Jose Velarde Gainza is a financial advisor at Empower Advisory Group with a Series 66 designation and one year of industry experience. Prior to joining Empower, he held roles at First Horizon Bank and Northwestern Mutual, among other positions. 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 integrates its services with Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms, offering proprietary and third-party planning methodologies focused on long-term portfolio returns and client savings rates.

Abraham Johnson is a financial advisor at Brookstone Capital Management LLC with four years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at Brookstone since 2021. Johnson is also a managing director and independent agent at Amerilife, where he sells life and health insurance products and is involved in training and recruiting insurance agents. 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.

Joshua Dillard is a financial advisor at Oppenheimer with Series 66 credentials and three years of industry experience. Prior to joining Oppenheimer, he was involved with Bhramari Brewing Company for eight years and briefly worked at Black Mountain Pizza & Ale House. Oppenheimer is a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, corporations, pension plans, and charitable organizations. The firm offers a range of programs and advisory services, including asset management, financial planning, and retirement consulting, with both discretionary and non-discretionary account management.

Lewis Akers Jr. is a CFP® with 29 years of industry experience, currently serving at Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC since 2022. His prior roles include nearly two decades at Altavista Wealth Management, Inc. and six years at Merrill. In addition to his advisory work, he owns a small tax preparation business focused on limited income tax returns. Beacon Pointe Advisors provides wealth advisory, consulting, financial planning, and outsourced chief investment officer services to a diverse client base including individuals, corporations, and institutional clients. The firm combines asset-allocation modeling with third-party managers across active and passive strategies and offers proprietary private funds alongside comprehensive reporting and participant education.

Douglas Bridges Jr. is a CFP® professional with 24 years of industry experience, currently serving at VALIC Financial Advisors since 2006. He also holds an agent position with Agia, focusing on non-securities insurance products. VALIC Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S.-domiciled individual investors, including high-net-worth clients, and offers discretionary managed-account programs, financial planning, and brokerage services through its broker-dealer operations.

Eric Henry is a financial advisor with Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc. in Asheville, NC, holding a Series 66 credential and nine years of industry experience. He has been with Bankers Life and its affiliated entities since 2004 and serves as a unit field trainer, recruiting and training new insurance agents. Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc. primarily serves mass-affluent and high-net-worth individuals, offering discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, consulting, and retirement plan services. The firm uses a combination of fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis to tailor asset allocations and manages portfolios across a range of securities based on clients’ goals and risk tolerances.

Casey Allison is a financial advisor at Truist Advisory Services with three years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 credential and previously worked at Truist Bank for ten years. Outside of his advisory role, Allison serves as a deacon at First Baptist Church Hendersonville, where he participates in monthly meetings addressing church business and stewardship activities. Truist Advisory Services provides investment consulting and advisory services to individuals, corporate clients, retirement plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm uses a combination of discretionary and non-discretionary approaches, supported by third-party platform and manager arrangements, and integrates services across its affiliated entities.

Mary Kiser is a CFP® professional with three years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC. Her prior experience includes five years at Altavista Wealth Management and roles at Cumberland Trust & Investment Co and Page and Windrow. Beacon Pointe Advisors provides investment advisory and consulting services to a diverse client base, including individuals, institutions, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a manager-of-managers approach using a proprietary Focus List and offers discretionary wealth management, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and outsourced CIO solutions.

Madison Ramella is a CFP® and holds a Series 66 license, with three years of industry experience. She is currently with Mercer Global Advisors Inc. and previously worked at Raymond James Financial Services Advisers. Outside of finance, she has experience working with Flour Shop. Mercer Global Advisors serves individuals, families, small business owners, plan sponsors, foundations, non-profits, and endowments, offering investment advisory services alongside financial, tax, retirement, and estate planning as well as family office services. The firm’s investment approach is based on Modern Portfolio Theory and utilizes globally diversified, risk-appropriate portfolios with multi-factor tilts, implemented through ETFs, index funds, separate account managers, direct indexing, and other options.

Linda Puryear is a financial advisor with OSAIC Institutions, Inc. based in Asheville, NC. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 13 years of industry experience. Prior to her current roles at HomeTrust Bank and Infinex Investments, she worked at BB&T and affiliated entities. Outside of her advisory work, Puryear serves on the finance committee of Children's First/Communities in Schools and is the board treasurer for RiverLink, a local environmental nonprofit. OSAIC Institutions, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, ERISA plans, trusts, estates, and corporate clients. The firm provides customized advisory services through a network of investment adviser representatives and operates a hybrid adviser/broker-dealer model with access to alternative investments and lending solutions.

