Michael Hinz is a financial advisor at First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. in High Point, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 18 years of industry experience. He has been with First Citizens Investor Services and First Citizens Bank since 2010. First Citizens Investor Services serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and corporate/business entities, providing advisory and brokerage services with a focus on IAR-led financial needs assessments and diversified portfolio management strategies.

John Thomas is a CFP® and CFA® with 14 years of industry experience. He has worked at Hightower Advisors since 2020 and previously spent 15 years at Stearns Financial Services Group. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as a board member and treasurer for a family corporation managing timberland and investment assets. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a wide range of individual and institutional clients, offering discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting. The firm emphasizes manager selection and multi-manager solutions, using both affiliated and third-party managers alongside proprietary research and diverse investment vehicles.

James Jones Jr. is a financial advisor with Truist Advisory Services, holding a Series 66 designation and 15 years of industry experience. His career includes prior roles at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and BB&T Investment Services. He also receives renewal commissions from previous Medicare Advantage insurance sales. Truist Advisory Services offers investment consulting and advisory services to individuals, corporate clients, retirement plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm provides asset allocation, investment policy analysis, fiduciary support, and a manager-selection program, utilizing a combination of discretionary and non-discretionary approaches supported by inter-affiliate resources.

Robert Blakely is a CFP® and ChFC® affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network, with 30 years of industry experience. He has been with Commonwealth since 2000. Blakely is the owner of Calmwater Advisory Group, LLC, a consulting entity serving Blakely Financial, Inc. Commonwealth Financial Network serves a national network of approximately 2,950 advisors and their retail and institutional clients, providing a range of advisory programs, technology, and operational support. The firm offers various investment programs and discretionary model portfolios managed by its Investment Management and Research team.

Michael Gillis is a financial advisor at Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC with 25 years of industry experience. He holds the PFS™ and Series 66 credentials and has worked at Proequities and DMJ Wealth Advisors, LLC. Gillis is also the managing partner of a CPA firm and serves as treasurer and chairman of the finance committee for the United Way of Greater Greensboro. 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-driven investment approach using proprietary due diligence and offers a range of services from wealth management to outsourced CIO solutions.

Paula Mc Millan is a CFP® professional with eight years of experience in the financial services industry. She has worked at Hightower Advisors since 2020 and previously spent five years with Stearns Financial Group. Hightower Advisors delivers investment advisory and planning services to a diverse range of individual and institutional clients. The firm’s approach includes manager selection and multi-manager solutions, utilizing affiliated and third-party managers, proprietary research, and a variety of investment vehicles.

Tara Maxwell is a CFP® professional with 10 years of industry experience. She has worked at Hightower Advisors since 2020 and previously spent eight years at Stearns Financial Group. Based in Greensboro, NC, she currently serves clients through Hightower Advisors. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse range of individual and institutional clients. The firm emphasizes manager selection and multi-manager solutions, utilizing both affiliated and third-party managers, and offers discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management alongside financial planning and retirement plan consulting.

Ryan Cooke is a CFP® with 14 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Truist Advisory Services. His prior work includes eight years at BB&T Securities and a year at Wells Fargo Clearing. Truist Advisory Services provides investment consulting and advisory services to individuals, businesses, retirement plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm’s approach combines discretionary manager relationships and non-discretionary consulting, supported by third-party platform arrangements and AI-enabled research tools.

Joanna Smith is a CFP® with 11 years of industry experience, currently serving at Kestra Advisory since 2018. Her prior roles include positions at Securities Service Network and Rather & Kittrell, Inc. She also holds roles supporting retirement plan clients through meeting preparation and financial planning activities. Kestra Advisory Services provides investment advisory and retirement-plan consulting to a diverse client base, including institutional and individual investors, offering services such as fiduciary consulting, plan design, and employee education.

William Watson is a financial advisor at Oppenheimer with 20 years of industry experience. He holds the CFA® and ChFC® designations and has worked at Oppenheimer since 2009, following two years at Stanford Group Company. Watson serves on the finance and investment committees at Greensboro Day School, providing consultation and financial strategy support. Oppenheimer is a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, corporations, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and IRAs. The firm offers a broad range of programs and advisory services across equity, balanced, and fixed-income portfolios with both discretionary and non-discretionary management approaches.

Brenton Fields is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Greensboro, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 35 years of industry experience. He has been with Valic Financial Advisors since 1998 and also serves as an agent for Agia, where he is involved with 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. The firm offers discretionary managed-account programs, financial planning, consulting, and brokerage services, utilizing Envestnet-developed UMA models to construct client portfolios.

