Joseph Hamad is a CFP® professional with 11 years of experience in financial advising. He has worked at Creative Planning since 2023 and previously spent nine years at Empower Advisory Group. Hamad holds the Series 63, 65, and 66 licenses. Creative Planning provides wealth management, financial planning, and retirement-plan advisory services to a diverse client base, including high-net-worth individuals, pension plans, and corporations. The firm emphasizes a financial-planning-led investment approach that incorporates low-cost indexing, buy-and-hold strategies, and selective private market exposure.

Kyle Kersting is a CFA® charterholder with 12 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Cerity Partners LLC. Prior to joining Cerity Partners in 2024, he worked for nine years at Janiczek Wealth Management. He is also a member of JWM Partners I, LLC, the general partner to JWM Growth & Income Fund I LP. Cerity Partners provides customized wealth management and related services to a diverse national client base, utilizing tailored asset allocation, manager selection, and quantitative screening alongside third-party managers and individual securities.

Brian Vance is a financial advisor at Empower Advisory Group with 13 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and previously worked at Personal Capital Advisors Corporation and Axa Advisors, LLC. 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. The firm offers point-in-time financial plans and optional managed account solutions integrated with Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms.

Jeffrey Smith is a financial advisor with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and 13 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at LPL Financial, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, and JPMorgan Chase. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved in educational activities as a financial advisor at White Glove 567. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC is an SEC-registered enterprise firm serving a diverse client base including individuals, trusts, charitable organizations, corporations, and retirement plans. The firm employs a strategic investment process combining passive and active management, supported by an internal Investment Committee and quantitative and fundamental research.

Jan Michael Villas is a financial advisor at Empower Advisory Group with 17 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has worked previously at Wells Fargo Clearing Services and E*TRADE Securities LLC. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, delivering services through an integrated model tied to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms. The firm’s approach emphasizes long-term portfolio returns, annual rebalancing, and clients’ savings rates rather than short-term return forecasts.

Gary Sloan is a financial advisor at Valic Financial Advisors with 46 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and has worked at Valic Financial Advisors in two periods spanning over two decades. He also holds an agent position at Agia involving non-securities insurance products. Valic Financial Advisors primarily serves U.S. individuals, including high net worth clients and employer-sponsored retirement participants, offering wrap programs, portfolio management, and financial planning through a large network of advisors. The firm utilizes Envestnet’s platform for discretionary unified managed accounts and provides tax-aware and impact/ESG overlay services.

Matthew Russell is a financial advisor with Schwab Wealth Advisory Inc. He holds a Series 66 designation and has 18 years of industry experience. He has been with Schwab Wealth Advisory since 2017 and has worked at Charles Schwab since 2011. Schwab Wealth Advisory serves clients enrolled in the Schwab Wealth Advisory program and certain Charles Schwab & Co.-referred clients, providing non-discretionary fiduciary investment advice, financial planning, and wealth management consultations. The firm’s advice is based on proprietary asset-allocation models and internal research, with recommendations tailored to each client’s goals and risk tolerance.

Min Jung Tavella is a financial advisor at Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC with a Series 65 credential and one year of industry experience. Her prior work includes roles at Arbor Capital Management Inc., MJT Inspire Growth LLC, Planterra Foods, and WhiteWave Foods/Danone North America. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services provides financial planning, asset management, and retirement-plan consulting to individuals, high-net-worth clients, corporations, and retirement plans. The firm manages over $122 billion in assets through a large advisor network and uses a diversified investment approach combining passive and active management with quantitative and fundamental analysis.

Myra Donovan is a financial advisor with Eagle Strategies (New York Life) based in Denver, CO. She holds a Series 63 designation and has 36 years of industry experience, including longstanding roles at New York Life Insurance Company and Nylife Securities Inc. since 1989 and 1990, respectively. In addition to her advisory work, she is active as an insurance broker appointed with outside carriers for non-registered insurance products. Eagle Strategies provides financial planning, investment management, and retirement-plan advisory services to individual and institutional clients through a large network of affiliated advisors. The firm emphasizes tailored solutions and primarily manages assets on a non-discretionary basis, serving a diverse client base including defined contribution and defined benefit plans, charitable organizations, and corporate entities.

Dennis Collins is a CFP® with 29 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Mercer Global Advisors Inc. in Denver, CO. His prior experience includes roles at Raymond James Financial Services and his own firms, Chapel & Collins, LLC and Collins Wealth Strategies, Inc. He is also a Reserve Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy and volunteers as a financial advisor for Advisers Give Back, a nonprofit focused on financial literacy and pro bono planning. Mercer Global Advisors provides investment advisory and related planning services to a diverse client base that includes individuals, high-net-worth families, small business owners, and nonprofit organizations. The firm’s investment approach is based on Modern Portfolio Theory, utilizing globally diversified, risk-appropriate portfolios with strategic factor tilts and tax management.