Brendan Reidy Jr. is a financial advisor at Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC with 19 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has worked at firms including The Mather Group, Mercer Global Advisors, Churchill Management Group, and US Trust Bank of America. Beacon Pointe Advisors provides investment advisory and consulting services to a diverse client base, including individuals, institutions, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a manager-of-managers approach using proprietary due diligence and asset allocation strategies, and it sponsors proprietary investment vehicles and private funds.

Jordan Williams is a financial advisor with OSAIC Institutions, Inc. in Weaverville, NC, holding a Series 66 designation and one year of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at HomeTrust Bank and NTCA - The Rural Broadband Association, as well as a position in professional sports catering. OSAIC Institutions, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, retirement plans, trusts, estates, and corporate clients through a large network of representatives. The firm offers customized advisory services, financial planning, ERISA plan services, and access to alternative investments, operating with a hybrid adviser/broker-dealer structure and a distinctive distribution model.

Eric Hauser is a financial advisor with Kestra Advisory, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and bringing 29 years of industry experience. He has worked at Kestra Advisory since 2017 and previously spent seven years with Williams Financial Group. Hauser also operates KB Elliot Financial Advisors, conducting registered representative and independent insurance agent activities through Kestra entities under a DBA. Kestra Advisory Services provides investment advisory and retirement-plan consulting to plan sponsors and a diverse range of institutional and individual clients. The firm offers fiduciary consulting, plan design, investment advice, and employee education, serving large institutional investors including sovereign wealth funds and managing approximately $79.8 billion in assets.

Donald Weidemann is a financial advisor with Oppenheimer who holds the CFP® designation and Series 63 and 65 licenses. He has 38 years of industry experience, including roles at Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Global Markets before joining Oppenheimer in 2010. Oppenheimer is a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer that serves a diverse client base including individuals, corporations, pension plans, and charitable organizations. The firm offers a broad range of investment programs and advisory services, operating with a mix of discretionary and non-discretionary account management while maintaining custody of client assets.

James Novello is a financial advisor at Oppenheimer with four years of industry experience. He holds Series 65 and Series 63 licenses and has previously worked at John Hancock in various roles. Outside of his advisory work, he is the owner of Glassmine Publishing LLC, an editing and publishing business. Oppenheimer is a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, corporations, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, pooled investment vehicles, and IRAs. The firm offers a variety of advisory programs with both discretionary and non-discretionary investment approaches and maintains custody of client assets as a qualified custodian.

David Plaisance is a financial advisor at Farther with 15 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and previously worked for Waypoint Strategic Advisors for 15 years. In addition to his advisory role, he operates as an independent insurance agent. Farther serves individual investors, trusts, and estates through a technology-driven advisory platform and direct client meetings. The firm employs a Modern Portfolio Theory-based investment approach, utilizing bespoke and algorithmic model portfolios with automatic rebalancing, primarily allocating among ETFs, mutual funds, equities, and fixed income.

Richard Brown is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license, with nine years of experience in financial advising. He has worked at The Colony Group, LLC, Buckingham Strategic Wealth, LLC, and Davis Financial Planning. Brown is based in Asheville, NC. He is affiliated with Focus Partners Wealth, LLC, an enterprise with over 1,000 advisors that serves individuals, high-net-worth families, family offices, and institutional clients. The firm offers comprehensive wealth management and advisory services with an investment approach that combines active and passive strategies, third-party managers, and private funds under an enhanced open architecture framework.

David Werle is a CFP® with 14 years of industry experience and is currently an advisor at Mercer Global Advisors Inc. He previously worked at Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc., Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., and Starks Financial Group. Werle serves as a director on the board of OnTrack Financial Education & Counseling, a nonprofit organization focused on financial education. Mercer Global Advisors provides investment advisory services to individuals, families, small business owners, plan sponsors, foundations, non-profits, and endowments. The firm’s approach emphasizes globally diversified, risk-appropriate portfolios implemented with low-cost funds and incorporates specialized services such as retirement plan consulting and charitable advisory.

Christina Simpson is a financial advisor with Oppenheimer, holding a Series 66 designation and 19 years of industry experience. She has worked at Oppenheimer since 2012, following prior roles at Wells Fargo Clearing and A. G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. in the earlier part of her career. Oppenheimer is a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, corporations, pension plans, and charitable organizations. The firm offers a wide range of investment programs and advisory services, utilizing both discretionary and non-discretionary approaches with a focus on strategic asset allocation, manager selection, and comprehensive portfolio oversight.

Christina Gier is a financial advisor at Oppenheimer with Series 66 registration and four years of industry experience. Before joining Oppenheimer in 2022, she worked in the hospitality sector with Asheville Hotel Group and retail at Target. Oppenheimer is a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, corporations, pension plans, charitable organizations, and other clients. The firm offers a variety of advisory programs and services across equity, balanced, and fixed-income portfolios, using both discretionary and non-discretionary approaches.