John Kwasigroch is a financial advisor at Alera Investment Advisors, LLC with 31 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has worked at firms including Securian Financial Services, Inc. and Triad Advisors, Inc. He is also involved with GCG Financial, providing fixed insurance products and investment advisory services. Alera Investment Advisors offers investment management, financial planning, and retirement plan advisory services to individuals, families, businesses, and institutions. The firm combines internal management with affiliate and independent managers, focusing on long-term allocations to mutual funds, ETFs, equities, and fixed income, while providing ERISA-related services for retirement plans.

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.

Carlos Coutinho Maia is a financial advisor with Navy Federal Investment Services, LLC, holding a Series 66 designation and six years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at firms such as JP Morgan Securities, Equitable Advisors, Prudential Insurance, Edward Jones, and Allstate Financial Services. Outside of financial services, he co-owned and operated Carambola Gelato and Coffee Shop LLC from 2017 to 2019. Navy Federal Investment Services serves members of Navy Federal Credit Union along with individual, trust, and institutional clients, offering portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement-plan fiduciary services. The firm uses managed advisory programs featuring third-party portfolio managers and provides both advisory and commission-based channels through its dual role as a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer affiliated with a credit union.

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.

Kevin Geiger is a financial advisor with Blackridge Asset Management, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and 16 years of industry experience. He has worked with several firms, including The Retirement Guys Formula and Retirement Wealth Advisors. Geiger is also involved with Geiger Investments and Peak Brokerage Services, where he engages in brokerage and insurance-related activities. Blackridge Asset Management provides financial planning, investment management, and consulting services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, corporations, retirement plans, and charitable organizations. The firm utilizes model-based portfolio management, third-party money manager referrals, and estate-planning support delivered through an online platform.

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® and holds a Series 66 license with 10 years of industry experience. He is currently with IHT Wealth Management LLC and has previously been associated with Prairie Sky Financial Group, LLC and LPL Financial, LLC. Vaughn operates Prairie Sky Financial Group, an independent investment advisor firm through which he provides advisory services. IHT Wealth Management serves individual, corporate, and institutional clients, including retirement plan sponsors, offering discretionary asset management, financial planning, and ERISA plan consulting among other services. The firm’s investment process integrates fundamental value analysis with quantitative methods and uses proprietary models and third-party managers tailored to client objectives.

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.

Paul Kaczmarczyk is a financial advisor at World Equity Group, Inc. with 19 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66 designation and has been with World Equity Group since 2010, also working with VestGen Advisors, LLC since 2026. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as treasurer for the Schaumburg Athletic Association United Soccer Club, a nonprofit youth soccer organization. World Equity Group, Inc. provides fee-based investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as various institutional clients. The firm offers managed portfolios through its wrap-fee programs, utilizing discretionary portfolio management and third-party money managers guided by clients’ risk tolerance.

Michael Manno is a financial advisor with World Equity Group, Inc. in Schaumburg, Illinois, holding Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and 42 years of industry experience. He has been with World Equity Group since 2003. World Equity Group, Inc. provides fee-based investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and other business entities. The firm offers managed portfolios through its Adhesion Money Management wrap-fee program and related advisory programs, combining discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and access to third-party money managers.

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.