Ryan Bellis is an advisor at Vertex Partners in Downers Grove, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. He has been with Vertex Planning Partners since 2024 and has prior experience at Natixis Investment Managers. Ryan entered the industry recently after completing his studies in 2024. Vertex Partners provides advisory services to individuals, trusts, estates, retirement plans, and charitable and corporate entities through financial planning, investment and wealth management, consulting, and retirement plan consulting. The firm employs a diverse investment process focusing on asset allocation, diversification, and behavioral finance, utilizing a combination of active and passive model portfolios across various platforms and strategies.

Jeremy Lorenz is a CFP® professional with four years of experience at Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. He has a background that includes roles at Illinois State University, Ikea, LegoLand Discovery Center, and Schaumburg High School. Capstone Financial Advisors serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, charitable organizations, and corporate clients. The firm emphasizes asset-class allocation, cost control, and tax positioning, managing approximately $2.44 billion in client assets through a multi-advisor team and offering private fund investments and in-house tax services.

Patricia Musachio is a financial advisor at Walsh & Associates, LLC with 34 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at LPL Financial (Dba Kinnare & Associates Financial Consultants) since 2003. She joined Walsh & Associates in 2025 as part of an eight-advisor team. Walsh & Associates serves individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and employer retirement plans, providing portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting. The firm manages approximately $660 million on a discretionary basis and employs strategies that emphasize asset allocation along with fundamental, quantitative, and qualitative security analysis.

Alex Offerman is a CFP® with eight years of industry experience, currently serving as an advisor at Model Wealth. He has worked at Model Wealth since 2018 and has held roles at Highpoint Advisor Group, LLC, and LPL Financial, LLC. Model Wealth, Inc. is a virtual, fee-only financial planning and wealth management firm serving individuals, families, estates, trusts, and small businesses. The firm emphasizes a broadly passive investment approach with cost-effective, tax-aware implementation and integrates robo-advisor strategies and direct indexing within a flat annual fee structure.

Lisa Zarkin is a CFP® professional with 34 years of industry experience. She is currently with Sequoia Wealth Management, LLC, where she has worked since 2017, and has previous experience at LPL Financial and PlanSmart Financial Services. Outside of financial advising, she is an author and self-publishes her own book. Sequoia Wealth Management advises individuals, trusts, estates, corporations, and employer retirement plans, providing asset management, financial planning, and retirement-plan consulting. The firm offers access to third-party money managers and model portfolios, using a combination of quantitative optimization and third-party research to tailor portfolios to clients’ goals.

Colin Schwerin is a financial advisor at North Star Investment Management Corporation with two years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has prior work experience at Burns and McDonnell, Sargent and Lundy, and Kentucky Utilities. Schwerin is also associated with CAPS Financial Group, where he provides financial planning services. North Star Investment Management Corporation serves a range of clients including individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, and charitable organizations, offering discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and family office services. The firm manages approximately $2.5 billion in client assets and employs strategies such as equity positions, fixed income, option strategies, and direct indexing, often allocating client assets into its own mutual funds.

Casey Moss is a financial advisor at Total Clarity Wealth Management, Inc with six years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at firms including Highpoint Advisor Group, Capital Pointe, and Wela Financial. In addition to his advisory role, Moss is the owner and accountant of Casey Moss Tax and Accounting, LLC, where he provides tax preparation and accounting services. Total Clarity Wealth Management offers wealth management and financial planning services to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporate clients, and employer 401(k) plan sponsors. The firm provides discretionary portfolio management using a variety of investment vehicles and employs both model portfolios and separately managed accounts, with additional active strategies available for sophisticated investors.

Robert Tutela is a financial advisor at Essex, LLC with nine years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has been with Essex since 2016. Tutela serves as a SmartAsset Ambassador, consulting as an independent contractor to generate sales leads for his firm. Essex, LLC is a registered investment adviser managing approximately $649.3 million across about 576 client accounts. The firm offers discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting services to a diverse client base, including high-net-worth individuals, trusts, retirement plans, and charitable organizations. Investment decisions are made by a multi-member committee using a blend of fundamental, technical, and sector analysis.

John Kosik is a CFP® with 14 years of industry experience, currently serving at Capstone Financial Advisors Inc since 2009. He holds the Series 63 designation and is based in Downers Grove, Illinois. Capstone Financial Advisors serves a diverse client base including individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, charitable organizations, and corporate clients. The firm emphasizes asset-class allocation, cost control, and tax positioning in its investment process, managing approximately $2.44 billion in client assets through a multi-advisor team.

Igor Yukhvidin is a financial advisor at Vertex Partners with one year of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and previously worked at JP Morgan Chase Bank for seven years and Ernst & Young for four years. Vertex Partners provides advisory services to individuals, trusts, estates, retirement plans, and charitable and corporate entities through financial planning, investment and wealth management, and consulting. The firm’s investment approach emphasizes asset allocation, diversification, and behavioral finance, utilizing a mix of active and passive model portfolios across various platforms and strategies.

