Stephanie Cortez is a financial advisor at VALIC Financial Advisors in Houston, TX, with seven years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at VALIC Financial Advisors since 2018. Outside of her advisory role, she is also an agent for non-securities insurance products at Agia. 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 through its broker-dealer operations.

Mark Nash is a financial advisor with Transamerica Financial Advisors in Houston, TX, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations and 17 years of industry experience. His career includes roles with the Louisiana Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service. Outside of advising, Nash is involved in several entrepreneurial ventures, including owning a tax preparation and consulting firm, a music and filmmaking company, an insurance agency, and a church. Transamerica Financial Advisors serves a wide range of clients, including individual investors, pension plans, trusts, and corporations, offering both advisory and broker-dealer services with a variety of model portfolios and third-party managers.

Maria Baez is a financial advisor at Oppenheimer with 32 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations. Her prior experience includes roles at Morgan Stanley Private Bank, J.P. Morgan Securities, Chase Investment Services, and Wells Fargo Investments. Oppenheimer is a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, corporations, pension plans, charitable organizations, and IRAs. The firm offers a range of programs and advisory services across equity, balanced, and fixed-income portfolios, with both discretionary and non-discretionary management.

Jacob Brown is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Houston, TX, holding a Series 66 license and having three years of industry experience. He has worked at Valic Financial Advisors since 2018 and also has experience as an agent for 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. The firm offers discretionary managed-account programs, financial planning, and brokerage services, utilizing Envestnet-developed UMA models for portfolio construction.

Lauren Sledge is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Houston, TX, holding a Series 66 designation and 16 years of industry experience. She has worked at Valic Financial Advisors since 2017, following prior roles at MassMutual and MSI Financial Services, Inc. Valic Financial Advisors serves primarily U.S. individuals, including high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients, as well as employer-sponsored retirement participants. The firm offers portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting services through a large network of advisors and utilizes discretionary unified managed accounts with advanced technology and model solutions.

Meredith Moore is a financial advisor at Creative Planning with 24 years of industry experience. She holds the Series 63 and Series 66 designations and has worked at firms including Lockton Investment Advisors, Lockton Financial Advisors, Lockton Companies, and Kestra Financial Services. Moore has been with Creative Planning since 2021. Creative Planning provides wealth management, financial planning, and retirement-plan advisory services to individuals, institutions, and corporations. The firm employs a financial-planning-led investment approach focused on low-cost indexing and buy-and-hold strategies, supplemented by direct indexing, tax-loss harvesting, and selective private market exposure, managing approximately $295.6 billion in client assets.

Marc Laborde is a financial advisor at Rockefeller Financial LLC with 20 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and previously worked at UBS Financial Services Inc for 12 years before joining Rockefeller Financial in 2020. Outside of his advisory role, he is a member of the board and finance committee for the nonprofit Trees for Houston and serves on the board of directors for LaborDe Products, a diesel engine distribution company. 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 provides discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting, operating as a registered broker-dealer with capabilities that include securities transactions, variable insurance products, and placement and investment banking services.

Kyle Faldyn is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors, Inc. He holds a Series 66 designation and has three years of industry experience. Prior to joining Valic, he has held roles at AGIA and other companies. Outside of his advisory work, he is the founder and author at Balanced House Studios LLC, where he is preparing to self-publish a novel. Valic Financial Advisors serves primarily U.S. individuals, including high net worth clients and employer-sponsored retirement participants, offering portfolio management, financial planning, and discretionary unified managed accounts through a large network of representatives.

John Debenito is a financial advisor with Empower Advisory Group in Houston, TX, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and one year of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at Empower Financial Services, United Business Bank, and Bank of America. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors, their participants, and certain retail clients, using an integrated model aligned with Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms. The firm emphasizes long-term portfolio returns and annual rebalancing within plan lineups selected by plan sponsors.

Kelsey Dale is a financial advisor at Transamerica Financial Advisors with a Series 66 credential and six years of industry experience. Prior to joining Transamerica in 2025, Kelsey worked at VALIC Financial Advisors from 2020 to 2025 and also spent two years teaching at Dayton ISD/Dr. E. R. Richter Elementary School. Kelsey is involved in the sales of insurance and non-insurance products affiliated with Transamerica Financial Advisors. Transamerica Financial Advisors serves a wide range of clients, including individual investors, pension plans, trusts, and corporations, offering both advisory and broker-dealer services through proprietary and third-party model portfolios. The firm manages substantial discretionary and non-discretionary assets and operates as both a registered broker-dealer and registered investment adviser.

