John Bell is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with 21 years of industry experience. He is currently the sole advisor at Free State Financial Planning, LLC, having previously worked at Charles Schwab and Ameritrade, Inc. Beyond his advisory work, he serves as a FINRA arbitrator and acts as the financial secretary and council member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, where he manages donation tracking and budgeting. Free State Financial Planning LLC provides fee-only financial planning services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and businesses. The firm’s guidance is based on Modern Portfolio Theory, emphasizing passive investments through low-cost ETFs and no-load mutual funds, and focuses on delivering educational resources without discretionary investment management.

Michael Hoffman is a CFP® with 18 years of industry experience, currently serving as Co-Managing Director of Forty W Advisors. He previously worked at Verdence Capital Advisors and held roles at Hightower Securities and Hightower Advisors. Forty W Advisors delivers comprehensive wealth management across three critical areas: financial administration, proactive tax-aware planning, and investment management with institutional access. Together, these services help align your personal wealth, family priorities, and business strategy into one coordinated plan, with the goal of reducing complexity and maximizing post-tax wealth.

Ben Arie is a Series 66-licensed financial advisor with Independent Financial Group, LLC, based in North Bethesda, MD. He has four years of industry experience and previously worked at Plotkin Financial Advisors and APEX Home Loans. Outside of advising, he is involved in selling life insurance and annuities. Independent Financial Group, LLC is a dual-registered broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, charities, corporations, and plan sponsors. The firm offers a variety of advisory programs through its AccessPoint platform and third-party asset managers, providing both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management.

Simeon’s role is to help clients create a coordinated financial strategy that aligns their investments, taxes, retirement income, and long-term goals into one cohesive plan. A big part of his approach is helping clients simplify complexity and make confident decisions during periods of uncertainty.

Scott Latshaw is a financial advisor with Equitable Advisors, LLC in Baltimore, MD, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and bringing 33 years of industry experience. He has worked at Stifel Independent Advisors since 2011. Equitable Advisors serves a diverse client base including individuals, corporations, trusts, and municipal entities, offering brokerage and investment advisory services. The firm uses a collaborative planning process with proprietary market models to develop tailored asset allocation recommendations and provides a range of services under both brokerage and fiduciary agreements. Latshaw Wealth Management's low fee framework utilizes a flat 0.50% fee based on assets under management. A simple low fee designed to maximize long-term return potential.

Kathleen McQuade is a Certified Financial Planner® with three years of industry experience, operating as the sole advisor at her independent firm in Laurel, MD. She has been managing her practice since 2010 and holds a Series 65 license. Her firm provides fee-only financial planning and consulting services to individual clients, focusing on investment, retirement, insurance, education, and estate planning. The practice employs a long-term, buy-and-hold investment approach, primarily recommending no-load, low-cost, tax-efficient mutual funds with asset allocation as the key factor in portfolio returns.

Stanley Liu is the principal of DocEmpowered, LLC, a fee-only financial advisory firm based in Baltimore, MD. He holds a Series 65 designation and has one year of industry experience. Prior to founding DocEmpowered in 2023, he worked for eight years at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. In addition to his advisory role, Mr. Liu practices part-time as a non-invasive cardiologist. DocEmpowered, LLC provides comprehensive financial planning and consulting primarily for physicians and their adult household family members. The firm emphasizes long-term, passive investment strategies based on Modern Portfolio Theory and behavioral finance, offering project-based and ongoing services without discretionary management or custody of assets.

