Roberto Pedraza is a financial advisor with Empower Advisory Group holding a Series 66 designation and six years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at GFWS Equities, Wells Fargo Clearing, Genworth Financial, and IBM. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer‑sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, as well as to certain IRA and retail brokerage account holders. The firm’s integrated model combines proprietary and third‑party planning methodologies with recordkeeping and administrative platforms, focusing on long‑term portfolio returns and client savings rates.

Dustin Hill is a financial advisor at Principal Financial Services with 27 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63, 65, and 66 licenses and has been with Princor Financial Services Corporation and Principal Financial Group since 1999. Principal Securities provides brokerage and registered investment advisory services to a wide range of clients, including individual investors, retirement plans, trusts, and active-duty military personnel. The firm offers direct advisory programs, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and access to third-party money manager asset allocation and separately managed account solutions.

Darryl Lindsey is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Durham, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and bringing 36 years of industry experience. He has been with Valic Financial Advisors since 2007 and also serves as an agent with Agia, focusing on non-securities insurance products. Valic Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S.-domiciled individual investors, including high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, as well as corporate and retirement-plan participants, offering discretionary managed-account programs, financial planning, and brokerage services.

Corey Overcash is a CFP® and ChFC® with 11 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has been with Valic Financial Advisors since 2014 and also holds a position as an agent with Agia, where he works with non-securities insurance products. Valic Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S.-domiciled individual investors, including high-net-worth clients, as well as corporate and retirement-plan participants. The firm offers discretionary managed-account programs, financial planning, and brokerage services, utilizing Envestnet UMA models and maintaining a large network of advisors.

Kathryn Wood is a financial advisor at Money Concepts Capital Corp with 26 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has been with Money Concepts Capital Corp since 2013. Wood is also the president and owner of Triangle Health Plans, Inc., a company providing health, medical supplement, dental, disability, and long-term care insurance. Money Concepts Advisory Service (MCAS) offers portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, charitable organizations, and corporations. The firm employs a range of managed programs and account structures, utilizing fundamental and technical analysis along with modern portfolio theory to manage assets for approximately 14,700 clients.

Jonathan Carter is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Durham, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and nine years of industry experience. He has worked at Valic Financial Advisors since 2017 and previously held roles at Primerica Financial Services and Primerica Advisors. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved as an agent with AGIA, focusing on non-securities insurance products. Valic Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S. individuals, including high net worth clients and employer-sponsored retirement participants. The firm offers portfolio management, financial planning, and discretionary unified managed accounts using Envestnet’s platform and third-party model managers, supported by a large network of advisors and centralized technology solutions.

Thomas Overcash Jr. is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Durham, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and bringing 39 years of industry experience. He has been with Valic Financial Advisors since 1997 and also serves as an agent with Agia, where he is involved in non-securities insurance products. Valic Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S.-based individual investors, including high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, as well as corporate and retirement-plan participants. The firm offers discretionary managed-account programs, financial planning, consulting, and brokerage services, utilizing Envestnet-developed UMA models for portfolio construction and management.

Nahed Alsous is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Durham, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 22 years of industry experience. She has been with Valic Financial Advisors since 2003 and also serves as an agent with Agia, focusing on non-securities insurance products. Valic Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S.-domiciled individual investors, including high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, as well as corporate and retirement-plan participants, offering managed-account programs, financial planning, and brokerage services.

David Castro is a CFP® and holds a Series 66 designation with 15 years of industry experience. He is currently with Focus Partners Wealth, LLC and has previously worked at Goldman Sachs Wealth Services, Kovitz Investment Group Partners, and other firms. Focus Partners serves individuals, high-net-worth families, family offices, and institutional clients with wealth management and advisory services. The firm employs an enhanced open architecture investment approach combining active and passive strategies, third-party managers, and private funds, and offers services including financial planning, retirement consulting, and access to affiliated private funds.

Michelle Disney is a CFP® with 18 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Allworth Financial, L.P. in Durham, NC. Her prior experience includes roles at Adams Chetwood Wealth Management and Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments. Disney holds the Series 66 designation. Allworth Financial is a fee-based SEC-registered adviser serving a diverse client base including individuals, qualified retirement plans, trusts, charitable organizations, and corporate clients. The firm employs a range of customized portfolio strategies and uses technology to manage held-away employer retirement accounts, with notable ownership ties to private investment vehicles and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Mark Nachimson is a CFP® professional with 25 years of industry experience, currently serving at VALIC Financial Advisors since 2004. He also holds a role with Agia, focusing on non-securities insurance products. Nachimson is a limited partner in a family limited partnership established for estate planning purposes. VALIC Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S.-domiciled individual investors, including high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, along with corporate and retirement-plan participants. The firm offers discretionary managed-account programs, financial planning, and brokerage services, employing Envestnet-developed UMA models for portfolio construction.