Jose Vergara Gonzalez is a financial advisor at Citigroup Global Markets with 21 years of industry experience. He has worked at Citigroup Global Markets since 2014 and holds Series 65 and Series 63 licenses. Citigroup Global Markets serves individual and institutional clients across various wealth segments, offering a range of investment advisory programs and broker-dealer execution and custody services. The firm employs multi-asset, multi-manager strategies through discretionary and non-discretionary programs, combining large institutional scale with unique market roles such as swap dealer and futures commission merchant.

Steven Rife is a CFP®, CFA®, and Series 65-licensed advisor with 12 years of industry experience. He is currently with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC, where he has worked since 2024, and previously spent 12 years at The Financial Advisory Group, Inc. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC is an SEC-registered enterprise advisory firm serving a diverse client base including individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and retirement plans. The firm’s investment approach combines strategic asset allocation with both passive and active management, supported by an internal Investment Committee and quantitative and fundamental research.

Timothy Conway III is a financial advisor with Hightower Advisors in Houston, TX, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and 14 years of industry experience. He has worked at firms including Salient Private Client, Salient Capital Advisors, and Salient Partners before joining Hightower Advisors and Hightower Securities in 2018. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse client base, including individuals, institutions, and pooled investment vehicles. The firm’s approach focuses on manager selection and multi-manager solutions, utilizing both affiliated and third-party managers along with proprietary research and a range of investment options.

Sarah Gardner is a financial advisor at Citigroup Global Markets with five years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has previously worked at Fidelity Investments and DFPG Investments, Inc. Gardner spent time teaching at Brigham Young University and has been involved with ACAFS The Family Academy and the Missionary Training Center. Citigroup Global Markets serves individual and institutional clients across a range of wealth segments, offering multi-asset, multi-manager investment strategies through discretionary and non-discretionary programs. The firm combines large institutional scale with unique market roles, including in-house research and execution services, catering to workplace, high-net-worth, and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

Alan Riffle is a financial advisor with Oppenheimer in Houston, TX, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and having 37 years of industry experience. He has worked at Oppenheimer since 2009 and previously held roles at Stanford Group Company and Morgan Stanley DW Inc. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as a co-trustee on several family and insurance trusts and is a board member of Gold Country Club. Oppenheimer is a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, corporations, pension plans, and charitable organizations. The firm offers a range of advisory programs with both discretionary and non-discretionary services, spanning equity, balanced, and fixed-income portfolios, and maintains custody of client assets while operating its broker-dealer and advisory businesses.

Matthew Altenau is a CFA® charterholder and financial advisor at Fayez Sarofim & Co. in Houston, TX, with 12 years of industry experience. He has been with Fayez Sarofim & Co. since 2010. Fayez Sarofim & Co. is an SEC-registered investment adviser serving institutions, retirement plans, endowments, corporations, and high net worth individuals. The firm emphasizes bottom-up fundamental research and manages large-cap, liquid equity portfolios with a multi-year investment horizon, offering a range of equity and fixed income strategies tailored to institutional and qualified investors.

Austyn Kay is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Houston, TX, holding a Series 66 designation and one year of industry experience. Prior to joining Valic, Kay worked at Agia and has experience in the non-securities insurance sector as an appointed agent. Valic Financial Advisors serves primarily U.S. individuals, including high net worth clients and employer-sponsored retirement participants, offering portfolio management, financial planning, and unified managed accounts through a large network of investment advisor representatives.

Richard Bateman Jr. is a Series 66 licensed financial advisor with 11 years of industry experience. He is currently with Valic Financial Advisors and has previously worked at Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc., Next Financial Group, Inc., and J.P. Morgan Securities. 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, and brokerage services, utilizing Envestnet-developed UMA models for portfolio construction.

Corey Wilcox is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Houston, TX, holding a Series 66 designation and having one year of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Team FESA, Guardify Insurance Group, and Retirement Education Partners. He is also appointed as an agent to sell non-securities insurance products for Agia. Valic Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S.-domiciled individual investors, including high-net-worth clients, and supports corporate and retirement-plan participants through discretionary managed-account programs, financial planning, and brokerage services. The firm utilizes Envestnet-developed UMA models for portfolio construction and manages approximately $26.4 billion in discretionary assets.

Steven Morris is a financial advisor at VALIC Financial Advisors in Houston, TX, holding a Series 66 designation with over 11 years of experience. His prior roles include positions at S&P Global and Aramco Americas. VALIC Financial Advisors 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 for portfolio construction.