Hi, I’m Matt. My job as a financial planner is to make your life simpler. To help you efficiently and effectively narrow down your options, so you can make the right decisions. And be confident in those decisions for the long-term. Financial planning and investment management are often muddied by unnecessary complexity (usually in an effort to sell you something). It doesn’t need to be this way. I began my career in the financial services industry in 2003 as an analyst with the due diligence law firm Snyder Kearney, LLC (Columbia, MD). At Snyder Kearney, I reviewed public and private securities offerings and evaluated national securities sponsoring companies, focusing on real estate investments and non-traditional investment products. It was there that I realized that I wanted to know more about the practice of law and a lot more about the pretty co-worker in the cubicle next to me, Sylvie. I earned my law degree in 2007 from the University of Baltimore School of Law and married Sylvie in 2008; further proof that education and personal relationships are the investments that produce the best returns. After law school, I practiced law with the firm David Albert & Associates, LLC (Bethesda, MD), focusing in estate planning and administration, guardianship administration, taxation of estates and trusts, and business formations. There, I recognized that helping clients through complicated and often stressful issues was intellectually stimulating and emotionally fulfilling. In 2010, I opened Patuxent Financial Partners, LLC, registered as an Investment Adviser with the State of Maryland in 2017. Here, I leverage my legal background to provide clients with value-added insight in the overlapping areas of estate and financial planning. More importantly, as a personal financial planner and small business owner, I can build lasting relationships with clients and their families; these connections make my work fulfilling, because client success becomes intertwined with my own. I am a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner and hold the FINRA Series 65 securities registration. Raised in Columbia, Maryland, I graduated from McDaniel College with a bachelor's degree in English. Outside of the office, I enjoy running, reading, and hiking with my wife, son, and our mutt hound, Kodi.

Gabriel Trasatti is a financial advisor at Trasatti Wealth Planning, LLC in Baltimore, MD, with 15 years of industry experience. He holds the PFS™ and Series 66 designations and has led his independent firm since 2004. His background includes advanced financial planning and accounting credentials. Trasatti Wealth Planning provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management to individuals, families, charitable institutions, foundations, and corporate pension or profit-sharing plans. The firm offers customized investment strategies with continuous monitoring and formal quarterly reviews, integrating holistic planning across retirement, tax, estate, and cash-flow matters.

Jeffery Holmes is a financial advisor at Investream, holding a Series 66 designation with seven years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Morgan Stanley, Merrill, and General Dynamic Information Technology. Outside of his advisory work, he is also a licensed real estate agent. Investream is an independent, single-advisor firm serving individual and high-net-worth clients by providing ongoing portfolio management and preparing tailored Investment Policy Statements. The firm uses a multi-method investment approach, including charting, fundamental and technical analysis, modern portfolio theory, and options strategies, offering both discretionary and non-discretionary account management.

Gregory Fridley is a financial advisor at Society Investment Management in Baltimore, MD, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations with three years of industry experience. He has worked at Financial First Advisors since 1991 and has managed his own business, Taxbusters, since 1990. Society Investment Management provides personalized financial planning and discretionary investment management to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and small businesses. The firm operates on a fee-only basis, emphasizing growth and income investment strategies while incorporating tax preparation and electronic filing as part of its advisory services.

Christopher Mamunes is a financial advisor at Railroad Street Wealth Management, LLC with 29 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has led his independent firm since 2014. Railroad Street Wealth Management provides customized investment management and periodic financial planning to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm manages approximately $20.4 million across 55 client relationships, using a tactical, rules-based investment process that combines technical analysis with a relative-strength framework to guide portfolio construction and risk management.

Samuel Asare is a financial advisor at Laser Wealth Management, LLC in Kensington, MD, holding the ChFC® designation along with Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. He has 14 years of industry experience, including roles at Laser Wealth Management and Laser Financial Group. Outside of advisory services, he is also a licensed insurance agent and provides tax planning and filing services as an enrolled agent and bookkeeper. Laser Wealth Management serves individual clients and business owners with investment advice, financial planning, and consulting. The firm utilizes a third-party manager who implements investment strategies based on Modern Portfolio Theory, while Laser provides plan development, periodic reviews, and client communication.

