Independent financial advisors working with mid-career professionals in Baytown, TX

Travis Smith is a financial advisor with LPL Financial in Baytown, TX, holding the Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and having 26 years of industry experience. His career includes roles at Community Resource Credit Union, CUSO Financial Services, LP, and CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc. Smith is also involved with Dragonfly Paradise Inc., a real estate rental business in New Braunfels, TX. LPL Financial is a national broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, retirement plan participants, banks, trust companies, and institutions. The firm offers a broad range of financial planning and investment management services, utilizing both proprietary and third-party strategies, supported by advanced operational tools.

Thomas Badgett is a financial advisor at Gulf Coast RIA with 24 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and has worked at Gulf Coast RIA since 2022. Prior to this, he spent ten years at MoneyBlock and has served as president of Bay Area Asset Management for over two decades. Outside of finance, he is involved in non-investment related sales activities with Gulf Coast Truck & Equipment and Bay Area Firearms, Inc. Gulf Coast RIA is a state-registered investment adviser providing portfolio management to individual investors, high-net-worth clients, and various institutions. The firm employs an asset-allocation driven approach that integrates fundamental and technical analysis with systematic tools and actively managed strategies.

Kyle Pledger is a CFP® professional with nine years of experience in financial planning and wealth management. He is currently with Cetera Planning Partners and has held roles at Avantax Planning Partners and other affiliated firms. In addition to his advisory work, he serves as a financial analyst and associate financial planner at related entities specializing in financial planning and portfolio management. Cetera Planning Partners serves individual and high-net-worth clients, focusing on pre-retirees and retirees. The firm offers investment management, comprehensive financial planning, and retirement-related advice, with additional services including tax planning, bookkeeping, payroll support, and estate planning through a third-party provider.

Melissa Hughes is a financial advisor at J.P. Morgan Securities with eight years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has worked at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and J.P. Morgan Securities since 2017. Prior to that, she spent 13 years at Allstate Sapp Insurance. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC provides institutional consulting services to corporations, foundations, and defined contribution plan sponsors, offering asset allocation advice, investment manager searches, and customized performance reporting through a select group of Wealth Advisors. The firm combines large institutional advisory operations with brokerage and investment management capabilities.

Holly Mc Creight is a CFP® and Series 66 credentialed financial advisor with Edward Jones, where she has worked for nine years. She has eight years of industry experience and previously worked at Matilda Jane Clothing and Barbers Hill ISD. Outside of her advisory role, she co-owns and manages short-term rental properties in Baytown and Rockport, Texas. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving over four million individual and institutional clients with a wide range of advisory and investment strategies. The firm is notable for its extensive retail advisor and branch network, fiduciary standard, and affiliated financial services including trust management and securities-based lending.

Jeffrey Park is a financial advisor at Merrill with eight years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at Merrill and affiliated firms since 2011, including roles at JPMorgan Chase Bank and J.P. Morgan Securities. Outside of his advisory work, he is a sole owner and co-owner of family rental properties in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Merrill, together with its affiliate Managed Account Advisors LLC, provides managed account services to Bank of America fiduciary clients through the Select Portfolio Solutions Program, offering model-based and discretionary strategies for individuals, high-net-worth clients, and institutional investors.

Sally Hyman is a financial advisor with Seasons of Advice Wealth Management in New York, NY. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 43 years of industry experience, including roles at Ameriprise Financial Services and RBC Capital Markets. Outside of her advisory work, she records and sells vocal CDs and is involved in publishing her father's book on the spiritual meaning of disease and science. Seasons of Advice Wealth Management provides financial planning and discretionary investment management to individuals, high net worth clients, trusts, small business owners, professionals, and families. The firm uses a proprietary planning process that integrates goal tracking, asset allocation, and tax planning, tailoring investment recommendations to each client’s objectives and risk tolerance.

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.

Lee Chen is a financial advisor with UBS Financial Services in Pasadena, California, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 28 years of industry experience. He has been with UBS since 2009. Outside of his advisory role, Chen serves on the board of directors for the San Gabriel Country Club. UBS Financial Services serves individual, corporate, and institutional clients through brokerage and investment advisory offerings, combining proprietary capital market research with a broad range of financial planning and portfolio management solutions.

Thomas Phillipsen is a Series 65 licensed advisor at Annex Wealth Management, LLC with experience beginning in 2024. His prior work includes roles at Associated Bank and JJ Keller & Associates, as well as experience at Ripon College. Annex Wealth Management is an SEC-registered advisory firm managing approximately $8.05 billion for about 9,800 clients, including high-net-worth individuals, pension plans, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm utilizes a team-oriented investment process based on a core-and-tactical framework and offers comprehensive wealth management, discretionary portfolio management, retirement consulting, and online goals-based services.

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.