Thomas Brdecka is a financial advisor at IHT Wealth Management LLC in Chicago, IL, holding a Series 66 designation with 21 years of industry experience. He has worked at IHT Wealth Management and LPL Financial since 2015 and was previously with Transamerica Financial Advisors from 2005 to 2015. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in tax preparation and accounting as a CPA. IHT Wealth Management serves individuals, corporate and institutional clients, and retirement plan sponsors, providing discretionary asset management, financial planning, ERISA plan consulting, outsourced CIO arrangements, and access to third-party managers. The firm’s investment approach combines fundamental value screening, quantitative optimization, and periodic rebalancing, utilizing proprietary models and discretionary mandates, and manages approximately $9.8 billion in assets through a multi-team network.

Steven Podgorski is a financial advisor with Capital Analysts in Lombard, Illinois. He holds the Series 63 and Series 66 designations and has 19 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Capital Analysts, he operated Aspire Financial Group and has been associated with Lincoln Investment since 2016. In addition to his advisory role, he services residual accounts related to life and health insurance through Aspire Financial Group. Capital Analysts serves a diverse client base including individual and high-net-worth investors, trusts, foundations, businesses, and charitable organizations. The firm offers portfolio management, advisor-managed custom and model portfolios, third-party manager access, and retirement-plan advice, utilizing both discretionary investment management from an in-house team and non-discretionary advisor and third-party options.

Tara Hill is a CFP® professional with four years of industry experience. She is currently associated with Mariner Independent and Fortitude Financial Partners. Her prior experience includes roles at Brown Brothers Harriman and Northern Trust. Mariner Independent serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and business entities. The firm offers financial planning, portfolio management, retirement plan consulting, tax support, insurance solutions, and access to alternative investments, utilizing both firm-built model portfolios and customized discretionary portfolios.

Jennifer Shepard is a financial advisor at Curi Capital, LLC with 18 years of industry experience. She holds the CFP®, CFA®, and Series 63 designations. Her prior experience includes roles at United Capital Financial Advisers, LLC and Altair Advisers. Curi Capital serves individuals, families, institutional and corporate clients, retirement plan sponsors, charitable organizations, and pooled investment vehicles through a variety of services including wealth management, asset management, and retirement plan solutions. The firm employs a long-term, fundamental investment approach and combines in-house strategies with external managers, managing approximately $9.83 billion in assets.

Justin Leslein is a financial advisor at Northern Trust Securities, Inc. with nine years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66 designation and has been with Northern Trust Securities since 2016. Northern Trust Securities, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser and FINRA-registered broker-dealer serving high-net-worth individuals, retail investors, and institutional clients. The firm offers model-driven discretionary portfolio management through a wrap fee program, utilizing a mix of proprietary and third-party investment products delivered via the Fidelity Managed Account Xchange platform.

Howard Kite is a CFP® and ChFC® with 44 years of industry experience. He is currently with Forum Financial Management, LP, where he has worked since 2009, and previously held roles at Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investment and PKS Advisory Services, LLC. Outside of his advisory work, he is a member of several non-investment-related business entities, including real estate management ventures. Forum Financial Management, LP provides fee-based wealth management, financial planning, and qualified plan services to individual and institutional clients. The firm also serves as a sub-advisor and turnkey asset management platform for other independent RIAs, offering model portfolios managed primarily with DFA institutional mutual funds and ETFs under a Modern Portfolio Theory approach.

Michael Ryabik is a financial advisor at The Mather Group, LLC in Chicago, IL, with 16 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has been with The Mather Group since 2016. The Mather Group serves high-net-worth individuals, family offices, trusts, corporations, and other entities by providing comprehensive financial planning, investment management, tax and estate planning guidance, and family office services. The firm uses an evidence-based investment approach with multiple risk-based models and offers customization options such as direct indexing and ESG portfolios.

Christopher Janc is a financial advisor with Northern Trust Securities, Inc. in Chicago, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and 12 years of industry experience. His prior experience includes roles at Merrill, Wells Fargo, and J.P. Morgan. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as secretary and member of Duneland 1 LLC, an entity formed with his spouse to own a dual-use vacation and rental property. Northern Trust Securities, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser and FINRA-registered broker-dealer serving high-net-worth individuals, retail investors, and institutional clients. The firm offers discretionary portfolio management through model-driven strategies including Separately Managed Accounts and Fund Strategist Portfolios, utilizing both proprietary and third-party investment products.

Matthew Kahovec is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license with seven years of industry experience. He has worked at The Mather Group, LLC since 2019, following five years at Astraeus Advisers LLC. The Mather Group primarily serves high-net-worth individuals, family offices, trusts, corporations, and other entities, providing financial planning, investment management, tax and estate planning guidance, and family office services. The firm employs an evidence-based investment approach with risk-based allocation models and tax-synchronized portfolio construction, offering customization options such as direct indexing and ESG factor portfolios.

Cooper White is a financial advisor at Waverly Advisors, LLC with 15 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at Promus Capital since 2010 alongside his current role at Waverly Advisors. He serves as an advisory committee member for Apogem Real Asset Funds, Ridge Lake GP Stakes Fund, and Kayne Anderson Direct Lending. Waverly Advisors is a multi-team registered investment adviser managing portfolios for individuals, retirement plans, and pooled investment vehicles. The firm integrates traditional equity and fixed-income strategies with alternative and private-markets allocations and offers a range of investment management and planning services.

