Benjamin Smith, CFP®, is the founder and owner of Briarwood Financial, a comprehensive financial services firm providing wealth management, tax preparation, accounting, and business consulting for individuals and business owners nationwide. Benjamin enjoys working directly with clients to help them navigate the complexities that wealth inevitably brings. His approach combines financial planning, tax strategy, and business advisory services—ensuring that every piece of a client’s financial picture works together efficiently and intentionally. Before launching Briarwood, Benjamin served as a Financial Advisor at Cetera Investment Services, an independent broker-dealer. There, he specialized in developing customized investment portfolios guided by long-term strategic planning. His drive to offer clients more holistic, tax-integrated advice led him to expand his practice beyond traditional advising and establish Briarwood Financial as a full-service firm. Benjamin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Economics from Seattle Pacific University and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional. Earlier in his career, he gained valuable experience in sales, operations, and management within the telecommunications industry—skills that helped shape his practical, results-oriented approach to leadership and client service. At the heart of his philosophy are integrity, honesty, and competence. He believes true financial planning is built on trust, clarity, and a genuine commitment to helping clients make informed, confident decisions that align with their values and long-term goals.

Jacob Tally is a financial advisor at Prospero Wealth, LLC in Seattle, WA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with one year of industry experience. He is the owner and founder of Tinegoba LLC, which provides contracting services to Prospero Wealth along with consulting advice to startups and small-to-medium sized businesses. Prior to his current role, he worked in various capacities at Cap Hill Brands, New Engen, Crowd Cow, and ZULILY. Prospero Wealth offers discretionary investment management and financial planning to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, businesses, and employer retirement plans. The firm employs tailored investment programs using individual securities, ETFs, derivatives, and long-short strategies, and provides assets-under-advisement consulting and held-away account monitoring through a seven-person advisory team.

Beyond the numbers, my work is about stewardship. I’ll be here for the moments that change everything. With Bernstein's experts alongside me, we’ll simplify decisions and create a plan that manages what you’ve built and evolves with your life. My time with the Seattle Seahawks organization left me with a simple standard that still guides how I show up: “Always Compete.” For me, that means treating a client’s goals like they’re my own—preparing relentlessly, getting the details right, anticipating issues early and following through until the job is done. I joined Bernstein because I wanted to serve clients from a place where excellence is the baseline and where the work is as human as it is analytical. I’m wired to ask, “Is this the optimal move?” Bernstein’s depth of thinking, team-based approach and commitment to long-term relationships aligned with how I naturally serve—consistently thoughtful, tenacious, and deeply client‑centric. I’m also drawn to roles where you’re trusted to represent something bigger than yourself, whether it’s community-facing work with the Seahawks or now as an advisor. That responsibility keeps me grounded; it’s about earning trust, protecting what clients have built and helping them make confident decisions at the moments that matter most. Some of my earliest perspective on resilience and resourcefulness came from my family’s roots in the Philippines. Growing up, I heard stories of making do with very little, even hand‑pumping water from a ground well in my parents’ village just to cook or bathe. That upbringing didn’t just teach gratitude, it also emphasized responsibility. It shaped my values early: don’t take opportunities for granted, do what you say you’ll do, and use success to take care of people. Having built a company myself, I understand the pressure experienced by entrepreneurs, who are constantly weighing risks, trade-offs and responsibilities. That background helps me empathize with business owners, executives and families who balance opportunity with complexity. And I know how freeing it is to move forward with clarity from a set of optimal decisions, especially for founders, athletes and entertainers contemplating a “second act.”

Kathleen Gallagher is the sole advisor at Gallagher Capital Corp., an independent firm based in Bainbridge Island, WA. She holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has 22 years of industry experience, having led Gallagher Capital Corp. since 2004. Gallagher Capital Corp. specializes in discretionary fixed-income portfolio management for high-net-worth individuals, trusts, and retirement accounts, focusing on income generation and capital preservation. The firm employs an active, risk-aware investment approach with an emphasis on holding bonds to maturity and uses independent credit research to guide investment selection.

Alvin Wolcott is a CFP® with 11 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at APEX Tax & Financial Planning in Kent, WA. He previously worked at Pacific Portfolio Consulting, LLC and Synergy Asset Management LLC. Alvin is also the owner of a CPA firm, Apex Tax & Financial Solutions, which he manages alongside his advisory work. APEX Tax & Financial Planning provides personalized financial planning and investment advisory services to individuals, business owners, and trusts. The firm employs a written Investment Policy Statement, combining active and passive strategies with a tax-aware planning process, and offers both discretionary and non-discretionary management options.

