Mark Kanakaris is the principal of Kanakaris and Associates in Woodstock, GA, holding a Series 65 credential with 13 years of industry experience. He has worked at Royal Fund Management, LLC since 2013 and operates his own tax planning and preparation business, Cherokee Tax Group. Kanakaris is also licensed to sell life, annuity, health, and disability insurance. Kanakaris and Associates manages approximately $7.5 million in discretionary assets for about 62 individual clients, offering portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting services. The firm uses a quantitative, rules-based investment process featuring model portfolios, covered-call strategies, sector momentum analysis, and may allocate assets to sub-advisers or third-party models.

John Peterson is a CFP® and ChFC® with 17 years of industry experience. He is the principal of Corners Financial Planning, LLC in Peachtree Corners, GA, where he has worked since 2018. He also has experience with Dempsey Financial Network and Dempsey & Associates Inc. Outside of advisory work, he is involved in fixed insurance sales through Dempsey & Associates. Corners Financial Planning, LLC provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals and small businesses. The firm offers tailored advisory work using various strategies and manages a small client base with discretionary and non-discretionary accounts.

Bryan Ellis is a financial advisor with Horizon Investment Counsel LLC in Marietta, GA. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 17 years of industry experience, including 10 years at Horizon Investment Counsel and its predecessor firm. In addition to his advisory role, Bryan operates a licensed insurance agency offering life, property, and casualty insurance products. Horizon Investment Counsel provides discretionary portfolio management through two equity-focused programs, serving moderate to high net worth individuals and various institutional clients. The firm’s investment approach emphasizes long-term ownership of high-quality companies purchased at reasonable prices, managing primarily common stocks with a defined sell discipline.

Christopher Brown is the sole advisor at Brown Capital Advisors, LLC in Marietta, GA, holding a Series 66 designation with 11 years of industry experience. He previously worked at LPL Financial LLC and Hennsler Financial before founding his current firm in 2018. Brown Capital Advisors provides discretionary portfolio management, comprehensive financial planning, and CFO advisory services primarily to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and entrepreneurs or small-business owners. The firm manages approximately $16.7 million across about 20 client relationships, emphasizing fundamental analysis, asset allocation, diversification, and risk management, with the use of equities, ETFs, and select alternative investments. Its CFO advisory services to small businesses, combined with a willingness to utilize derivatives and complex investment vehicles, distinguish its offerings from many independent advisory firms.

Joel Smith is the principal and owner of Joel Smith & Associates, LLC, an independent investment advisory firm based in Atlanta, GA. He holds a Series 63 designation and has 27 years of industry experience, including 20 years at Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as a director for the FBI Georgia Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar and assists the Euharlee Police Department on weekends. Joel Smith & Associates provides financial planning, investment advisory, and consulting services to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as charitable organizations, foundations, and municipalities. The firm offers both discretionary and non-discretionary investment management and emphasizes strategic asset allocation, diversification, and periodic rebalancing in its client portfolios.

Tung Ngo is a financial advisor at Focus Investments, LLC in Duluth, GA, holding a Series 65 designation with 30 years of industry experience. He has been with Focus Investments since 1995. Focus Investments serves individual and corporate clients by providing discretionary investment advisory and portfolio management services, primarily investing in corporate securities using fundamental and economic analysis. The firm manages accounts directly for individuals, does not participate in wrap fee programs, and employs a tiered percentage-of-assets billing method.

Benjamin Baldwin III is a CFP® professional with 27 years of experience in the financial advisory industry. He has been with Responsive Financial Group, Inc. since 2003. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in commercial property leasing through ownership of RBC Phoenix Inc. Responsive Financial Group, Inc. is an independent firm providing discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, financial planning, and consulting services to individuals, families, trusts, estates, foundations, corporations, and other institutions. The firm utilizes model Risk Adjusted Portfolios (RAPs) across various management styles to address client needs, and it serves a range of clients including pension and profit-sharing plans, offering specialized ERISA plan consulting and fiduciary services.

Raymond King is a financial advisor with Clarity Wealth Solutions LLC in Atlanta, GA, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 24 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at St Bernard Financial Services, Inc. and Woodstock Wealth Management, Inc. He also owns a non-securities insurance business, which he has operated since 2003. Clarity Wealth Solutions LLC is a veteran-owned registered investment adviser providing portfolio management, pension consulting, subadviser services, and financial planning to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and pension/profit-sharing plans. The firm employs multiple analytical methods and a long-term trading approach while maintaining a documented investment policy for client objectives and risk tolerances.

Robert Samsel is a financial advisor at Fortress Capital in Marietta, GA, holding a Series 65 license with four years of industry experience. Prior to founding Fortress Capital, he worked at several firms including Zep and Vanderlande Industries. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved with Top Tier Trees, a separate business venture. Fortress Capital provides discretionary portfolio management primarily for high-net-worth individuals and entities, focusing on long-term capital growth through concentrated equity portfolios. The firm employs a bottom-up fundamental analysis approach and uses performance-based compensation arrangements for qualified clients, which is uncommon among similarly sized independent advisors.

Gary Whitehurst is a financial advisor with Brighter Investing, PB LLC in Atlanta, GA, holding a Series 63 designation and 29 years of industry experience. His work history includes nearly two decades at GV Financial Advisors, Inc. and related firms, along with senior roles at Brighter GP, LLC and Brighter Private Credit GP, LLC. He is also a licensed insurance agent assisting clients with insurance gap assessments. Brighter Investing, PB LLC offers fee-only investment management, financial planning, tax-preparation coordination, and retirement-plan advisory services to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, and institutional accounts. The firm emphasizes diversified exposure across public and private securities within a sustainable and impact investing framework and provides affiliated private fund interests primarily to accredited investors.