Christopher Martella is a financial advisor with First Advisors National, LLC in Chicago, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations and two years of industry experience. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in real estate and energy consulting through Domain Properties, Keystone Property Management, and Navigate Power. First Advisors National provides investment management, asset allocation advice, and retirement plan consulting primarily to individual clients, implementing strategies mainly via third-party money managers and employing both tactical and strategic asset allocation methodologies.

Robin Patinkin is a CFP®, CFA®, and Series 65 credentialed advisor with 22 years of industry experience. He is currently with The Mather Group, LLC and has prior experience at Focus Partners Wealth, The Colony Group, InterOcean Capital Group, and Cedar Hill Associates. The Mather Group serves high-net-worth individuals, family offices, trusts, corporations, and other entities by providing financial planning, investment management, tax and estate planning guidance, and family office services. The firm employs an evidence-based investment approach with risk-based allocation models and offers customization options including direct indexing and ESG portfolios.

Elliott Vaughn is a CFP® with 11 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at IHT Wealth Management LLC. He has also been associated with Prairie Sky Financial Group, LLC and LPL Financial, LLC since 2015. Vaughn operates Prairie Sky Financial Group, an independent investment advisor firm, providing advisory services separate from his role at LPL Financial. IHT Wealth Management serves individuals, including high-net-worth clients, corporate and institutional entities, and retirement plan sponsors. The firm offers a range of services including discretionary asset management, financial planning, ERISA plan consulting, and outsourced CIO arrangements, employing a combination of fundamental and quantitative investment strategies.

Eric Fasse is a financial advisor at Northern Trust Securities, Inc. in Chicago, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with four years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Cabrera Capital Partners, Cabrera Capital Markets, and American Trust Investment Services. Northern Trust Securities, Inc. provides investment advisory and model-based managed account services to high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients, utilizing a model-driven approach that combines proprietary mutual funds and ETFs with third-party managers. The firm is affiliated with a large banking holding company, offering custody and broker-dealer services alongside its advisory programs.

Connor Garrigus is a financial advisor with Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC holding a Series 65 designation. He joined the firm in 2026 and previously held positions related to education at Wake Forest University and Loyola Academy. He has no prior industry experience before joining Chicago Partners Investment Group. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory services to high-net-worth individuals, trusts, not-for-profit plans, endowments, corporations, and other business entities. The firm employs a long-term, diversified, asset-allocation oriented investment approach that incorporates fundamental analysis and quantitative optimization across various asset classes including mutual funds, ETFs, direct indexing, and fixed income.

John Zielinski is a CFA® charterholder based in Chicago, IL, with 21 years of industry experience. He currently works at VestGen Advisors, LLC and has been there since 2025, following a tenure at Optimum Investment Advisors, LLC from 2016. Outside of his advisory role, he manages several farming operations through his ownership of multiple LLCs. VestGen Advisors, LLC manages approximately $6.66 billion for nearly 22,800 clients across 53 advisors, offering discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, financial planning, and ERISA 3(21) retirement plan services. The firm uses a blend of fundamental, technical, quantitative analysis, and modern portfolio theory to develop client-specific strategies and serves a diverse client base including institutional entities.

Ilhwa Lee is a CFA® charterholder with nine years of industry experience. She has worked at RMB Capital Management LLC since 2017 and previously at Crystal Rock Capital Management. Lee is based in Chicago, IL. She is an advisor with Curi Capital, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser managing approximately $11.6 billion in assets for individuals, employer retirement plans, institutions, mutual funds, private funds, and family offices. The firm employs a long-term, fundamental investment approach combining bottom-up equity analysis and relative-value fixed income strategies, using a mixture of proprietary and third-party funds.

Maher Harb is a financial advisor with Curi Capital, LLC, based in Chicago, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 16 years of industry experience. He has worked at RMB Capital Management since 2008. Outside of his advisory role, he assists in the administration of his family’s bars and cafes in the greater Chicagoland area as an officer and authorized signor on related corporate entities. Curi Capital serves individuals, families, institutions, retirement plan sponsors, charitable organizations, and pooled investment vehicles with services including wealth management, asset management, retirement plan solutions, and family office services. The firm employs a long-term, fundamental investment approach, combining in-house strategies with external managers and proprietary risk analysis tools.

Jignesh Jain is a financial advisor at Belpointe Asset Management LLC with securities licenses Series 63 and Series 65. He has held positions at AFIN Wealth Management and Amplified Planning and worked at NEC Corporation of America for 13 years. Jain serves as a board member for the Jain Society of Metro Chicago, a religious non-profit organization. Belpointe Asset Management is a multi-team registered investment adviser with over 160 advisors and manages more than $7.5 billion for individuals, corporations, trusts, and other advisers. The firm offers discretionary investment management, financial planning, and retirement-plan consulting through customized portfolios, model strategies, and various affiliated funds and services.

Glenn Schwalje is a financial advisor at Financial Security Advisory, Inc. with 27 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has held roles at firms including Milliman Investment Management Services and Jackson National Life Distributors. Schwalje is also involved in compliance consulting through Oyster Consulting, LLC. Financial Security Advisory, Inc. provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, trusts, estates, and employer-sponsored plans, focusing on asset allocation and long-term holdings. The firm uses quantitative and qualitative methods to select investments and manages accounts primarily on a limited discretionary basis.