Matthew Ashley is a financial advisor with Rockefeller Financial LLC based in Dallas, TX. He holds the Series 66 designation and has 22 years of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at Rock & Co LLC, Bank of America, NA, and Merrill. Outside of advisory services, he is involved with Ashley Family Farms LLC, an investment vehicle. Rockefeller Financial LLC serves high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families, family offices, institutional clients, retirement plans, foundations, and corporations. The firm offers portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting through a Private Advisor model and a consolidated investment platform, combining discretionary and non-discretionary solutions across various asset classes, while also operating as a registered broker-dealer.

Zachary Murdock is a financial advisor with Principal Financial Services in Addison, TX, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and three years of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at Equitable Advisors and various positions outside finance, such as in the food service and retail sectors. He is also licensed as an insurance agent, providing sales and service of life, disability, long-term care, health, and group insurance products. Principal Securities provides brokerage and registered investment advisory services to a diverse client base, including individual investors, retirement plans, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm offers direct advisory programs, financial planning, and access to third-party money manager solutions under various advisory and promoter arrangements.

Thu Dang is a financial advisor with Transamerica Financial Advisors, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 29 years of industry experience. Her background includes roles at several health insurance providers such as Molina Health Care, Aetna, Cigna, BlueCross BlueShield, Friday Health Insurance, and United Health Care. She is involved with the Heartland Institute of Financial Education, a nonprofit focused on promoting financial literacy. Transamerica Financial Advisors provides investment advisory, brokerage, and retirement-plan services to a diverse client base including individuals, employer-sponsored plans, trusts, and charitable organizations. The firm utilizes a variety of model portfolios and third-party managers, delivering services through multiple platforms such as Transamerica ONE, TFA365, and Transamerica ALPHA, with regulatory assets under management of approximately $1.7 billion.

David Guyett is a CFP® with 44 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has been with Commonwealth Financial Network since 2012 and has also operated Guyett Wealth Advisors since 1992. His activities include fixed insurance sales conducted through his branch office. Commonwealth Financial Network is a dual-registered broker/dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser that supports a national network of approximately 2,900 advisors and manages over $210 billion in client assets. The firm offers a broad platform including discretionary and nondiscretionary managed account programs, access to third-party asset managers, and custody and clearing services.

Peter Ruth is a financial advisor at Commonwealth Financial Network with 20 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66 designation and has been with Commonwealth since 2016. He is also part owner of Brown Ruth Advisors, LLC, through which he sells fixed annuity products. Commonwealth Financial Network is a dual-registered broker/dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser serving a national network of approximately 2,900 advisors and managing roughly $212.7 billion in client assets. The firm offers a broad adviser-support platform including managed-account programs, access to third-party asset managers, and custody services.

Lisandra Slavik is a financial advisor with Truist Advisory Services in Dallas, TX, holding a Series 66 designation and eight years of industry experience. She has worked at Truist Investment Services and Truist Advisory Services since 2021 and previously spent over a decade at Fifth Third Bank and its securities division. Truist Advisory Services provides investment consulting and advisory services to individuals, corporate clients, retirement plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm offers asset allocation, investment policy analysis, and fiduciary support, implementing advice through discretionary manager relationships and consulting with a focus on inter-affiliate integration.

Steven Novak is a financial advisor with Corient in Dallas, TX, holding a Series 66 designation and seven years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Morgan Stanley and RGT Wealth Advisors. He also serves as a guest lecturer and adjunct professor at the University of Kansas, teaching a course on estate planning for CFP and personal financial planning students. Corient serves a diverse client base including individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, pension plans, and corporate entities. The firm employs a goals-based investment approach that combines in-house strategies with third-party managers and utilizes risk management tools and alternative investments where appropriate.

Jeffrey Dunn Jr. is a CFP® professional with 11 years of industry experience, currently advising at Hightower Advisors since 2025. His prior roles include positions at Smith Anglin Financial, Fisher Investments, and TIAA-CREF. He serves as the Dallas Chapter Membership Committee Chair for the Dallas Financial Planning Association and is an Executive Organizer for Dallas MeetUp events. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse range of individual and institutional clients, employing a multi-manager approach that incorporates affiliated and third-party managers, proprietary research, and various portfolio construction techniques.

Ryan Solt is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license with seven years of industry experience. He is currently with Hightower Advisors and has prior experience at The Capital Chart Room, Coiner Enterprises LLC, OneAmerica Securities, and Integrity Financial Group, among others. He continues to service former clients through Integrity Financial Group and American United Life, primarily receiving life insurance renewals. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse range of individual and institutional clients. The firm’s approach includes discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, a focus on manager selection, and the use of affiliated and third-party managers across various investment vehicles.

Laura Lee is a CFP® professional with four years of experience in the financial industry. She currently works at Corient and previously spent nine years at RGT Wealth Advisors. Corient provides investment advisory and financial planning services to a diverse client base, including individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm employs a goals-based, team investment approach combining in-house strategies with third-party manager solutions and utilizes advanced risk management tools to align portfolios with client objectives.

