfolios.

Dustin Thornton is a financial advisor at First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. with two years of industry experience. He holds the Series 65 and Series 63 licenses. His work background includes roles at First Citizens Investor Services, First Citizens Bank, Uber, Exchange Bank, Central National Bank, and Kansas State University Federal Credit Union. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved in managing rental properties owned personally and with his spouse. First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. provides advisory and brokerage services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm offers portfolio management, wrap programs, model portfolios, a Guided Investing automated platform, and financial planning, with a client process that emphasizes fundamental, quantitative, and technical analysis across various asset classes.

Kelly Sullivan is a financial advisor at First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. in Raleigh, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 28 years of industry experience. Her prior roles include positions at Cuso Financial Services, LP and Coastal Federal Credit Union. First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. provides advisory and brokerage services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm’s approach includes fundamental, quantitative, and technical analysis to guide portfolio allocation, offering a range of services such as managed portfolios, a Guided Investing platform, and tax-aware financial planning.

Joshua Brien is a financial advisor at Janney Montgomery Scott in Raleigh, NC, holding a Series 66 designation with 19 years of industry experience. He has been with Janney Montgomery Scott since 2013. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as a committee member for BSA Trop 215, participating occasionally in camping trips with the group. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC is a large, dually registered broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser managing approximately $110 billion in client assets. The firm serves a diverse client base, including individuals, families, trusts, corporations, and municipal clients, offering brokerage services, financial planning, and advisory programs with a combination of in-house and third-party portfolio management.

Christopher Kriak is a financial advisor with First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. He holds a Series 66 designation and has eight years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at LPL Financial, Mass Mutual Investors Services, and PNC Investments. First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. provides advisory and brokerage services to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm uses a client-centered process combining fundamental, quantitative, and technical analysis to manage portfolios across various asset classes.

Anna Fagan is a Series 66-licensed financial advisor with 24 years of industry experience. She is affiliated with Carson Wealth and has held roles at firms including Cetera Wealth Services, Infinex Investments, Merrill, and Morgan Stanley. In addition to her advisory work, she is an insurance agent selling life, annuities, and long-term care products. Carson Wealth is an SEC-registered investment adviser operating an enterprise platform with over 650 advisors and approximately $50.6 billion in assets under management. The firm offers discretionary asset management, financial planning, and retirement plan services, utilizing model portfolios overseen by an Investment Committee and providing tailored solutions such as custom indexing and alternative investments.

Hans Scheil Jr. is a financial advisor with Brookstone Capital Management LLC in Durham, NC. He holds the CFP® and ChFC® designations and has 20 years of industry experience. He is also the CEO of H.E. Scheil & Associates, Inc., an insurance agency based in Durham. Brookstone Capital Management provides fee-based asset management and financial planning to a diverse client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, and trusts. The firm employs a range of strategic and dynamic asset-allocation models, incorporating proprietary funds and external sub-advisors, while also acting as a sub-advisor to other advisory programs.

James Chetwood III is a CFP® with 21 years of industry experience and is currently affiliated with Allworth Financial, L.P. He has worked at firms including Adams Chetwood Wealth Management, Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, and Wells Fargo Clearing. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as an elder on the board of The Summit Church and is the author of *Retire to the Fullest: Four Dimensions of Financial Peace of Mind*. Allworth Financial provides services to a broad client base, including individual and high-net-worth investors as well as institutions. The firm offers financial planning, portfolio management, and retirement plan consulting, employing a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis to create customized investment strategies.

Kwame Richards is a financial advisor at First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. in Raleigh, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with four years of industry experience. He has been with First Citizens Investor Services since 2022 and previously worked at First Citizens Bank from 2007 to 2025. First Citizens Investor Services serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and corporate entities, offering a range of advisory and brokerage services including portfolio management, model portfolios, and financial planning. The firm emphasizes IAR-led assessments and applies fundamental, quantitative, and technical analysis in its investment approach.