James Chetwood III is a CFP® with 21 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Allworth Financial. His prior experience includes roles at Adams Chetwood Wealth Management and Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments. He is an elder at The Summit Church and author of *Retire to the Fullest: Four Dimensions of Financial Peace of Mind*. Allworth Financial is a fee-based SEC-registered adviser serving individual, retirement, trust, charitable, and corporate clients. The firm offers customized portfolio strategies, including model allocations and options-based overlays, and incorporates technology to manage held-away retirement accounts.

Kennedy Taylor is a Series 66-licensed financial advisor with five years of industry experience. He currently works at Empower Advisory Group and previously was employed by Fidelity Investments and First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, delivering services through an integrated model connected to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms. The firm emphasizes long-term portfolio returns and savings rates in its financial planning, serving a large participant base with a higher client-to-advisor ratio than many peers.

Halah Little is a financial advisor at Transamerica Retirement Advisors, LLC with two years of industry experience. She holds the Series 66 designation and has previously worked at Fidelity Investments and Barings. Transamerica Retirement Advisors serves participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans and IRA owners through managed advice programs and investment education services, utilizing proprietary software and third-party model portfolios to provide both discretionary and non-discretionary investment recommendations.

Blake Gaulden is a CFP®, CFA®, and Series 66-licensed financial advisor with 16 years of industry experience. He has worked at firms including Ameriprise Financial Services, Lincoln Financial Advisors, and LPL Financial before joining Osaic Advisory Services, LLC. Osaic Advisory Services, LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser that serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, corporations, trusts, charitable organizations, and municipal entities. The firm offers a range of services including investment management, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and third-party manager oversight, with portfolios managed through both proprietary and third-party platforms.

Donella Winkler is a CFP® professional with 12 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Allworth Financial, L.P. She has prior experience at Adams Chetwood Wealth Management, Zeiders Enterprises, BancWest Investment Services, Inc., and Bank of the West BNP Paribas. Outside of her advisory role, she provides financial education through Zeiders Enterprises, focusing on topics such as Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), credit scores, and budgeting. Allworth Financial is a fee-based SEC-registered adviser serving individuals, qualified retirement plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporate clients. The firm offers customized investment portfolios using various model strategies and employs technology to manage held-away employer retirement accounts without client login credentials.

Joshua Maida is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Durham, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 15 years of industry experience. He has been with Valic Financial Advisors since 2016 and is also associated with AGIA, where he works with non-securities insurance products. Valic Financial Advisors serves primarily U.S. individuals, including high net worth clients and employer-sponsored retirement participants, providing portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting services. The firm operates at scale with over 1,200 advisors and integrates technology and model solutions to manage a large client base.

Serene Alsous is a CFP® and ChFC® with nine years of experience in financial advising, currently with Valic Financial Advisors in Durham, NC. She has been with Valic Financial Advisors and NC State University since 2017 and also has experience at BMW Manufacturing and Agia. Alsous serves as a notary public in Wake County. Valic Financial Advisors is a large SEC-registered investment adviser and FINRA-member broker-dealer serving primarily U.S. individuals, including high net worth clients and employer-sponsored retirement plans. The firm offers portfolio management and financial planning services through a network of over 1,200 advisors, utilizing discretionary unified managed accounts on Envestnet’s platform with optional tax-aware and ESG overlays.

Gregory Bass is a financial advisor with PNC Wealth Management in Raleigh, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 23 years of industry experience. His background includes roles at Coastal Federal Credit Union, SunTrust Advisory Services, and CapFinancial Securities, as well as operating Bass Quality Landscaping for three years. PNC Wealth Management offers retail brokerage and advisory services through model-based programs, including a digital discretionary model account designed for employees, which uses algorithm-driven risk assessment and managed investment strategies involving mutual funds and ETFs.

Landon Cross is a financial advisor at Edward Jones with four years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has previously worked at firms including Parson's General Construction, Brewer Insurance Group, Equis Financial Group, and Commodity Specialists Company. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving individual and institutional clients with a broad range of advisory programs, including both discretionary and non-discretionary strategies, separately managed accounts, and affiliated mutual funds. The firm manages approximately $1.01 trillion in assets and operates a large network of financial advisors and branch offices nationwide.