Steven Koenig is a CFA® charterholder based in Seattle, WA, with five years of industry experience. He has been with Informed Investors Group since 1992. Informed Investors Group is an independent firm that provides discretionary investment management primarily for high-net-worth individuals and related family accounts. The firm employs a buy-and-hold, lower-turnover equity strategy with a co-advisory arrangement for selecting growth stocks, and it offers customized socially responsible investment screening alongside access to specialized fixed-income opportunities.

Shamus Mc Carthy is a CFA charterholder and principal of Red Haven Advisors, LLC, with six years of industry experience. He has held financial planning and analysis roles at companies including Nordstrom, Inc., where he is currently a Financial Planning & Analysis Manager, and has worked at firms such as Pathlabs Inc., Dutch Bros Coffee, Rad Power Bikes, Inc., Starbucks Coffee Company, and Vulcan, Inc. Red Haven Advisors serves individual and high-net-worth clients with fee-based investment advisory, discretionary portfolio management, and comprehensive financial planning. The firm combines fundamental and cyclical analysis with tactical allocation and option-writing strategies, tailoring portfolios to client objectives and offering a range of billing arrangements.

Robert Underhill is the principal of Robert A. Underhill P.C., an independent advisory firm based in Seattle, WA. He holds the Series 65 designation and has 23 years of industry experience. He has led his firm since its founding in 2002. Underhill is also a CPA and provides accounting and tax services alongside his advisory work. Robert A. Underhill P.C. offers investment advisory services primarily to high-net-worth individuals, trusts, and estates. The firm focuses on selecting and overseeing third-party investment managers rather than directly managing client portfolios.

Lauren Vignec is the principal of Vignec Financial LLC in Seattle, WA, holding a Series 65 designation with over 17 years of experience in wealth management. Prior to founding her own firm in 2025, she worked at Erickson Wealth & Tax Management for 16 years. Outside of advising, she prepares tax returns for an unaffiliated CPA firm during the initial tax season and owns a mobile video-game startup. Vignec Financial LLC is a newly registered investment adviser providing discretionary investment management and portfolio oversight primarily to individual clients. The firm employs a long-term, passive investment approach using risk-based model portfolios mainly composed of broadly diversified ETFs and mutual funds, with scheduled rebalancing and no market timing or individual security selection.

Justin Rolfe is a CFA® charterholder and the sole advisor at Rare Wolf Capital LLC in Bellevue, WA, with seven years of industry experience. He worked at Bank of America for nine years before spending six years at Bristlecone Advisors, LLC. Rare Wolf Capital LLC serves high-net-worth individuals, trusts and estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, and corporate entities with discretionary portfolio management and financial planning. The firm employs a multi-strategy investment approach combining fundamental, technical, quantitative, and sector/cyclical analysis, managing a variety of asset classes while offering limited bill-pay administrative services.

Hope Broucek is a ChFC®-designated financial advisor at Financial Planning for Real People PLLC in Seattle, WA, with two years of industry experience. Prior to founding her independent firm in 2023, she worked at Singer Wealth Management for four years and spent over a decade involved with A Child Becomes Preschool. Financial Planning for Real People PLLC provides fee-only financial planning and discretionary investment management to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and charitable organizations. The firm offers tailored investment policies and a broad range of planning services, combining both passive and active strategies while maintaining quarterly portfolio monitoring and comprehensive written plans.

Maris Galins is a CFP® professional with 24 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Mg Financial, Inc. Based in Seattle, WA, Galins has led the firm since 2008. Mg Financial, Inc. provides personalized financial planning and advisory services to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and business entities. The firm focuses on non-discretionary asset allocation and utilizes SEI model portfolios and third-party money managers, emphasizing planning and adviser selection rather than direct portfolio management.

After spending 15 years in corporate finance as a CPA I felt the desire for a more fulfilling career path. I made the switch to personal financial planning in 2014, earned the CFP marks, and spent 9 years at an Advice-Only firm providing hourly, project-based advice. I launched Alta Via Financial Planning with the intent to have deeper relationships with fewer clients, and provide a more collaborative, ongoing service model where I can more effectively set clients up for success in achieving their financial goals by serving as their trusted partner. I strive to meet clients where they are at, with no judgment, in order to provide a comfortable and trusted environment. I often find that the “Less is More” approach to both life and financial planning helps clients to destress and simplify their financial lives so that they can focus on what is most important, like getting outside with their families. I also understand and promote the importance of experiencing your ideal life today rather than waiting until financial independence (aka retirement). The advice-only pricing model does not compensate me based on how much you have, and therefore I do not have an asset minimum. I only require that you be a nice human. As a fiduciary I will never sell products, and will always make recommendations that are solely in your best interest. I provide comprehensive financial planning and cover areas such as retirement, investing, college savings, insurance needs, cash flow, equity compensation and tax planning.