Elizabeth Horner is a financial advisor at Schwab Wealth Advisory with 24 years of industry experience. She has been with Charles Schwab since 2003 and with Schwab Wealth Advisory since 2012. She holds the Series 63 and Series 66 designations. Schwab Wealth Advisory, Inc. provides non-discretionary fiduciary investment advice and financial planning to clients enrolled in the Schwab Wealth Advisory program, using asset-allocation models and internal research tools to tailor recommendations to clients’ goals and risk tolerance. The firm’s advice process involves client authorization for trades and oversight through annual reviews, with a focus on separately managed accounts managed by third-party or affiliated managers.

George Demetrion is a financial advisor at Empower Advisory Group with 23 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has advised Assets Group LLC since 2002. Outside of finance, he owns George Demetrion Photography, specializing in event and portrait photography for nonprofit, pageant, and sporting events. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management services primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and participants, as well as Empower Premier IRA and certain retail brokerage account holders. The firm offers integrated solutions linked to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms, focusing on long-term portfolio returns and annual rebalancing.

Benjamin Porter is a financial advisor with D.A. Davidson & Co. in Highlands Ranch, CO, holding a Series 66 designation and 11 years of industry experience. He has worked at D.A. Davidson & Co. since 2019 and previously spent four years at Merrill. D.A. Davidson & Co. provides investment advisory and brokerage services to a broad client base, including retirement plans, high-net-worth individuals, charitable organizations, and corporate clients. The firm offers a range of services such as ERISA retirement plan advisory, comprehensive financial planning, and a Private Wealth program for clients with net worth exceeding $20 million, operating under fiduciary standards and incorporating both qualitative and quantitative investment analyses.

Cory Davern is a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors in Las Vegas, NV, holding Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and 28 years of industry experience. His career includes roles at Agia, AXA Distributors, LLC, and Presidential Brokerage, Inc. Outside of advisory work, he is an agent for non-securities insurance products at Agia. 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, and brokerage services, utilizing Envestnet-developed UMA models for portfolio construction.

Noah Lazaro is a financial advisor with Private Advisor Group, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and four years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at LPL Financial, Modern Health, Robinhood Financial, and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. He also has experience as an independent insurance agent and in landscaping. Private Advisor Group serves individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, businesses, and retirement plans by providing portfolio management, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and access to various managed account solutions. The firm employs a fiduciary-based advisory model and integrates multiple investment strategies through proprietary and third-party platforms.

Spencer Brown is a CFP® professional at Empower Advisory Group with 12 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at LPL Financial and BOK Financial Securities, Inc. He is based in Greenwood Village, CO. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, as well as certain IRA and retail brokerage account holders. The firm’s services emphasize long-term portfolio returns and savings rates, delivered through an integrated model tied to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms.

William Baber is a financial advisor with Mercer Global Advisors Inc. in Denver, CO, holding Series 63, 65, and 66 licenses and 17 years of industry experience. He previously worked at Personal Capital Advisors Corporation and Westamerica Bank for over a decade each, as well as at LPL Financial and Merrill. Outside of his advisory work, he is owner of Stone Corral Farms, an almond farming operation. Mercer Global Advisors serves individuals, families, small business owners, plan sponsors, foundations, non-profits, and endowments with investment advisory, financial, tax, retirement, estate planning, and family office services. The firm employs a Modern Portfolio Theory-based investment approach with globally diversified, risk-appropriate portfolios, utilizing low-cost ETFs, index funds, separate account managers, and direct indexing.

Ashley Flynn is a financial advisor with D.A. Davidson & Co. in Denver, CO, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and 25 years of industry experience. Prior to joining D.A. Davidson in 2019, Flynn worked at Charles Schwab from 2012 to 2019. D.A. Davidson & Co. provides investment advisory and brokerage services to a broad client base, including employer-sponsored retirement plans, individual and high-net-worth investors, charitable organizations, and corporate clients. The firm offers various services such as ERISA retirement plan advisory, comprehensive financial planning, and a Private Wealth program for clients with over $20 million in net worth.

Jared Robitaille is a financial advisor at Schwab Wealth Advisory, Inc. with four years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has worked at Charles Schwab since 2022. Prior to his financial services career, he held positions at Dutch Bros, Sodexo USA, and Taco Bell. Schwab Wealth Advisory, Inc. provides non-discretionary fiduciary investment advice and wealth management consultations to clients enrolled in the Schwab Wealth Advisory program and certain referred clients. The firm’s advice is based on Charles Schwab & Co.’s asset-allocation models and internal research, focusing on tailored recommendations without exercising discretionary trading authority.

Patrick Forde is a financial advisor with Ameritas Advisory Services, LLC in Denver, CO, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and possessing 17 years of industry experience. His previous roles include positions at Folio Investments, Inc., Transamerica Capital, Inc., and Portfolio Brokerage Services, Inc. Ameritas Advisory Services, LLC provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse client base, including individuals, high-net-worth investors, retirement plans, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm utilizes a variety of investment vehicles and platform offerings, combining model portfolios, mutual funds, ETFs, and individual securities, while also maintaining a unique corporate structure that includes affiliated broker-dealer and insurance entities.