Independent, general estate planning guidance financial advisors in Ames, IA

Richard Nelson is a financial advisor with LPL Financial in Ames, Iowa, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 29 years of industry experience. He has been with LPL Financial since 2001. LPL Financial is a national broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser that serves individuals, retirement plan participants, banks, trust companies, and other institutions. The firm offers a range of advisory and brokerage services, including financial planning, model portfolio programs, third-party asset management, and institutional platforms.

Darren Gauck is a financial advisor with Ameritas Advisory Services, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and over 32 years of industry experience. He has worked with Ameritas entities since 2002 and is also the owner of Midwest Financial Solutions, LLC, where he is licensed as an independent insurance agent specializing in fixed insurance and annuity products. Ameritas Advisory Services, LLC provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse client base, including individuals, high-net-worth investors, retirement plans, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm offers a range of services such as asset management and financial planning, utilizing model portfolios and various investment vehicles across discretionary and non-discretionary programs.

John Tillo is a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Ames, IA, holding Series 63 and Series 66 designations and bringing 28 years of industry experience. He has been with Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. since 1997. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving over four million individual and institutional clients. The firm manages approximately $1.01 trillion in assets and offers a range of advisory programs, including discretionary and non-discretionary wrap fee strategies, separately managed accounts, and affiliated mutual funds.

Jay Black is a financial advisor with Eagle Strategies (NY Life) based in Ames, Iowa, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses with 14 years of industry experience. He has worked at Eagle Strategies since 2019 and has been associated with New York Life and Nylife Securities since 2011. In addition to his advisory role, Black operates Innovative Financial Solutions Group, a business focused on selling New York Life products and brokering non-registered insurance products. Eagle Strategies serves a diverse range of individual and institutional clients, providing financial planning, investment management, and retirement-plan advisory services. The firm offers multiple program types tailored to client and plan sponsor objectives and manages the majority of its assets on a non-discretionary basis.

Derrick Hannah is a financial advisor at Stifel with 10 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has previously worked at Bank of America and Merrill. Stifel serves a diverse client base including individuals, institutional clients, and charitable organizations, offering brokerage and investment advisory services supported by a proprietary investment methodology developed by its Investment Strategy Group.

Scott Mahoney is a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley in New York, NY, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and bringing 34 years of industry experience. He has been with Morgan Stanley since 2009, including roles at Morgan Stanley Private Bank, N.A. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved with Giants Foot Cubed LLC. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a large SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer that serves both individual and institutional clients. The firm offers a wide range of advisory programs and financial planning services supported by structured planning tools and broad investment resources.

Kayla Santos is a financial advisor with Mass Mutual Investors Services in Warwick, RI, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and having 10 years of industry experience. She has worked at Mass Mutual Investors Services since 2017 and previously at MetLife Securities. In addition to her advisory role, Santos is an independent insurance agent, offering life, fixed annuities, disability, long-term care, and health insurance products. Mass Mutual Investors Services, LLC is a broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser that serves individuals, business owners, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and employers. The firm provides financial planning, asset management, wrap and money-manager programs, and educational seminars, structuring engagements as annual collaborative relationships focused on goal analysis and written recommendations.

Gordon Brown III is a financial advisor at Edward Jones with 18 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66 designation and has been with Edward Jones since 2008. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving over four million individual and institutional clients, with approximately $1.01 trillion in assets under management. The firm offers a range of advisory programs and investment options, operating under a fiduciary standard.

William Soltow is a financial advisor at Smith & Wyatt with 13 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked previously at CoreCap Advisors and Cambridge Investment Research. Outside of his advisory role, he is the founder of Frontier Wealth Management and works as an independent insurance agent with Goosehead Insurance. Smith & Wyatt serves individuals, including high-net-worth clients, and corporations, managing approximately $207 million for around 724 clients through a team of eight advisors. The firm offers financial planning, discretionary portfolio management, and estate-planning consulting, tailoring investment advice to clients’ objectives and risk tolerances primarily through mutual funds and ETFs.

Thaddeus Phelps is a CFP® professional with 28 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has worked at Advance Wealth Management Service, LLC since 2019 and previously spent 14 years with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. In addition to his advisory work, Phelps owns a tax preparation business and an accounting support service, and he serves in fiduciary roles such as trustee and executor. Advance Wealth Management Service, LLC provides investment advisory and financial planning services primarily to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, and business entities. The firm offers discretionary investment management through a wrap asset management program and emphasizes an individualized approach with asset allocation supported by fundamental, sector, and technical analysis, including risk management strategies such as put options and conservative cash instruments.

Jared Fruth is a financial advisor at Northwest Asset Management with four years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and previously worked at Securities America, Inc., KMS Financial Services, Inc., Oppenheimer Funds, and John Paul Mitchell Systems. Northwest Asset Management is a registered investment adviser managing approximately $3.6 billion for nearly 3,000 clients, including individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charities, and corporations. The firm employs a customized, fiduciary approach using Modern Portfolio Theory and strategic asset allocation, combining fundamental and technical analysis to build diversified portfolios with periodic rebalancing.

Edwina Martin is a Series 65 licensed financial advisor with two years of industry experience, currently with Waverly Advisors, LLC. She previously worked at 9258 Wealth Management for five years and was employed at Teradata Corp for eleven years. Martin also serves as assistant director of tax planning at 9258 Tax and Planning, a non-investment related business. Waverly Advisors is a multi-team registered investment adviser managing portfolios for individuals, retirement plans, and pooled investment vehicles. The firm combines traditional equity and fixed-income strategies with alternative and private-market allocations, offering a range of investment management and financial planning services.

Craig Mcdaniel Jr. is a financial advisor with Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC in Columbia, SC. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 13 years of industry experience. He has been with Capital Investment Group, Inc. and The McDaniel Corporation since 2012. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in life insurance sales and serves as an independent agent for annuities and related products. Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC provides investment advisory and supervisory services to individuals, retirement plans, corporations, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm offers customized investment management through discretionary mandates, third-party managers, and private-label model portfolios, using a blend of analytical methods with ongoing portfolio monitoring.

David Hart is a financial advisor with Martin Wealth Management, LLC in Irvine, CA. He holds a Series 65 credential and has 15 years of industry experience. Hart previously worked with Safeguard Investment Advisory Group and LifePro Asset Management. He is also a Certified Financial Fiduciary and volunteers as an instructor with the Foundation for Fiduciary Education, providing unbiased fiduciary financial education to the public. Martin Wealth Management offers investment advisory services primarily to individuals and high-net-worth clients by co-advising and directing accounts to a third-party money manager, Matson Money. The firm focuses on client onboarding, documentation, and ongoing review of third-party manager accounts rather than direct asset 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.