Ryan O'Connor is a financial advisor with Advisory Alpha, LLC, holding a Series 65 designation and two years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Brookstone Wealth Advisors, Gradient Advisors, AE Wealth Management, and managing O'CONNOR Wealth Management. He is also co-owner of Naser & O'Connor Wealth Management and involved in insurance services through John O'Connor and Associates, LLC. Advisory Alpha manages over $4.3 billion for individual and high-net-worth clients, offering financial planning, specialty retirement-plan solutions, and subadvisory services. The firm employs a centralized Investment Team that uses a fund-of-funds approach with factor-based equity strategies, structured-product allocations, and fixed income solutions, typically managing portfolios on a discretionary basis.

Samuel Lee is a CFP® with 12 years of industry experience and currently serves at Highpoint Planning Partners. His prior experience includes roles at Kovack Advisors, Financial Engines Advisors, Bank of America, and Merrill. Highpoint Planning Partners serves a range of clients including individuals, pension plans, trusts, and corporate entities, offering services such as discretionary asset management, financial planning, and retirement plan advisory. The firm employs fundamental analysis to construct client investment policies and utilizes various platforms to deliver consolidated advisory services.

Nahal Sabbagh Kermani is a financial advisor at Apollon Wealth Management, LLC with 11 years of industry experience. She holds Series 66 and Series 63 licenses and has previously worked at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. Apollon Wealth Management is a multi-team SEC-registered investment adviser managing approximately $11.56 billion in client assets. The firm serves individuals, high-net-worth families, family offices, and various institutional clients, combining centrally managed strategy mandates with locally managed portfolios and utilizing a range of investment approaches including ESG risk-based models and direct indexing.

Cole Swearingen is a CFP® professional at Brookstone Capital Management LLC with four years of industry experience. He has worked at Franklin Wealth Advisors, RMB Capital, and Prizm Financial Advisors. Outside of finance, he owns and operates a small business raising beef cows, selling meat cuts directly to consumers. Brookstone Capital Management is an SEC-registered adviser providing fee-based asset management and financial planning through a turnkey asset management platform and wrap-fee program. The firm serves a diverse client base including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, charitable organizations, other registered investment advisers, sovereign wealth funds, and banking institutions.

Michael Dahill is a financial advisor with Kestra Advisory in Burr Ridge, IL, holding a Series 66 designation. He has less than one year of industry experience, with prior roles including time at BlueLake Wealth Advisors, LLC and Heartland Bank and Trust Company. He has also worked at Edgewood Valley Country Club while completing his education. Kestra Advisory Services provides investment advisory and retirement-plan consulting to institutional and individual clients, including plan sponsors. The firm offers fiduciary consulting, plan-level investment advice, and employee education, serving a range of clients from large institutional investors to sovereign wealth funds.

Benjamin Parker is a financial advisor at Brookstone Capital Management LLC with seven years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at Brookstone since 2018. Outside of finance, he has been involved in music instruction through his business, Ben Parker Music Instruction, since 2009. Brookstone Capital Management is an SEC-registered adviser that provides fee-based asset management and financial planning services to a diverse client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, and sovereign wealth funds. The firm delivers investment management primarily on a discretionary basis through model portfolios, unified managed accounts, and separately managed accounts, supporting a large network of advisors with back-office and turnkey asset management platform services.

Michael Peregrym is a financial advisor with Brookstone Capital Management LLC in Wheaton, IL, holding a Series 66 designation and 10 years of industry experience. His career includes 11 years at Edward Jones before joining Brookstone Capital Management and Dowling Financial Services in 2025. Brookstone Capital Management is an SEC-registered adviser that provides fee-based asset management and financial planning through a turnkey asset management platform and a wrap-fee program. The firm serves a diverse client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, charitable organizations, sovereign wealth funds, and banking institutions, offering discretionary investment management primarily via model portfolios, unified managed accounts, and separately managed accounts.

Scott Krzeminski is a financial advisor at William Blair with 31 years of industry experience. He has been with William Blair & Company since 2014. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. William Blair’s Private Wealth Management division provides investment management, financial planning, and wealth services to individuals, foundations, pension, and corporate clients. The firm employs an active, research-driven approach across various asset classes and offers proprietary models and access to private funds and co-investment opportunities.

Lewis Martin is a CFP® with nine years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Kestra Advisory. His prior experience includes roles at Bank of America, Merrill, Legion Insurance Group, and Axa Advisors. Kestra Advisory Services provides investment advisory and retirement-plan consulting to a broad mix of institutional and individual clients, including plan sponsors. The firm offers services such as fiduciary consulting, plan design, employee education, and advisor-managed accounts, managing approximately $79.8 billion in assets.

Goran Tomic is a financial advisor with PNC Wealth Management in Norridge, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 66 designations and 16 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Fifth Third Bank, CUNA Mutual Group, BMO Harris Financial Advisors, Citigroup Global Markets, and Merrill. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as an authorized signer for a non-investment related business, Tipperary Door County LLC. PNC Wealth Management provides retail brokerage and advisory services through model-based programs, including an invitation-only, employee pilot offering that uses algorithmic risk assessment to recommend investment strategies implemented via approved mutual funds and ETFs.

