CFP®-certified financial advisors working with government employees in Alexandria, VA

Garry Bishop is a financial advisor at ProFocus Incorporated with one year of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 credential and previously worked for the Department of Defense for 13 years. ProFocus Incorporated serves individual clients, including high-net-worth households, as well as pension plans and business entities, offering fee-based investment advisory and financial planning alongside business management and consulting services. The firm employs a tactical allocation strategy using fundamental analysis and a diverse mix of securities, managing portfolios primarily on a discretionary basis.

Michael Graham is a financial advisor with LaSalle St. Investment Advisors, L.L.C., holding Series 63 and Series 66 designations and bringing 35 years of industry experience. He has been with LaSalle St. Securities, L.L.C. since 2003. Outside of his advisory role, Graham operates a sole proprietorship buying and selling collectible coins through online auction sites. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors provides personalized financial planning and investment supervisory services to individuals, trusts, estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and small businesses. The firm offers both non-discretionary and discretionary management programs, incorporating a diverse asset mix including mutual funds, ETFs, equities, fixed income, and options.

Joel Patierno is a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Alexandria, VA, holding CFP®, ChFC®, and Series 66 credentials and having 14 years of industry experience. He has been with Edward Jones since 2013 and previously worked at Merrill in 2012. In addition to his advisory role, Patierno is involved with Girasole LLC, a business he has been associated with since 2012. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving over four million individual and institutional clients, including a wide range of household types and organizations. The firm offers a variety of advisory solutions, including discretionary and non-discretionary wrap fee strategies, separately managed accounts, and affiliated mutual funds, supported by a large network of financial advisors and branch offices across the country.

Joseph Bonaccorsy is a CFP® professional with 24 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has been with Core Advisory, LLC since 2005 and is licensed to sell various insurance products, spending approximately 80% of his time on insurance activities. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. Core Fiduciary Advisors provides financial planning, investment advisory, and pension consulting services to institutional clients such as small-business retirement plans, corporate pension plans, and charitable organizations. The firm focuses on selecting and monitoring third-party institutional managers and coordinates with other professional advisors for estate, tax, and risk-management planning.

Colette Kolanko is a CFP® and PFS™ with 15 years of experience in financial advisory. She has worked at Cerity Partners LLC since 2023 and previously spent four years at Lumina Financial Consultants and ten years at Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney, Inc. Cerity Partners advises a diverse client base including individuals, families, trusts, business entities, and institutional investors, managing approximately $166.2 billion in client assets. The firm offers customized wealth management services, combining quantitative screening and direct security selection with access to alternative and private market solutions.

Amanda Fleming is a financial advisor at Edward Jones in Lexington, NC, holding a Series 66 designation with one year of industry experience. Prior to joining Edward Jones, she was involved with several businesses including Max Travels, LLC, a travel agency she founded and where she designed vacations for clients, primarily family. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving more than four million individual and institutional clients with a range of investment programs and advisory services supported by a nationwide network of over 23,000 financial advisors.

Michelle Vargas, Certified Financial Planner™ is the President of Waymaker Financial Planning, a Fee-Only firm that provides transparent and accessible financial guidance. She enjoys helping clients navigate and plan all aspects of their financial life so that they will worry less about their future and free up more time to spend doing what they love. After earning a degree in Finance from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1990, she moved to Florida and started her career with Harcourt Brace Publishing. Her journey into personal finance began when she signed up for her 401K and wanted to learn about additional options to plan for retirement. This eventually led to working as a financial advisor and completing the extensive education requirements for becoming a CFP® in 1998. She believes her experience as a young professional searching for unbiased advice enables her to better serve Gen XY professionals because she remembers what it was like being in their shoes. As a former homeschool parent and the wife of a federal employee, she is passionate about helping women, homeschool families, and federal workers plan wisely for a comfortable financial future. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking in Colorado, barbecuing with family, and working in her garden.