Stephen Walters is a financial advisor with Brookstone Capital Management LLC in Greensboro, NC. He holds a Series 65 designation and has been with Brookstone since 2026. Walters also has over a decade of experience with Asset Preservation Solutions, Inc., where he has worked since 2015. Brookstone Capital Management provides fee-based asset management and financial planning services to individuals, retirement plans, corporations, trusts, and other business entities. The firm utilizes a range of investment strategies including strategic and dynamic asset-allocation models, Unified Managed Accounts, and options-enhanced strategies, supported by proprietary and affiliated funds as well as multiple sub-advisors.

Douglas House is a financial advisor with Truist Advisory Services and holds the Series 66 designation. He has 11 years of industry experience and has previously worked at Merrill, Bank of America, and Charter Communications. House is based in Greensboro, NC. Truist Advisory Services provides investment consulting and advisory services to individuals, corporate and business clients, retirement plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm uses a combination of discretionary manager relationships and non-discretionary consulting, supported by third-party platforms and AI-enabled research tools.

Phillip Williams Jr is a financial advisor with Hightower Advisors in Greensboro, NC, holding a Series 63 designation and 14 years of industry experience. His prior roles include multiple positions at Stearns Financial Group and a year at Innosphere. He serves on the Board of Advisors for Grubb Southeast Real Estate Fund VI, LLC. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse range of individual and institutional clients, utilizing a multi-manager approach that includes affiliated and third-party managers, proprietary research, and a variety of investment vehicles.

Alexander Lohrman is a financial advisor with Commonwealth Financial Network and holds a Series 65 credential. He has been active in the industry since 2026 and has experience working at Shore Point Advisory Group and Blakely Financial/National Financial Services LLC. Prior to his advisory roles, he held positions outside finance, including at Chick-Fil-A and Costco Wholesale. Commonwealth Financial Network is a dual-registered broker/dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser serving a national network of approximately 2,900 affiliated advisors and managing roughly $212.7 billion in client assets. The firm offers a broad adviser-support platform with discretionary and nondiscretionary managed-account programs, access to third-party asset managers, and various custody and clearing services.

Roger Sims is a financial advisor with Eagle Strategies (NY Life) in High Point, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and having 25 years of industry experience. He previously worked with Pinnacle Wealth Strategies, LLC, and has been affiliated with New York Life Insurance Company and NYLIFE Securities, LLC throughout his career. Sims serves as a state board member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA-NC) and is a national Membership Committee Co-Chair for NAIFA. He also coordinates staffing for the World Ninja League Championships. Eagle Strategies serves a broad range of individual and institutional clients by providing financial planning, investment management, and retirement-plan advisory services. The firm offers multiple program types, including fee-based advice and co-advisory relationships, emphasizing tailored recommendations and maintains a predominantly non-discretionary asset base within an integrated New York Life affiliate structure.

Samuel Biesecker is a financial advisor with Oppenheimer in Greensboro, NC. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has recently begun his advisory career. Prior to joining Oppenheimer, he held various roles across industries including water technology, agriculture, and education. Oppenheimer is a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving high net worth individuals, corporations, pension plans, charitable organizations, and IRAs. The firm offers a wide range of investment programs and services, including discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, consulting, and retirement services.

Brian Coghill is a financial advisor at Davenport & Company LLC with 29 years of industry experience. He has worked at Davenport since 2009 and previously spent 13 years at Merrill. Outside of his advisory role, Coghill is involved as the treasurer for a local Rotary volunteer organization and performs clerical duties at McLeansville Tax Service. Davenport & Company serves individual and institutional clients, offering asset management, retail brokerage, fixed income, public finance, and investment banking services. The firm’s investment approach includes dedicated portfolio manager teams and a Manager Research team that oversees strategies across various account types and mutual funds.

Karen Kahn is a Certified Financial Planner® with 30 years of industry experience, currently affiliated with Truist Advisory Services. She has been with Truist since 2016, working across Truist Advisory Services, Truist Investment Services, and Truist Bank. Truist Advisory Services provides investment consulting and advisory services to individuals, corporations, retirement plan sponsors, and charitable organizations, utilizing a blend of discretionary and non-discretionary manager relationships supported by advanced research tools and integrated inter-affiliate operations.

William Mann is a financial advisor with Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 29 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at DMJ Wealth Advisors, LLC, and Proequities, Inc. since 2007. 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 with a proprietary focus list and offers solutions such as discretionary wealth management, retirement plan consulting, and outsourced CIO services.