David Hanson is a CFP® with 46 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Benjamin F. Edwards & Company, Inc. since 2010. His prior experience includes roles at Wells Fargo Clearing and A. G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. Outside of finance, he is a minority partner in a Wheaton-based partnership focused on land ownership, farming, and wetland creation. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company is an integrated broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, pension plans, charitable organizations, and corporate clients through more than 500 advisors. The firm offers a range of services including advisory programs, financial planning, investment management, brokerage, and M&A advisory with both discretionary and non-discretionary managed solutions.

Ronadev Mitra is a financial advisor at William Blair with 27 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been with William Blair since 2014. Outside of his advisory role, he is a member of Cornerstone Angels, an angel investing network based in Chicago, where he contributes time monthly. William Blair’s Private Wealth Management division serves individuals, foundations, pension, and corporate clients through discretionary and non-discretionary investment management and financial planning. The firm employs an active, research-driven approach across multiple asset classes and offers proprietary models and private fund access to its clients.

Joseph Chmiel is a financial advisor at Creative Planning with 26 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at firms including Transamerica Investors Securities Corporation and Diversified Investors Securities Corp. prior to joining Creative Planning. Creative Planning provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, corporations, foundations, trusts, and retirement plans. The firm manages approximately $217 billion in client assets and employs a financial planning-led investment process emphasizing low-cost indexing and buy-and-hold strategies, supported by a broad range of supplemental investment options and integrated retirement plan services.

Casey Madden is a CFP® professional with 17 years of industry experience, currently serving at Brookstone Capital Management LLC since 2009. He also operates CM Financial Planning, where he provides annuities, long-term care, and life insurance services. Brookstone Capital Management is an SEC-registered adviser offering fee-based asset management and financial planning through a turnkey asset management platform and wrap-fee program. The firm serves a diverse client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, charitable organizations, other registered investment advisers, sovereign wealth funds, and banking institutions.

Joseph Tabet is a financial advisor at William Blair with Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and 41 years of industry experience. He has worked at William Blair since 2004 and has held positions at Mony Securities Corporation and Mutual of New York since 1991. William Blair’s Private Wealth Management division offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, financial planning, and wealth services to individuals, foundations, pension, and corporate clients. The firm employs an active, research-driven approach across multiple asset classes and provides access to proprietary models, third-party sub-managers, and private funds.

Neil Davies is a financial advisor at Creative Planning with Series 65 and Series 66 credentials and seven years of industry experience. His prior roles include several years at Capital Strategies Investment Group and Wells Fargo Clearing. Creative Planning provides wealth management, financial planning, and retirement-plan advisory services to a diverse client base, including high-net-worth individuals, institutional clients, and corporations. The firm employs a financial-planning-led investment approach that incorporates low-cost indexing, tax-loss harvesting, and selective private market exposure across a wide range of advisory offerings.

Stacy O’Brien is a financial advisor with Benjamin F. Edwards & Company, Inc., holding a Series 66 designation and 12 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Benjamin F. Edwards in 2022, she worked at Morgan Stanley for 11 years. Outside of her advisory role, she is involved as a sales representative in a wholesale and distribution business in Draper, UT. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and corporate clients through over 500 advisors. The firm offers a range of services including advisory programs, investment management, financial planning, and brokerage, employing both proprietary and third-party strategies across equity and fixed income portfolios.

Thomas Peterson is a financial advisor with Eagle Strategies (NY Life) based in Oak Park, IL. He holds the CFP® and ChFC® designations and has 25 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Eagle Strategies in 2009, he worked at Ameriprise from 2002 to 2004. Peterson also operates Peterson Financial Group, LLC, through which he sells New York Life products and brokers non-registered insurance products. Eagle Strategies serves a diverse client base including individual investors, defined contribution and defined benefit plans, and charitable and corporate clients. The firm offers financial planning, investment management, and retirement-plan advisory services emphasizing tailored recommendations and primarily manages assets on a non-discretionary basis within an integrated New York Life affiliate structure.

Jason Anderson is a financial advisor with PNC Wealth Management, holding Series 63 and 66 licenses and bringing 19 years of industry experience. He has worked at PNC Investments since 2017 and previously held roles at Fifth Third Securities and Fifth Third from 2010 to 2017. PNC Wealth Management provides retail brokerage and advisory services through several model-based programs, including an invitation-only digital portfolio offering that uses algorithmic risk assessment and third-party managed strategies executed with mutual funds and ETFs.

John Kozuch is a CFP® with over 34 years of experience in the financial services industry. He is currently a part owner and financial professional at Kfa Partners, LLC dba Carson Wealth, and has held roles at Cetera Wealth Services, LPL Financial, and Twenty Two Wealth Management, LLC. He also holds a life, annuities, and long-term care insurance license. Kozuch is affiliated with CWM, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser overseeing approximately $50.6 billion through a network of more than 650 advisors. The firm provides discretionary asset management, financial planning, retirement plan services, and customized portfolio solutions supported by an Investment Committee and a range of technology and custodial partnerships.