Richard Schaeffer is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with 41 years of industry experience. He is associated with Schaeffer Financial LLC, where he has worked for over two decades, and currently serves as part of a five-advisor team. His prior experience includes roles at Grove Point Investments and LPL Financial. Schaeffer Financial serves individuals and families, including federal employees and foreign nationals holding G‑IV visas, as well as trusts, foundations, and small businesses. The firm provides financial planning and discretionary portfolio management, emphasizing diversified asset allocation tailored to clients’ goals and risk tolerance, and frequently coordinates with outside professionals to implement client plans.

Hi, I'm Steve. I've loved financial planning ever since I was a kid watching the ticker tape on CNBC as my mom, a homemaker learned about finances herself. I grew up in a very frugal household who taught me about working hard and saving for the future. My mother was a homemaker or "domestic engineer" as she calls it and my father was a federal employee. I was fortunate to be introduced to Rita Abel and become the owner of her small, family owned financial planning firm in 2019. Today we work with approximately 60 families. What makes us unique is our passion to be "accountability partner's" for our clients to ensure they take care of the important financial matters in their lives. We are part financial advisors and party financial therapists for our married couples but most importantly we are organized, proactive and have a passion for financial planning. Looking forward to meeting and if you want to know more, I encourage you to read our google reviews online. Just search "Abel Financial Reviews" in google.

Mark Teichman is a financial advisor at C2 Investment Group with 20 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 63 designation and has worked with C2 Investment Group since 1998. He is a co-owner of C2, LLC, which operates Tracker, a portfolio accounting and reporting application. C2 Investment Group provides non-discretionary investment consultation to institutional clients, such as municipalities and public funds, focusing on government bond index tracking using US Treasury and Agency securities. The firm offers index-tracking optimization tools to assist clients with portfolio rebalancing and does not provide discretionary portfolio management.

Sarah Currier Barrella is a CFP® professional with 26 years of experience in financial advisory services. She currently works at Santander Securities LLC and Santander Bank, NA, having previously held positions at TD Bank and Citizens Securities, Inc. Barrella is based in Boston, MA. Santander Securities LLC serves a broad retail client base with approximately $3.14 billion in regulatory assets under management across 10,800 client relationships. The firm offers investment advisory services, portfolio management through wrap-fee programs, and financial planning, operating both as a registered investment adviser and a FINRA-registered broker-dealer.

Elanna Gould is a CFP® professional with six years of experience, currently advising at Cambridge Investment Research Advisors in Cleveland, OH. Her background includes roles at PepsiCo and The Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Center, as well as academic experience at The Ohio State University. She is also an independent insurance agent for various companies. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors serves a broad client base, including individuals, retirement plans, and charitable organizations, offering financial planning, investment management, and retirement advisory services through a network of independent professionals. The firm provides a range of portfolio management options, proprietary and third-party strategies, and various custody platforms tailored to client objectives.

Ethan Siekkinen is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license, currently serving as a financial advisor with Plante Moran Financial Advisors. He has one year of industry experience and has previously worked at J Wilson Wealth Management and operated Rizzo Lawn Care. Plante Moran Financial Advisors, LLC provides investment advisory, financial planning, and estate planning services to a diverse client base including individual households, institutional clients, and sovereign wealth funds. The firm employs a multi-disciplinary investment process and offers both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, manager search, and tax-lot accounting services.

Jace Hart is a CFP® with nine years of industry experience and currently serves as a financial advisor at Rockwall Wealth Management. His prior experience includes roles at Leo Wealth, LPL Financial, and Fidelity Brokerage Services. Rockwall Wealth Management provides portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting services to individuals, trusts, plans, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm emphasizes diversified, low-cost ETF model portfolios with a focus on tax efficiency, liquidity, and systematic macro tilts, offering both traditional and advanced investment strategies tailored to client objectives.

Jeffrey Macdonald is a CFP® and ChFC® with 18 years of industry experience. He has worked at Investment Management & Planning LLC and LPL Financial since 2010, following two years at Wells Fargo Clearing. Investment Management & Planning LLC provides investment advisory and financial planning services primarily to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm constructs tailored portfolios using mutual funds, ETFs, equities, and fixed-income securities, employing fundamental analysis and continuous supervision, and operates as both a wrap program sponsor and affiliated registered representatives of LPL Financial.