Christa Madison is a CFP® and Series 63 licensed advisor at Ascentis Independent Advisors, LLC with two years of industry experience. Her prior roles include positions at Curi RMB Capital, Sebold Capital Management, Americana Financial Group, MML Investors Services, Inc., and MassMutual Financial Group. Outside of advising, she is involved as a soccer referee and partners with family members in a craft show business called Loom Designs. Ascentis Independent Advisors is a multi-team SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, trusts, retirement plans, and corporate clients. The firm offers a range of services including asset management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting, utilizing portfolios constructed from diverse public and private securities that are actively monitored and rebalanced.

Brian Falls is a financial advisor with IHT Wealth Management LLC in Oak Brook, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 66 designations and bringing 28 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at LPL Financial, Edward Jones, Merrill, and Bank of America. IHT Wealth Management serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, trusts, and corporate clients. The firm employs a blend of fundamental stock selection and quantitative tools across diversified model portfolios and offers discretionary asset management, financial planning, and ERISA fiduciary services through a network of approximately 153 advisors.

Aaron Ahlstrom is a CFP® with 16 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at JMG Financial Group Ltd. Prior to joining JMG in 2024, he worked at Ameriprise and Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. from 2009 to 2024. JMG Financial Group advises individuals, trusts, retirement plans, business entities, and charitable organizations with a planning-based, long-term investment approach. The firm offers comprehensive wealth and portfolio management, along with in-house tax consulting and private investment fund advisory services.

Kevin Newman is a financial advisor at Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc. with 12 years of industry experience. He holds Series 65 and Series 63 credentials and has worked at Ausdal Financial Partners since 2013, including a brief tenure at Principal Securities and Principal Life Insurance in 2019. Outside of advising, he has worked as a freelance translator and is involved in insurance sales through Newman & Associates Ltd. Ausdal Financial Partners serves individuals, trusts, estates, retirement plans, and business entities, managing approximately $3.73 billion for over 16,000 clients. The firm offers a broad range of services including advisor-managed accounts, separately managed accounts, unified managed accounts, retirement-plan advisory, and financial planning, tailoring investment strategies to clients’ objectives and risk tolerance.

Benjamin Packer is a financial advisor at Ritholtz Wealth Management in Chicago, IL. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has two years of industry experience. Prior to joining Ritholtz Wealth Management in 2025, he worked at Charles Schwab and Column Capital Advisors. Ritholtz Wealth Management serves individual and institutional clients, providing portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting. The firm employs a goal-based investment process that incorporates asset allocation and behavioral finance, using diversified low-cost ETFs along with tactical overlays and alternative investments.

Jennifer Barry is a CFP® and CFA® with 29 years of industry experience. She has worked at Aaron Wealth Advisors since 2021 and previously spent 23 years at Citigroup Global Markets. Barry holds a Series 63 license. Aaron Wealth Advisors serves high-net-worth and institutional clients, including business owners and family offices, providing discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management along with financial consulting. The firm uses an outsourced platform to access third-party managers and offers option overlay strategies, with a client base that includes insurance-related relationships through an affiliated insurance advisory entity.

Ashley Garrido is a financial advisor at A.G.P. / Alliance Global Partners with six years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at A.G.P. since 2018, following two years at Sentinus Securities, LLC. Outside of her advisory work, Garrido serves as Treasurer and head of the finance committee for a condominium association in Chicago. A.G.P. / Alliance Global Partners is an SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, trusts, corporations, and retirement plans. The firm uses an open-architecture investment approach with a focus on international investing and combines in-house management, third-party money managers, and sub-advisers to offer discretionary and non-discretionary strategies alongside brokerage and capital markets services.

Clay Hessel is a financial advisor at Alera Investment Advisors, LLC with 31 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at firms including Securian Financial Services, Minnesota Life, Triad Advisors, and GCG Financial. He is also involved in providing life insurance and protection solutions to clients. Alera Investment Advisors, LLC offers investment management, financial planning, and retirement plan advisory services to individuals, families, businesses, and institutions. The firm employs a long-term, fundamentally driven investment approach and serves both retail investors and plan sponsors with discretionary portfolio management and ERISA-focused plan services.

Sandra Evans is a financial advisor with LaSalle St. Investment Advisors, L.L.C., holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 37 years of industry experience. She has worked at La Salle St. Securities, Inc. since 1992 and at Carrollton Bank since 1985. In addition to her advisory role, she serves as Secretary-Treasurer of Evans Farm Equipment, Inc. and is a board member of the Prairie Council of Aging. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors provides fee-based financial planning and investment supervisory services to individuals, trusts, estates, pension plans, charitable organizations, and small businesses. The firm offers both non-discretionary and discretionary investment approaches, with a notable emphasis on managing a predominance of non-discretionary assets.

Brian Janecke is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional with 16 years of industry experience. He is currently with Curi Capital, LLC and previously worked at RMB Capital Management LLC and Jacobus Wealth Management, Inc. Curi Capital serves a diverse client base including individuals, families, institutions, retirement plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a long-term, fundamental, bottom-up investment approach and combines in-house strategies with external managers, managing approximately $9.83 billion across various investment vehicles.