Carl Wagner is a financial advisor at Corient with a Series 65 designation and four years of industry experience. Prior to joining Corient, he worked at Lincoln Property Company for 16 years. Carl is based in Dallas, TX. Corient provides investment advisory and financial planning services to a diverse client base including individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, pension plans, and charitable organizations. The firm utilizes a goals-based, team investment approach combining in-house strategies and third-party managers, with ongoing portfolio monitoring and risk management.

Cristian Barbalena is a financial advisor at Empower Advisory Group with a Series 66 designation and four years of industry experience. He previously worked at Wells Fargo Clearing and Wells Fargo Bank, as well as Bank of America. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, along with Empower Premier IRA and certain retail brokerage clients, using an integrated model linked to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms.

Brian Sears is a financial advisor at MAI Capital Management, LLC with Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and 30 years of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at Service Academy Capital Management, Barclays Capital, Neuberger Berman, Lehman Brothers, and Merrill. He is a founding partner, chairman, and CEO of Service Academy Capital Management and holds a minority stake in an online music retailer. MAI Capital Management, LLC provides investment management, wealth management, retirement plan consulting, and family-office services to individuals, families, sports professionals, trusts, and institutional clients. The firm offers a range of customized portfolio strategies implemented through in-house managers, sub-advisers, and other vehicles, with reported assets under management of $72.3 billion as of May 2026.

Ian Mcgurran is a financial advisor with Primerica Advisors holding a Series 66 credential and four years of industry experience. He currently works at Park Avenue Securities and has previous experience with Guardian Life Insurance Company. Park Avenue Securities serves a broad retail client base, offering both brokerage and advisory services along with financial planning and retirement-plan consulting. The firm employs a variety of investment strategies through proprietary and third-party platforms and supports accounts with features such as discretionary management, mutual funds, ETFs, and securities-based lending.

Marshall Simmons is a financial advisor at Steward Partners Investment Advisory, LLC in Dallas, TX, with four years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has worked at several affiliated Steward Partners entities since 2023, as well as at Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. and Prosper Mullins Private Wealth Management. His earlier career includes roles outside the financial industry in education and nonprofit organizations. Steward Partners Investment Advisory, LLC is an SEC-registered, enterprise-scale RIA managing approximately $36.7 billion in regulatory assets. The firm serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, corporations, trusts, and other entities, offering a range of investment advisory, financial planning, and managed account services through both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management.

Victor Gonzalez is a financial advisor with Goldman Sachs Wealth Services, holding a Series 66 designation and four years of industry experience. He has previously worked at Wells Fargo Clearing, Wells Fargo Bank, and Best Buy. Outside of his advisory role, he works part-time providing transportation services for Uber Technologies. Goldman Sachs Wealth Services advises a diverse client base including individual investors, executives, plan sponsors, and institutional clients. The firm offers customized financial planning and portfolio management, leveraging strategic allocation models and a range of fee structures, supported by integrated resources from the broader Goldman Sachs organization.

Kevin Benesh II is a CFA® charterholder with nine years of industry experience. He currently works at Cresset Asset Management, LLC, where he has been since 2026. Prior to joining Cresset, he spent nine years at JP Morgan Chase Bank. Cresset Asset Management is a multi-disciplinary investment adviser managing approximately $78.9 billion in client assets and serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, retirement plans, corporations, and pooled investment vehicles. The firm employs a disciplined, risk-aware approach combining strategic asset allocation, manager selection, and both active and passive implementation across public equities, fixed income, and alternatives, utilizing tools such as artificial intelligence and machine-learning for research and analysis.

Lisa Emmons is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) with 21 years of industry experience. She has been with VOYA Financial Advisors, Inc. since 2014 and previously worked at Voya Financial Partners, LLC from 2007 to 2011. In addition to her advisory role, she is an independent insurance agent specializing in the sale of fixed insurance products. VOYA Financial Advisors, Inc. is an enterprise-scale advisory and broker-dealer affiliated with Voya Financial, offering financial planning, portfolio management, and retirement-plan advisory services to individuals, pension plans, and charitable organizations. The firm combines in-house and external strategists, model portfolios, and technology tools to support mostly non-discretionary client relationships managed by a large network of advisors.

Donald Goodwin is a financial advisor with Primerica Advisors in Rockwall, TX, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and three years of industry experience. He has worked at Park Avenue Securities, Guardian Life Insurance Company, and Northwestern Mutual in various roles. Outside of finance, he owns DG23 Fitness, a personal training business, and is a candidate for the McLendon Chisholm City Council. Park Avenue Securities LLC serves a broad retail client base, including individual and high-net-worth investors, charitable organizations, and corporate clients. The firm offers both brokerage and advisory services, with a range of proprietary and third-party investment programs and account-level services.

Rashi Poddar is a CFP® and CFA® with eight years of industry experience, currently serving as an advisor at Creative Planning since 2023. Prior to this, she worked at Nylife Securities LLC and New York Life Insurance Company from 2017 to 2023. Outside of financial advising, she is a board member of the Frisco Gifted Association and the CFA Society of Dallas/Fort Worth, and is involved in several nonprofit and entrepreneurial ventures including software consulting and franchise partnerships. Creative Planning provides investment advisory and financial planning services to a diverse client base including individuals, corporations, foundations, trusts, and retirement plans. The firm employs a financial planning–led investment approach with an emphasis on low-cost indexing and buy-and-hold strategies, supported by a large advisory team and centralized investment infrastructure.