Melisa Dobraca Iacono is a financial advisor at Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC with four years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at Beacon Pointe Advisors and its affiliated entities since 2018, as well as at Windrose Advisors, LLC from 2014 to 2018. Beacon Pointe Advisors provides investment advisory and consulting services to a diverse client base, including individuals, institutions, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a manager-focused investment approach, utilizing proprietary due-diligence processes and a mix of active and passive strategies across various third-party platforms.

Sangita Gandhi is a financial advisor at Shanti Capital LLC with 16 years of industry experience. She has non-active ownership in SAMVED Corporation, an investment-related business providing some investment research services since 2003, but holds no operational role. Shanti Capital LLC provides discretionary investment management primarily to high-net-worth individuals, focusing on global equity portfolios. The firm emphasizes fundamental research to identify undervalued companies with sustainable competitive advantages and concentrates holdings in a limited number of long-term equity opportunities, including exposure to small-cap healthcare, biotech, and non-U.S. equities.

Charles Levin is the sole advisor at Levin Financial Planning in Wayland, MA, holding a Series 65 license with 20 years of industry experience. He has led his independent firm since 2004, providing fee-only, hourly financial planning and investment advice. Levin Financial Planning serves individuals, families, small businesses, and retirement or profit-sharing plans using a fundamental, long-term buy-and-hold investment approach primarily with low-cost index funds and ETFs. The firm is notable for advising pension or profit-sharing plan clients despite being a solo, hourly-planning practice and is currently winding down operations and not accepting new clients.

Penelope Tzougros is a financial advisor with Wealthy Choices (R) LLC, holding the ChFC® designation and Series 63 license, with 39 years of industry experience. She has worked with Wealthy Choices since 2005, alongside roles at LPL Financial and Bay Financial Advisors. In addition to advisory work, she is an author of books related to financial education. Wealthy Choices provides personalized, fee-based financial planning and investment advice to individuals, families, and small businesses, focusing on areas such as cash-flow management, insurance review, retirement and estate planning, and education funding. The firm uses a discovery-driven planning process supported by fundamental and technical analysis, with compensation structured through hourly, project, and retainer fees, while clients retain control over implementation.

Narendra Kapadia is the sole advisor at Value Financial Services Corp. in Chelmsford, MA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 21 years of industry experience. He has been with Value Financial Services since 2000 and is also the owner and president of Value Mortgage Corporation, a mortgage origination and processing business he founded in 1996. Value Financial Services provides discretionary investment management and comprehensive financial planning to individuals, high net worth persons, trusts, estates, and small businesses. The firm offers customized portfolios and employs a long-term, personalized approach with flexibility to adjust holdings based on market conditions or client objectives.

Linda Taylor is a financial advisor with Carlisle Financial Group, LLC, holding a Series 65 designation and 14 years of industry experience. She operates as the sole advisor at her independent firm based in Carlisle, MA. Carlisle Financial Group provides portfolio management and financial consulting services to individual clients, focusing on passive, index-based investment strategies primarily through mutual funds and ETFs. The firm emphasizes asset allocation and cost efficiency, offering retirement planning and as-needed financial advice alongside portfolio management.

Peter Foley is a CFP® and ChFC® with over 20 years of experience in financial advising. He has operated Fourthpoint Advisors in Wellesley, MA since 2005. In addition to his advisory work, Foley is a licensed insurance broker in multiple states, including Massachusetts. Fourthpoint Advisors serves a select group of individual and family clients, along with employer organizations and nonprofit plan sponsors, offering financial planning, portfolio management, and retirement-plan consulting. The firm provides both non-discretionary and discretionary investment solutions and maintains a distinct insurance brokerage practice.

Catherine Ryan is a CFA charterholder with 18 years of industry experience. She has been the sole advisor at Cedar Rock Investment Advisors since 2006. Cedar Rock Investment Advisors offers investment counseling and portfolio management to individuals and trusts, including charitable remainder and income-only trusts. The firm’s investment approach is based on academic research emphasizing asset allocation, low-cost instruments, and careful liquidity management, combining broad market core holdings with tactical positions informed by fundamental and behavioral analysis.

Barbara Duffield is the principal of Duffield Financial Group in Concord, MA, with 47 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at FSC Securities Corporation and OSAIC, alongside operating her own financial planning practice since 1981. She maintains an insurance broker’s license but has not sold insurance products in over 15 years. Duffield also serves on the finance committee of her condominium association, providing financial oversight and budget assistance. Duffield Financial Group offers pension consulting, investment consulting, and financial planning primarily to pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, endowments, and select high-net-worth individuals. The firm emphasizes plan-level institutional clients and employs a fundamental, long-term buy-and-hold investment approach, with non-discretionary agreements and fee structures typically based on fixed or hourly rates.

Ryan Lee Young is a financial advisor at Philosophe Financial with Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and two years of industry experience. Prior to his advisory role, he worked at Vynamic LLC for seven years, Putnam Associates for two years, and Johns Hopkins University for three years. Philosophe Financial provides fee-only financial planning and non-discretionary investment advisory services to individuals and households, focusing on written financial plans, portfolio construction, and asset allocation. The firm operates primarily on an hourly and pre-purchased planning basis and serves as a fiduciary, delivering individualized advice without discretionary trading authority.