Jeremy Zoladz is a financial advisor with Americana Partners, LLC in Chicago, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations and bringing 27 years of industry experience. He previously worked at Dynasty Securities, LLC and Dynasty Wealth Management, LLC from 2015 to 2026. Zoladz is also involved with Dynasty Financial Partners, LLC in an investment-related capacity. Americana Partners serves individuals—including high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth international clients—as well as corporations, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm offers customized portfolio management through discretionary and consultative approaches, employing a broad range of investment vehicles and strategies, including alternative and privately placed investments for eligible clients.

Raymond Sullivan Jr. is a financial advisor with FourStar Wealth Advisors, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and having 33 years of industry experience. He has worked at FourStar since 2020 and previously held roles at PKS Advisory Services, Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, Forum Financial Management, and his own firm Sullivan & Sullivan, Ltd, where he also maintains a CPA accounting and tax practice. Sullivan serves as president and treasurer of the Sertoma Speech-Hearing Center, a nonprofit organization. FourStar Wealth Advisors serves individuals, retirement and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and business entities, providing financial planning, discretionary portfolio management, and retirement-plan consulting. The firm utilizes a combination of fundamental and technical analysis and manages portfolios primarily on a discretionary basis tailored to client risk tolerance and time horizon, including allocations to mutual funds, ETFs, individual securities, options, third-party managers, and private funds.

Kristi Mills is a financial advisor at Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth, Inc. with 17 years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and has been with the firm since 2005. Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth, Inc. provides personalized, fee-only financial counseling and non-discretionary investment advisory services to individuals, families, trusts, estates, private foundations, qualified retirement plans, and senior corporate executives. The firm emphasizes customized long-term asset allocation and diversification strategies, with client decisions made following detailed evaluations of their goals.

Jared Shirk is a financial advisor at LaSalle St. Investment Advisors, L.L.C., holding a Series 66 designation with four years of industry experience. He has worked at LaSalle St. Investment Advisors since 2022 and is also involved with Capital Wealth Partners, where he engages in fixed insurance contracting. Outside of finance, he operates a mowing business. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors provides personalized, fee-based financial planning and investment supervisory services to individuals, trusts, estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and small businesses. The firm offers both non-discretionary and discretionary management approaches and supervises third-party managers, with a notable emphasis on non-discretionary asset management.

Stephen Dudas is a financial advisor at World Equity Group, Inc. with 21 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66 designation and has previously worked at firms including Insigneo Advisory Services, Securities America Advisors, and Triad Advisors. World Equity Group, Inc. provides fee-based investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, and business entities. The firm offers managed portfolios through its wrap-fee program, combining discretionary portfolio management with access to third-party money managers.

Nadezda Scharnell is a Series 66-licensed financial advisor with 14 years of industry experience, currently affiliated with Merit Financial Advisors in Chicago, IL. She previously worked at Morgan Stanley for ten years before joining Merit Financial Advisors and related firms in 2025. Merit Financial Group, LLC is an SEC-registered advisory firm managing approximately $10.6 billion for a diverse client base, including individuals, businesses, retirement plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a long-term, diversified investment strategy using model portfolios and customizable sleeves, supported by a centralized Investment Management team and Investment Committee.

Mitchell Thornton is a financial advisor at Northern Trust Securities, Inc. with 31 years of industry experience. He has been with Northern Trust Securities since 2010. Thornton holds Series 63, Series 65, and Series 66 designations. Northern Trust Securities, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser and FINRA-registered broker-dealer serving high-net-worth individuals, retail investors, and institutional clients. The firm offers model-driven discretionary portfolio management through Separately Managed Accounts and Strategist portfolios delivered via the Fidelity Managed Account Xchange platform.

Michael Sullivan is a financial advisor at VestGen Advisors, LLC with 26 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at LPL Financial LLC, Wealth Management Group, L.L.C., and Private Client Services. Outside of advising, he is an investor in Davidson's Bar & Grill, a local restaurant. VestGen Advisors, LLC is a multi-team registered investment adviser managing approximately $3.47 billion for over 9,400 clients. The firm serves individual and high-net-worth clients using a combination of fundamental, quantitative, technical, and modern portfolio theory approaches, incorporating third-party managers and affiliate strategies in portfolio implementation.

Mike Angelopoulos is a financial advisor with B. Riley Wealth Advisors, Inc. in Chicago, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 26 years of industry experience. He has been with B. Riley Wealth Advisors since 2016 and previously worked at National Securities Corp. Angelopoulos is president of Porchlight Real Estate PLLC, a real estate investment venture. B. Riley Wealth Advisors provides investment advice and portfolio management to a diverse client base, including individual investors, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and businesses, managing approximately $4.21 billion in assets across a variety of programs and strategies.

Nicholas Ginnodo is a financial advisor at FourStar Wealth Advisors, LLC in Chicago, IL, holding the Series 66 designation with three years of industry experience. Prior to joining FourStar, he worked at Riverpoint Wealth Management and The Vanguard Group. FourStar Wealth Advisors serves individuals, retirement and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and business entities by providing financial planning, discretionary portfolio management, and retirement-plan consulting. The firm employs both fundamental and technical analysis and manages client portfolios primarily on a discretionary basis, tailoring investments to risk tolerance and time horizon.