Independent financial advisors working with clients approaching retirement in Bethesda, MD

Oliver Fratzscher is the principal of EM Leaders, LLC, an independent advisory firm based in Bethesda, MD. He holds a Series 65 designation and has 13 years of industry experience. Since founding EM Leaders in 2012, he has focused on providing investment advisory services related to emerging markets. EM Leaders serves institutional investors seeking exposure to emerging markets by selecting and monitoring local investment managers across multiple jurisdictions. The firm offers multi-manager and fund-of-fund supervisory services, emphasizing thorough local due diligence and customized investment policy implementation.

Peter Ryan is a financial advisor at Alikos Wealth Management, LLC with nine years of industry experience. He holds the Series 65 designation and has been with Alikos since 2015. Ryan also has over 30 years of experience at Ryan & Wetmore P.C. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved as a member in several real estate investment partnerships. Alikos Wealth Management serves individuals, retirement plans, trusts, charitable organizations, and small businesses by providing discretionary investment management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting. The firm emphasizes long-term, broadly diversified portfolios primarily implemented with passively managed mutual funds and ETFs, and offers customized solutions including ESG, tax-sensitive, and fixed-income accounts.

Lee Miller is a CFP® and Series 65 credentialed financial advisor with 23 years of industry experience. He is the principal of Miller Capital Management, Inc. and also operates Lee J. Miller, CPA, P.C., a public accounting practice. Miller serves on the board of directors of a charitable foundation as its vice president and treasurer and acts as trustee for several trusts. Miller Capital Management provides personalized investment supervisory services and financial planning to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and trusts. The firm focuses on capital preservation through fundamental security analysis and a long-term buy-and-hold strategy, making tailored recommendations and requiring client approval before transactions.

Anna N'jie Konte is a CFP® professional at Poder Wealth Advisors with 10 years of industry experience. She previously worked at RBC Capital Markets and also served as CEO of Dare to Dream Consulting, where she provided speaking engagement services. Poder Wealth Advisors is a state-registered firm serving individual clients, business owners, and nonprofit entities. The firm employs a primarily passive investment approach based on Modern Portfolio Theory, offering diversified, low-cost portfolios alongside comprehensive financial planning and discretionary portfolio management.

Gretchen Bolton is a financial advisor with Equitable Advisors in Bethesda, MD, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and having 32 years of industry experience. She has worked at Equitable Advisors and its predecessor, AXA Advisors, since 1999. Outside of her advisory role, she serves in leadership positions on several local community boards, including as secretary of the Old Georgetown Office Park Condominium Owners' Association and vice president of the Waterside Reserve Property Owners Association. Equitable Advisors serves a diverse client base including individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, corporations, and charitable organizations, offering financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and various asset-management programs. The firm utilizes a range of investment models and third-party asset managers, providing services that span mutual funds, ETFs, separately managed accounts, and select alternative investments.

Willie Myles is a financial advisor with Equitable Advisors in Cary, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 16 years of industry experience. He has worked at Equitable Advisors since 2016, previously serving at Axa Advisors and MSI Financial Services. Outside of advising, he is a co-chairman of a fundraising campaign for Alpha Light Fund Inc., a nonprofit focused on renovating the House of Alpha. Equitable Advisors serves a range of clients including individuals, pension plans, corporations, and charitable organizations, providing financial planning, retirement consulting, and asset management through a network of representatives and third-party managers. The firm offers various investment vehicles and ERISA fiduciary services, relying on third-party program sponsors and an affiliation with a publicly traded parent company.

Stavroula Koutsfetsoulis is a financial advisor at Ameriprise with 25 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been with Ameriprise and its affiliated entities since 2011. In addition to her advisory role, she is involved in fiduciary activities as an attorney-in-fact (power of attorney). Ameriprise is a large institutional firm that provides retirement-income planning services primarily to individuals with substantial investable assets. The firm combines research, modeling, and tax-efficiency analysis to deliver written recommendation reports through a centralized consulting team, focusing on tailored retirement income strategies.

Barbara Brewer is a financial advisor at RBC Capital Markets with 20 years of industry experience. She holds a Series 66 designation and has been with RBC Capital Markets Corporation since 2008. RBC Wealth Management, a division of RBC Capital Markets, serves individual investors, institutional clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, corporations, and charitable organizations. The firm offers various advisory programs with discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, custody, and brokerage services, tailoring strategies to clients’ Advisory Risk Profiles through a mix of in-house and third-party providers.

Richard Martin is a financial advisor at Cetera with 29 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 63 designation and has a background that includes nearly three decades at Avantax Advisory Services and eight years at Avantax Insurance Agency. Outside of his advisory work, he is the owner and sole proprietor of Martin & Pellegrin, CPAs, a tax preparation and accounting firm. Cetera Investment Advisers LLC is an SEC-registered firm that serves a broad client base including individuals, retirement plans, corporate and charitable clients, and institutional accounts. The firm provides a multi-manager platform offering discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and access to various program structures and third-party money managers.

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.

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.