Derek Chin is a CFA® charterholder and principal of Northquant Capital Management, LLC, an independent firm based in Wellesley, MA. He has 14 years of experience with Northquant and six years in the financial industry overall. Northquant Capital Management offers discretionary portfolio management primarily to individuals and high-net-worth clients, focusing on equities and equity derivatives. The firm uses a combination of fundamental, quantitative, and technical analysis across various strategies, including long- and short-term trading and options, with client accounts monitored regularly and reported quarterly.

My clients are young families and professionals in their 30s-40s who have hit a wall when it comes to managing their finances. They have busy personal schedules, growing careers, and recently introduced financial complexity that’s too much to manage. Questions my clients have include: - How do I prioritize multiple financial goals? - I have some cash saved, but what should I do with it? - I don't understand my taxes, is there more I should be doing? - Should I be saving for my children’s education? - Will I be able to retire on time, and live comfortably once I get there? - I’m self-employed, how should I be planning for my future? - How should I handle my equity compensation? - Do I have enough insurance to protect my loved ones? - How does having a baby impact my financial situation?

Trevor Gailun is a CFP® with seven years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Thrive Investments, LLC in Wellesley, MA. He previously worked at Wellesley Investment Partners for six years before founding Thrive Investments in 2022. Thrive Investments provides ongoing investment management and a subscription-based online financial planning portal for individuals, high-net-worth clients, and charitable organizations. The firm’s investment approach emphasizes quantitative analysis and model allocations using low-cost ETFs, offering nine strategy options with tax-aware portfolio management and discretionary authority when authorized.

Celeste Gilbert is a financial advisor at C.J. Gilbert Financial LLC in Weston, MA, holding a Series 65 designation with six years of industry experience. She previously worked for four years at J.W. Swenson Investment Counsel. C.J. Gilbert Financial LLC is an independent Massachusetts-registered investment adviser serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, and IRAs. The firm employs an exclusive sub-advisory model, implementing portfolios through independent managers and overseeing approximately $27 million in discretionary assets as a solo practitioner.

William Nickles is the sole advisor at Yellow Dog Financial, Inc., an independent firm based in Bolton, MA. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has 18 years of experience in the financial industry, having been with Yellow Dog Financial since its founding in 2008. Yellow Dog Financial, Inc. manages approximately $21.2 million for around 60 clients, including individuals, high-net-worth clients, and employer plan sponsors. The firm employs a goal-based planning process with a focus on passive, benchmark-tracking investments and manages accounts primarily on a non-discretionary basis, combining comprehensive year-long financial planning with ongoing monthly support and retirement plan consulting.

Michael Marchetti is a financial advisor at Lakeview Financial Planning in Shirley, MA, holding a Series 66 credential with nine years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., and The Professional Alliance, Inc. Outside of advisory services, he manages a retail company through Marchetti Industries LLC. Lakeview Financial Planning offers financial planning and portfolio management services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and small businesses. The firm uses a goals-based approach with fundamental analysis and Modern Portfolio Theory, favoring globally diversified, tax-efficient, low-cost mutual funds and ETFs, and incorporates third-party managers when appropriate.

Ichiro Ishiguro is a CFA® charterholder and the sole advisor at Balanstone, LLC, an independent firm based in Newton, MA. He has 10 years of industry experience and has led Balanstone since its founding in 2015. Balanstone provides ongoing portfolio management and subadvisory services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, corporations, and other investment advisers. The firm employs a long-term, fundamental equity investment approach focused on company fundamentals, future cash flows, and secular growth trends, managing accounts primarily on a discretionary basis with regular portfolio reviews.

Ryan Creegan is a CFP® professional with three years of industry experience. He is the principal advisor at Sheltered Garden Financial Group LLC, where he has worked since 2025. Prior to founding his current firm, he held roles at Creegan & Nassoura Financial Group, MutualOne Bank, and Brookline Bank. Sheltered Garden Financial Group LLC provides discretionary investment management, comprehensive financial planning, and investment consulting primarily to individuals, high-net-worth individuals, trusts, and estates. The firm employs a fundamental-analysis, long-term investment approach with portfolios concentrated in individual stocks and bonds, supplemented by ETFs and low-cost mutual funds.

Elizabeth Pleck is a CFP® professional with 13 years of industry experience, operating as the sole advisor at Financial Strategies, LLC in Wellesley, MA. She has been with Financial Strategies LLC since 1982 and is also active as a writer, lecturer, and consultant. Financial Strategies, LLC is an independent firm providing fee-only financial planning and discretionary investment management primarily for individuals and couples. The firm emphasizes a long-term, diversified investment approach based on Modern Portfolio Theory, offering ongoing portfolio management, hourly consultations, and comprehensive written financial plans.

Kyle Mannion is a financial advisor at Mannion Money Advisory with two years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has previously been involved in sports management and consulting, including roles at 3 Step Sports LLC and CM8 Soccer Consulting & Management. Outside of financial advising, he serves as Accounts Payable Manager for 3 Step Sports LLC. Mannion Money Advisory provides financial planning, consulting, and discretionary portfolio management to individuals, families, small businesses, and corporate clients. The firm emphasizes a long-term, goals-based investment approach using diversified asset allocation, cost-efficient ETFs, and automated portfolio oversight.