Michael Mortell is a financial advisor at CIBC Private Wealth Advisors, Inc. with 30 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at firms including Atlantic Trust Investment Advisors, Gnv Advisors, LLC, and Geneva Investment Management of Chicago. Mortell is also a partner in Mortell Associates Real Estate LLC, which focuses on homesite development. CIBC Private Wealth Advisors serves a diverse client base including individuals, families, trusts, and investment companies, offering portfolio management, financial and estate planning, and coordinated Family Office services. The firm combines internal investment teams and external managers to create customized portfolios and is notable for its high assets under management per advisor and its advisory role with investment company clients.

Michael Rarey is a CFA® charterholder with seven years of industry experience. He has worked at Creative Planning since 2025, including roles with Creative Planning Institutional Advisors, and previously spent six years at Capital Strategies Investment Group. Creative Planning provides wealth management, financial planning, and retirement-plan advisory services to a diverse client base, including high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients. The firm employs a financial-planning-led investment approach that emphasizes low-cost indexing and buy-and-hold strategies for long-term goals, alongside selective private market exposure and other tailored investment solutions.

Robert Blanford is a financial advisor at Commonwealth Financial Network with five years of industry experience. He holds Series 65 and Series 63 licenses. Prior to joining Commonwealth, he worked at Garrett Consulting and has experience outside of finance as a musical performer. Commonwealth Financial Network is a dual-registered broker/dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser serving a national network of approximately 2,900 affiliated advisors and hundreds of thousands of clients. The firm provides a broad adviser-support platform that includes managed-account programs, access to third-party asset managers, retirement consulting, and custody services.

Daniel Mckenna is a CFA® charterholder with 11 years of industry experience. He is currently affiliated with Private Advisor Group, LLC and LPL Financial, having previously worked at First Trust Portfolios L.P. for nine years. Mckenna provides administrative support to Private Advisor Group as part of his business activities. Private Advisor Group serves individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, businesses, and retirement plans by offering discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and access to various managed account solutions including its proprietary WealthSuite and third-party programs. The firm employs a fiduciary-based advisory model, utilizing a range of investment strategies and technology platforms while often implementing advice through third-party managers.

Brenda Crump is a financial advisor at Citigroup Global Markets with 17 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 66 designations. Her prior experience includes 13 years at JPMorgan Securities LLC and 15 years at JPMorgan Chase Bank NA. Citigroup Global Markets serves individual and institutional clients across various wealth segments, offering multi-asset, multi-manager investment strategies through discretionary and non-discretionary programs, as well as broker-dealer execution and custody services. The firm combines large institutional scale with specialized market roles, including in-house research and derivatives services.

Allen Saffrahn is a financial advisor at Oppenheimer with 10 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 designations and has worked at Oppenheimer, UBS Financial Services Inc, and JP Morgan Securities LLC. Oppenheimer is a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, corporations, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, pooled investment vehicles, and IRAs. The firm offers a broad range of programs and advisory services that include equity, balanced, and fixed-income portfolios, using strategic and tactical asset allocation along with manager selection and portfolio reviews.

Norbert Lieblang is a CFP® professional with 27 years of industry experience, currently advising at Citigroup Global Markets since 2022. His prior experience includes roles at Pruco Securities, LLC, Prudential Insurance Company of America, and Allstate Insurance Company. He serves as a board member of the Apple Country Homeowners Association. Citigroup Global Markets serves individual and institutional clients across various wealth segments, offering multi-asset, multi-manager investment strategies through discretionary and non-discretionary programs, as well as brokerage, custody, and derivatives services.

Charisma Lariosa is a financial advisor with Transamerica Financial Advisors in Chicago, IL, holding Series 65 and Series 63 licenses and five years of industry experience. She has worked at Transamerica Financial Advisors since 2020 and has concurrent roles at World Financial Group, INC. and Select Rehabilitation, where she provides physical therapy services. Transamerica Financial Advisors serves a broad client base, including individual investors, pension plans, trusts, and corporations, offering both advisory and broker-dealer services through proprietary and third-party model portfolios with discretionary and non-discretionary options.

Glenn Stears Jr. is a financial advisor with United Planners' Financial Services of America, holding CFP® and ChFC® designations and bringing 46 years of industry experience. His prior work includes 37 years at Waddell & Reed, Inc., and he also serves as vice president and secretary of Sagrado & Stears, Inc. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in an insurance agency he has operated since 1980. United Planners Financial Services is a national wealth-management enterprise serving a diverse client base including individual investors, retirement plans, corporations, trusts, and institutional clients. The firm delivers advisory and brokerage services through independent representatives and emphasizes non-discretionary account management.

Gregg Anderson is a financial advisor at CIBC Private Wealth Advisors, Inc. in Chicago, IL, with 24 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses. His prior work includes roles at Atlantic Trust Investment Advisers, Gnv Advisors, and Geneva Investment Management of Chicago. CIBC Private Wealth Advisors serves individuals, families, trusts, employee benefit plans, corporations, and investment companies with a range of services including portfolio management, financial and estate planning, and coordinated Family Office services. The firm combines proprietary and external investment strategies and is notable for its high assets under management per advisor and management of investment company portfolios.