Bradley Schaffnit is a financial advisor at Apollon Financial, LLC with 24 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has previously worked at Highpoint Advisor Group, LLC and LPL Financial, LLC. His outside business activities include involvement with Leaders Partners, Inc., a non-variable insurance firm. Apollon Financial, LLC is an SEC-registered advisory firm serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, families, trusts, estates, businesses, and retirement plans. The firm manages approximately $1.45 billion through a team of 16 advisors, offering financial planning, portfolio management, retirement-plan advisory, and access to private and alternative investments.

Dory Rodriguez is a financial advisor with Apollon Financial, LLC, holding CFP® and Series 66 credentials and bringing 25 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Apollon Financial in 2024, he worked at LPL Financial and HighPoint Advisor Group LLC. He has additional business activities that include sales of non-variable insurance products. Apollon Financial, LLC is an SEC-registered advisory firm serving individuals, families, family offices, trusts, estates, businesses, and retirement plans. The firm manages approximately $1.45 billion through a team of 16 advisors and offers financial planning, portfolio management, retirement-plan advisory, and access to private and alternative investments using a combination of centrally managed models, advisor-led portfolios, and sub-advisers.

Michael Speziale is a financial advisor at James T. Borello & Co. with 32 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been with James T. Borello & Co. since 2011, following prior roles at Valic Financial Advisors and Berthel, Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. James T. Borello & Co. serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, small businesses, trusts, and other legal entities with discretionary investment management and comprehensive financial planning. The firm employs diversified portfolios constructed from mutual funds, ETFs, equities, and fixed income, using quantitative asset-allocation models and annual managed account reviews.

Kara Vance is a CFP® and Series 65 professional with 15 years of experience in financial advisory services. She has been with Timothy Financial Counsel, Inc. since 2016. Timothy Financial Counsel, Inc. is a fee-only, hourly financial planning firm that serves individuals, families, businesses, trusts, charities, and retirement plans. The firm provides project-based advice on various financial topics and emphasizes diversified exposure through no-load mutual funds and ETFs, asset allocation, and periodic rebalancing, without offering ongoing portfolio management or discretionary authority.

John Koenig is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license with eight years at Capstone Financial Advisors Inc and a total of four years in the industry. Prior to joining Capstone, he worked at Heritage Wealth Architects, LLC for two years and was a part-time student for one year. Capstone Financial Advisors serves individuals, including high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, charitable organizations, and corporate clients. The firm offers portfolio management and financial planning with an investment process that emphasizes asset-class allocation, cost control, and tax positioning, managing approximately $2.44 billion in client assets across a multi-advisor team.

Gregory Davis is a CFP® with 11 years of industry experience, currently serving as an advisor at Clearwater Capital Partners. He has been with Clearwater since 2015. Outside of his advisory role, he is a passive investor in a thoroughbred horse racing LLC and acts as a life insurance agent, evaluating and placing policies when needed for clients. Clearwater Capital Partners provides family office services, private wealth management, institutional advisory, and retirement plan advising. The firm serves individual, high-net-worth, and institutional clients using a variety of investment approaches, including fundamental, quantitative, and options strategies.

John Chapman is a financial advisor at Clearwater Capital Partners with 41 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been with Clearwater Capital Partners since 2006. Chapman is a partial owner of Clearwater Capital Insurance Services, LLC, which provides non-variable life, long-term care, and disability insurance sales, and he is also a business owner of Clearwater Capital Consulting, LLC, offering select tax services. Clearwater Capital Partners serves high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutional clients, providing family office and private wealth management, institutional advisory, retirement plan advisory, and wrap-fee investment programs. The firm manages most advisory accounts on a discretionary basis and incorporates fundamental, technical, quantitative, and thematic analysis in portfolio management.

Michael Heatwole is a CFP® with 13 years of industry experience, currently serving as an advisor at The Dala Group, LLC since 2018. He previously worked at Waddell & Reed, Inc for six years. Outside of his advisory role, he serves on the advisory board of The Salvation Army in Elgin, IL, and is vice-president of a local networking organization, BNI. The Dala Group serves individual and high-net-worth clients with portfolio management and financial consulting, including retirement, estate, tax, and charitable planning. The firm employs a mix of fundamental, quantitative, and qualitative analysis to develop diversified asset-allocation strategies using a variety of investment vehicles tailored to client objectives and risk tolerance.

Anna Thornburg is a Series 65-licensed financial advisor at Model Wealth, Inc. in Wheaton, IL, with four years of industry experience. Prior to joining Model Wealth in 2021, she worked at Covenant Classical School and Church of the Resurrection. Model Wealth, Inc. is a virtual, fee-only financial planning and wealth management firm serving individuals, families, estates, trusts, and small businesses. The firm uses a broadly passive investment approach with cost-effective, tax-aware implementation, combining robo-managed strategies, direct indexing, and discretionary portfolio management.

Scott Graziano is an advisor at Chicago Investment Advisory Council, Inc. with a Series 65 credential and one year of industry experience. His work history includes roles at J.W. Cole Advisors, Inc. and J.W. Cole Financial, Inc. prior to joining his current firm. Chicago Investment Advisory Council serves both individual and high-net-worth retail investors, offering portfolio management, financial planning, and educational workshops through a five-advisor team. The firm utilizes proprietary model portfolios and typically manages accounts with discretionary trading authority.