Kimberly Loftin is a financial advisor at OSAIC Institutions, Inc. with seven years of industry experience. She holds Series 65 and Series 63 credentials and has previously worked at firms including Thrivent Financial, First Citizens Bank, Principal Life Insurance Company, Edward Jones, and First Federal Bank. OSAIC Institutions, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, ERISA retirement plans, trusts, estates, and corporate clients through a network of investment adviser representatives. The firm offers customized advisory services, financial planning, ERISA plan services, wrap programs, and access to alternative investments and lending solutions within a hybrid adviser/broker-dealer structure.

Kennedy Taylor is a Series 66-licensed financial advisor with five years of industry experience. He currently works at Empower Advisory Group and previously was employed by Fidelity Investments and First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, delivering services through an integrated model connected to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms. The firm emphasizes long-term portfolio returns and savings rates in its financial planning, serving a large participant base with a higher client-to-advisor ratio than many peers.

James Simone is a financial advisor with TIAA-CREF in Durham, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and 30 years of industry experience. He has been with TIAA and TIAA-CREF since 2013. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC’s Advice & Planning Services division offers financial planning and discretionary managed account programs to individuals, trusts, estates, and corporate entities, often serving clients connected to TIAA-administered employer retirement plans. The firm also advises donor-advised funds and combines point-in-time planning with ongoing portfolio management under a fiduciary standard.

Jacquelyn Wiggs is a financial advisor at Truist Advisory Services with 14 years of industry experience. She holds a Series 66 credential and has worked at Truist Advisory Services since 2021, following roles at BB&T Securities, Wells Fargo Clearing, and Raymond James Financial. Outside of her advisory work, she is a certified Les Mills group fitness instructor. Truist Advisory Services provides investment consulting and advisory services to individuals, corporate clients, retirement plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a mix of discretionary and non-discretionary manager relationships and integrates AI-supported research to inform its investment approach.

Elias Dau is a financial advisor at First Command Advisory Services with 25 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and has worked previously at Ameriprise, Wells Fargo Clearing Services, Principal Securities Inc., and Merrill Lynch. Outside of his advisory role, he is an author based in Raleigh, NC. First Command Advisory Services is an SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, corporate, and charitable clients with a focus on active-duty service members and their families. The firm offers financial planning and multiple wrap-fee asset management programs managed through centralized teams that select portfolios from mutual funds, ETFs, and third-party managers.

Robert Mouro is a CFP® with 22 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has worked at Janney Montgomery Scott since 2019 and previously held roles at Bank of America and Merrill. He serves on the advisory board of the Northwest Cary YMCA, acting as an ambassador for the organization in the community. Janney Montgomery Scott is a large enterprise firm managing approximately $110 billion in client assets. The firm offers a wide range of services to individuals, families, trusts, corporate and retirement plan sponsors, and municipal clients, utilizing in-house and third-party portfolio management across multiple advisory programs.

Joseph Miller is a CFP® professional with 32 years of industry experience. He is currently with Concurrent Investment Advisors, LLC and has previously worked at Arky & Miller Financial Group and The Variable Annuity Marketing Company. Miller also teaches CFP Board educational courses as an adjunct faculty member at Guilford College. Concurrent Investment Advisors, LLC is a multi-team registered advisory firm serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, families, trusts, estates, businesses, and retirement plans. The firm emphasizes customized, primarily long-term portfolios using ETFs, mutual funds, individual securities, bonds, alternative investments, and independent sub-advisers, supported by a network of approximately 286 advisors serving over 13,000 clients.

Michael York is a financial advisor with Independent Advisor Alliance, LLC and holds a Series 66 designation. He has 25 years of industry experience and has been with Independent Advisor Alliance since 2015, concurrently serving with LPL Financial since 2012. Independent Advisor Alliance serves a diverse client base including individuals, small businesses, charitable organizations, and retirement plans, offering asset management, financial planning, and retirement consulting services. The firm provides both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management and utilizes a network model that integrates technology platforms and access to third-party managers.