CFP®-certified financial advisors working with clients approaching retirement in Birmingham, AL

Hamilton Poynor is a financial advisor with Arete Wealth Advisors, LLC in Birmingham, AL, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 32 years of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at LPL Financial, LLC and RFG Advisory Group, LLC. Outside of his advisory role, he serves on the boards of St. Luke's Episcopal Church Foundation and Lutheran Services Florida and is involved with the Million Dollar Round Table finance committee and the Make A Wish Foundation of Alabama. Arete Wealth Advisors provides investment advisory and financial planning services to a diverse client base, including individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, and charitable organizations. The firm employs discretionary portfolio management, proprietary model allocations, and third-party sub-advisers, and integrates affiliated financial businesses and product channels in its operations.

Joshua Rich is a financial advisor at Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. with seven years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 credential and has previously worked at firms including Merrill Lynch and Ingram Whatley LLC. Rich serves on the advisory board for the Economics, Finance, and Quantitative Analytics Board at Samford University's Brock School of Business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. provides financial planning and investment consulting to a diverse client base, including individuals, corporations, and institutional clients. The firm offers non-discretionary, tailored planning and analytical tools to support client goals and is known for its municipal advisory affiliation and employer advisory services.

Laree Kennedy is a financial advisor with LPL Financial in Birmingham, AL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and bringing 28 years of industry experience. Her prior roles include positions at ProEquities, Inc., Brookline Investments, Inc., and Brookline Group, LLC. She also serves as a FINRA arbitrator and manages investment products risk and compliance at Cadence Bank. LPL Financial is an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals—including high-net-worth clients—retirement plans, financial institutions, and charitable organizations. The firm offers a range of advisory programs, financial planning, and brokerage services supported by model portfolios and research from multiple sources.

Delynn Zell is a CFP® certificant with 37 years of industry experience, currently serving at Savant Wealth Management since 2023. Prior to joining Savant, she spent 11 years with Bridgeworth, LLC and LPL Financial. Savant Wealth Management provides comprehensive wealth management, financial planning, and related services to individuals, families, pension plans, charitable organizations, corporations, and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs a blend of evidence-based, model-driven asset allocation alongside actively managed strategies, supported by integrated accounting, legal, and trust services.

Kenneth Carlson is a CFA® charterholder with 10 years of industry experience, currently serving at Greybox Investments in Birmingham, AL. He has worked at DMC Group, LLC since 2015 and maintains active roles in several family-owned businesses, including Albemarle Corporation, Martin Farm, and Rockhouse, LLC, where he contributes to farm operations outside of trading hours. Greybox Investments provides portfolio and wealth management services primarily to individual and high-net-worth clients, as well as charitable organizations and other registered investment advisers, using a quantitative multi-factor investment approach combined with fundamental analysis. The firm offers customized single-sleeve models to other RIAs and focuses on forward-looking risk and return estimates while avoiding hedge funds and structured products.

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 and previously at AXA Advisors, LLC. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as co-chairman of a fundraising campaign for the nonprofit Alpha Light Fund Inc., focused on renovating the House of Alpha. Equitable Advisors serves a diverse client base including individual, high-net-worth, retirement plan, corporate, charitable, and institutional clients, offering financial planning, broker-dealer services, insurance distribution, and access to third-party asset management programs. The firm operates as both an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer, leveraging LPL-sponsored programs and endorsed TAMPs to deliver advisory and brokerage solutions.

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.

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 with Plante Moran Financial Advisors. He has one year of industry experience and previously worked at J Wilson Wealth Management. Outside of financial advising, he has experience in the lawn care business with Rizzo Lawn Care. Plante Moran Financial Advisors serves a diverse client base including individuals, institutions, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm provides investment advisory, financial planning, and estate-planning services, utilizing a range of investment strategies and managing both discretionary and non-discretionary assets.

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 17 years of industry experience. He has been with Investment Management & Planning LLC since 2010 and is also affiliated with LPL Financial LLC. Investment Management & Planning LLC provides fee-based investment advisory and comprehensive financial planning primarily for individual and high-net-worth clients, offering portfolio management on both discretionary and non-discretionary bases. The firm emphasizes ongoing account supervision and individualized asset allocation, often utilizing LPL-sponsored platforms and model portfolios.