Robert Frank III is the principal of Atlas Investment Advisory LLC in Canton, GA, and holds the CFP® designation along with Series 63 and 66 licenses. He has 24 years of industry experience, including ten years with LPL Financial and founding his independent advisory firm in 2016. Outside of his advisory work, he is a co-owner of Twin Ridge Defence, LLC, a non-investment-related business. Atlas Investment Advisory serves individual and high-net-worth clients, offering discretionary portfolio management and financial planning. The firm utilizes a combination of fundamental, quantitative, technical, cyclical, and modern portfolio theory analyses across a wide range of investment instruments and strategies, conducting quarterly account reviews.

Troy Harmon is a CFA® charterholder and holds a Series 66 license, with three years of industry experience. He is the principal advisor at Due West Wealth Advisors LLC and serves as an adjunct professor at Kennesaw State University. Harmon is also the treasurer of the ASFIP Foundation, a nonprofit focused on financial education, and is CEO of A&E Investment Properties, Inc. Due West Wealth Advisors provides discretionary wealth management and financial planning services to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs fundamental analysis and a primarily long-term investment approach, managing portfolios that often include ETFs, equities, mutual funds, and options contracts.

Gregory Corneille is a CFP® professional with 18 years of industry experience. He has been with Choice Wealth Management, LLC since 2013. Choice Wealth Management provides discretionary investment supervisory services to individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations. The firm develops Investment Policy Statements for clients and manages portfolios using individual stocks, ETFs, and options, employing both long-term and short-term trading strategies with regular portfolio monitoring.

Thomas Cloud is a CFP® and ChFC® with 21 years of experience in financial advisory services. He has worked at Eleven Two Fund Management for 12 years before founding Third Act Retirement Planning, Inc. in 2017, where he remains the sole advisor. Third Act Retirement Planning provides individualized financial planning, discretionary portfolio management, estate-planning consulting, and insurance guidance to individuals, retirement plans, trusts, estates, and other entities. The firm manages approximately $30.4 million on a discretionary basis and offers modular and holistic planning services, utilizing a variety of investment strategies and ongoing portfolio monitoring.

Jay Thurlow is a financial advisor at Kinetic Pathways Company in Dunwoody, GA, with five years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at Alphastar Capital Management, LLC, and operated his own business before joining Kinetic Pathways. Thurlow is also co-owner of The Insurance Shop LLC, where he is involved in life and health insurance sales and client service. Kinetic Pathways provides fee-based investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm custom-manages income-oriented portfolios using structured notes and market-linked certificates of deposit, and is notable for its integration of insurance activities alongside its investment advisory services.

Alexander Kutyukhin is a financial advisor at VCM Capital with four years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at VCM Capital since 2018, following prior roles at Sistema Capital / Redline Capital and as a self-employed market researcher. Outside of finance, he serves as the director of VCM Technologies, a software development company based in London. VCM Capital provides portfolio management services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, and corporations using a blended investment approach that incorporates global macro, fundamental, and technical analysis across a broad range of asset classes. The firm manages accounts on both discretionary and non-discretionary bases and may allocate assets to third-party managers.

Portia Ryan Gerton is the sole advisor at Transformation Wealth Management, LLC in Atlanta, GA, with 18 years of industry experience. She holds the Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has held prior roles at Ameritas Investment Company, Blue Clover Financial, Mass Mutual Investors Services, and Edward Jones. Outside of financial advisory work, she owns and operates Eye Design Interiors, LLC, an interior design business. Transformation Wealth Management is an independent, single-advisor firm providing investment management, financial planning, and consulting services to individuals, trusts, estates, and business entities. The firm combines discretionary SEI-sponsored programs with a significant share of non-discretionary assets and offers ongoing portfolio monitoring and planning, including held-away account management and referrals to third-party managers.

Ashley Roth is a financial advisor with Arrowhead Investment Advisors, LLC, holding a Series 65 designation and 14 years of industry experience. She has been with Arrowhead since 2011. Arrowhead Investment Advisors is a fee-only registered investment adviser managing approximately $43.1 million for individuals, families, trusts, non-profit organizations, and corporate retirement plans. The firm focuses on long-term growth through equities and bonds using a fundamentally driven research process and provides tailored portfolio management with discretionary authority.

Samuel Deane is a financial advisor at Rora Wealth, Inc. in Atlanta, GA, holding a Series 65 designation with four years of industry experience. Prior to founding Rora Wealth in 2018, he worked at Lincoln Financial Advisors and Transamerica Financial Advisors. Outside of his advisory role, he owns a media entity for which he is compensated for writing and public speaking. Rora Wealth, Inc. advises individual clients and families primarily in the technology sector, focusing on employees, executives, and startup founders. The firm offers discretionary portfolio management and comprehensive financial planning, employing diversified portfolios with ETFs, separate accounts, direct indexing, and option strategies, alongside access to an affiliated early-stage technology private fund.

Gary Hyde is a CFP® professional with 10 years of experience in financial services. He is the principal of Shepherd Financial LLC, an independent firm he has led since 2020. Prior to founding Shepherd Financial, he worked at Northwestern Mutual in various roles from 2015 to 2020. Outside of his advisory work, Hyde provides baseball instruction to children. Shepherd Financial LLC offers wealth management, discretionary portfolio management, and financial planning primarily to individuals, high-net-worth households, trusts, estates, and retirement plans. The firm’s investment approach is long-term and ETF-oriented, with additional use of individual securities and occasional shorter-term trades, and it combines individual wealth management with retirement plan consulting services.