Lauren Kramer is a financial advisor at William Blair with 11 years of industry experience. She holds a Series 66 designation and previously worked at Morgan Stanley for seven years before joining William Blair in 2022. William Blair’s Private Wealth Management division offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, financial planning, and wealth services to individuals, foundations, pension, and corporate clients. The firm uses an active, research-driven approach across equities, fixed income, and alternative strategies, providing proprietary models and access to private funds and co-investment opportunities.

Lucas Perkins is a CFP® with 20 years of industry experience, currently serving at VALIC Financial Advisors since 2011 and holding a concurrent position at Agia since 2022. He is based in Chicago, IL, and holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. At Agia, he is involved with 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, consulting, and brokerage services, utilizing Envestnet-developed UMA models and operating at scale with over 1,200 advisors.

Marcel Myszewski is a CFP® professional at Cresset Asset Management, LLC with four years of industry experience. He previously worked at BBR Partners, LLC and Northern Trust Corporation. Cresset Asset Management is a multi-disciplinary investment adviser managing approximately $78.9 billion in assets for 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 investment strategies across various asset classes.

Ephraim Okeke is a Series 66 licensed financial advisor with eight years of industry experience, currently with Schwab Wealth Advisory in Chicago, IL. His prior roles include positions at UBS Financial Service Inc., Raymond James & Associates, and Bank of America. He serves as Treasurer and a board member of F.Y.T.C. (For You, The Culture) Inc., where he manages financial affairs for the nonprofit organization. Schwab Wealth Advisory provides non-discretionary fiduciary investment advice and financial planning to clients enrolled in the Schwab Wealth Advisory program, utilizing Charles Schwab & Co.’s asset-allocation models and research tools to tailor recommendations according to client goals and risk tolerance.

Danielle Artz is a financial advisor at William Blair with Series 65 and Series 63 designations and eight years of industry experience. She has worked at William Blair since 2018, previously spending three years at Fisher Investments and three years at Indiana University. William Blair’s Private Wealth Management division offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, financial planning, and wealth services to individuals, foundations, pension, and corporate clients. The firm employs active, research-driven management across equities, fixed income, and alternative strategies, providing proprietary models and access to private funds through its MB Investments Program.

Patricia Dechant is a financial advisor at CIBC Private Wealth Advisors, Inc. in Chicago, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 40 years of industry experience. She has worked at CIBC Private Wealth Advisors since 2017, previously spending time at Atlantic Trust Investment Advisors and Geneva Investment Management of Chicago. CIBC Private Wealth Advisors provides investment and wealth advisory services to individuals, families, trusts, employee benefit plans, corporations, and investment companies. The firm employs a combination of internal teams and external managers to deliver customized portfolio management and financial planning, managing approximately $67.8 billion in assets with a focus on serving high net worth clients and offering coordinated Family Office services for complex needs.

Darinka Lora Stepan is a financial advisor with Eagle Strategies (NY Life) based in Chicago, IL. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has nine years of industry experience. Stepan also operates Darinka Lora-Stepan & Associates Financial & Insurance Solutions and has served with New York Life and its related entities for over a decade. Outside of her advisory role, she serves on the boards of nonprofit organizations focused on homebuyer education and youth tennis scholarships in Chicago. Eagle Strategies provides financial planning, investment management, and retirement-plan advisory services to individual and institutional clients. The firm emphasizes tailored advice delivered through multiple program types and manages a significant portion of assets on a non-discretionary basis within an integrated New York Life structure.

Roger Albrecht Jr. is a CFA® charterholder with 22 years of industry experience. He is currently with Focus Partners Wealth, LLC and has previously worked at The Colony Group, LLC, Connectus Wealth, Mid-Continent Capital, and Bufka & Rodgers LLC. Outside of his advisory role, he is the owner and managing director of Blue Sapphire Capital 1 LLC, an investment real estate business. Focus Partners Wealth, LLC serves individuals, high-net-worth families, family offices, and institutional clients with a range of wealth management and advisory services. The firm’s investment approach combines active and passive strategies within an enhanced open architecture framework, emphasizing long-term, tax- and fee-sensitive portfolio construction.

Kimberly Mitchell is a Series 66-credentialed financial advisor with five years of industry experience. She is currently associated with Fifth Third Securities, Inc. and has previously worked at Ameriprise, Waddell and Reed, and as a self-employed advisor. Fifth Third Securities, Inc. serves a diverse client base including individuals, high-net-worth clients, institutions, corporations, trusts, and retirement accounts through investment advisory and brokerage services. The firm offers multiple investment programs via the Passageway Managed Account Program and employs a range of strategies including mutual funds, ETFs, separate managed accounts, tax overlay services, and direct indexing.

Rita Magic is a Series 66-credentialed financial advisor at Citigroup Global Markets with five years of industry experience. Her prior roles include positions at Edward Jones, JP Morgan Securities LLC, JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, LPL Financial, BMO Harris Bank, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America. Citigroup Global Markets serves individual and institutional clients across various wealth segments, offering a range of investment advisory programs and execution services. The firm employs multi-asset, multi-manager strategies with internal oversight and supports both discretionary and non-discretionary programs, leveraging its scale and specialized market roles.