Kent Maclachlan Jr. is the principal advisor at MacLachlan Wealth Management in Bellevue, WA, with 36 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and previously worked at First Allied Advisory Services and First Allied Securities. MacLachlan Wealth Management serves a diverse client base including individuals, families, business owners, trusts, estates, corporations, associations, and charitable organizations, providing discretionary asset management alongside financial planning and estate analysis. The firm employs both quantitative and qualitative approaches informed by modern portfolio theory and offers coordinated planning and portfolio management across a broad range of securities.

Patricia Howe is a CFP® professional and principal of Howe Financial Advisory, LLC in Seattle, WA, with 21 years of industry experience. She has led her independent advisory firm since 2012. Outside of her advisory work, she is a joint owner of an investment-related vacation rental business, where her husband is the active partner. Howe Financial Advisory serves high-net-worth individuals and related entities with fee-based financial planning and discretionary investment management. The firm employs a Modern Portfolio Theory approach, focusing on asset allocation, diversification, and cost-effective strategies using individual securities, ETFs, and mutual funds, with an emphasis on long-term, tax-aware holdings.

Bentley Makkar is a ChFC® credentialed financial advisor with two years of experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Get Rich Slowly LLC in Bellevue, WA. His professional background includes roles at Washington Permanente P.C. and Presbyterian Healthcare Services, along with involvement in The Makkar Group of Companies. Get Rich Slowly LLC provides portfolio management and investment advisory services, combining personal financial planning with U.S. federal tax planning for a diverse clientele, including individuals, professionals, business owners, charitable organizations, and trusts. The firm employs a long-term, passive investment approach focused on low turnover and tax efficiency, offering discretionary managed accounts with an emphasis on tailored advisory subscriptions.

Maura Madden is a CFP® with four years of industry experience, currently the principal of Maura Madden Financial Planning in Seattle. She previously worked at EP Wealth Advisors and Conlon Dart Wealth Management, accumulating seven years of prior experience. Her firm serves individuals, including high-net-worth clients, providing comprehensive and ongoing financial planning without direct management of client investment accounts. Maura Madden Financial Planning follows a project and hourly engagement model, offering investment guidance based on modern portfolio theory with an emphasis on passive, asset-class strategies. The firm supports implementation and coordination with other professionals while clients maintain account custody and monitoring.

Stephen Long is the sole advisor at HL Wealth Management, LLC in Bellevue, WA, with 16 years of industry experience. He holds the PFS™ and Series 66 designations and has worked at Hauser Long, P.S. since 2007, where he serves as Vice President in a certified public accounting firm specializing in business and individual tax consulting and management. HL Wealth Management, LLC works with individuals, small businesses, trusts, estates, and retirement plans by referring them to third-party investment advisors for financial, estate, education, retirement, and insurance planning services. The firm does not provide direct portfolio management but conducts periodic client reviews and matches clients to suitable advisers, operating primarily as a referral firm.

Douglas Eickerman is the sole advisor at Kairos Capital Management, LLC, an independent firm based in Bellevue, WA. He holds a Series 65 designation and has 16 years of industry experience, leading Kairos Capital since 2009. Outside his advisory role, he serves as co-managing member and CFO of Kairos Real Estate Holdings, LLC, which owns the office location of his firm. Kairos Capital Management provides discretionary investment advisory and portfolio management services to individuals and pension and profit-sharing plans. The firm employs an investment approach focused on asset allocation, diversification, and a combination of modern portfolio theory with fundamental analysis, managing approximately $106 million for about 84 clients.

Stephen Wickleder is a financial advisor at Starbord LLC in Seattle, WA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 21 years of industry experience. He has been with Starbord LLC since 2014 and also owns Wickleder LLC, an independent insurance agency. Outside of advisory services, he sells musical instruments and operates a fishing tour business through Captain Steve, LLC, along with providing income tax return preparation services. Starbord LLC offers investment management, model-portfolio implementation, and financial planning services to individuals, trusts, pension accounts, and other advisory firms. The firm generally manages assets on a non-discretionary basis, emphasizing value-oriented, model-driven portfolios and supplements services with insurance advice, research, and consulting for institutional and advisor clients.