Anvar Izbakiev is a CFP® professional with seven years of experience in financial advising. He is the sole advisor at Serenity Wealth Advisors LLC in Baltimore, MD. In addition to his advisory role, Izbakiev owns Ameritax Accounting and Finance, Inc., where he provides accounting and tax preparation services. He also owns a logistics company that offers dispatching services to truck drivers. Serenity Wealth Advisors serves individuals, high-net-worth clients, corporations, and employer plan sponsors with financial planning and employee benefit plan services. The firm employs a primarily passive investment approach focusing on low-cost index mutual funds and ETFs, alongside a variety of planning engagement options including subscription, fixed-fee, and hourly consultations.

Jonathan Mathews is a CFP® professional with four years of experience in financial planning. He is the sole advisor at Nautical Financial Planning, an independent firm he has led since 2018. Mathews also works as a tax advisor with Block Advisors, providing personal and business tax preparation and planning. Nautical Financial Planning offers fee-only, hourly and project-based financial planning and consultation to individuals, couples, families, and business entities. The firm focuses on globally diversified, low-cost, tax-efficient passive investments and provides clients with guidance on asset allocation, custodial setup, and periodic portfolio reviews without managing assets directly.

Robert Sandler is the sole advisor at Robert A. Sandler, LLC in Clarksville, MD, holding a Series 65 designation with nine years of industry experience. Prior to founding his independent firm in 2017, he worked for four years at Element Fleet Management. Robert A. Sandler, LLC provides personalized financial planning and investment management primarily to individual clients. The firm focuses on diversified, low-cost index mutual funds and ETFs, employing a buy-and-hold strategy with regular rebalancing and tailored asset allocations based on client risk profiles.

Philippe Deumaga is a Series 65-licensed financial advisor at AGIOS Capital LLC with experience spanning several firms since 2016, including AceCore Global and Imperial Investment Holdings. He is based in Pikesville, Maryland, and began his tenure at AGIOS Capital in 2026. AGIOS Capital LLC is a newly registered Maryland investment adviser that plans to offer discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, comprehensive financial planning, and advisory services to retail, high-net-worth, institutional, and international clients. The firm utilizes a multi-asset, research-driven investment approach tailored to each client and incorporates a variety of asset classes and strategies including equities, fixed income, alternatives, and derivatives, with internal governance procedures and client authorization requirements for certain activities.

Stephen Lee is the principal of Lee Financial Group, Inc. in Columbia, MD, and holds the CFP® designation and Series 63 license. He has 45 years of industry experience and has been associated with Raymond James Financial in various capacities since 2004. Outside of financial advising, he is the owner of a law office focusing on wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, and serves on the advisory board for River Hill FBLA, providing student mentoring. Lee Financial Group offers individualized financial planning and wealth management advice to individuals and families, including high-net-worth clients, trusts, and charitable organizations. The firm provides written financial plans through a data-gathering process and offers follow-up consultations, with investment recommendations based on fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis.

Lorie Scheibel is the principal of Smarter and Wise, an independent financial advisory firm, with 15 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at firms including Cambridge Investment Research Advisors and Lincoln Financial Advisors. Scheibel also serves as adjunct faculty at Anne Arundel Community College and operates as an independent insurance agent. Smarter and Wise provides financial planning and discretionary wealth management to individuals nearing retirement, high-net-worth clients, and sponsor-level retirement plans. The firm employs a planning-first approach centered on a comprehensive RetireSmarter process, incorporating risk modeling and ongoing portfolio management, and offers specialized investment real estate planning alongside retirement plan advisory services.

Matthew Wyskiel is the sole advisor at Skill Capital Management in Baltimore, MD, holding a Series 63 designation with four years of industry experience. He has been with Skill Capital Management since 2007, serving as its founder and sole owner. Skill Capital Management provides discretionary portfolio management to individual clients, primarily using Vanguard index mutual funds to offer diversified exposure across U.S. and international equities and U.S. investment-grade fixed income. The firm manages separate accounts with standardized model portfolios and rebalances client allocations quarterly.