Independent, factor investing / smart beta financial advisors 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 28 years of industry experience. Her career includes roles at Cadence Investment Services/Huntington National Bank, ProEquities, Inc., and Brookline Investments, Inc., among others. She also serves as a FINRA arbitrator. LPL Financial is a national broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser that offers advisory and brokerage services through a large network of investment adviser representatives. The firm provides financial planning, model portfolios, third-party asset management, and institutional platforms, serving individuals, retirement plans, banks, and trust companies.

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.

Joseph Hage is a financial advisor with Financial Trust Asset Management Chartered in Boca Raton, FL, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 40 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Citigroup, Cetera Investment Advisers, and BB&T Investments. He is also part owner of Financial Trust Research Partners, LLC, where he conducts and reviews investment research. Financial Trust Asset Management serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, corporations, and other advisers, offering discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, OCIO services, and sub-advisory/model licensing. The firm employs a blend of quantitative, fundamental, and technical analysis through proprietary models and indexes, and its setup includes unique features such as affiliated research and distribution arrangements that extend its proprietary strategies to third-party platforms.

Tiffany Stoner is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with 16 years of industry experience. She is currently with Avier Wealth Advisors in Bellevue, WA, where she has worked since 2024. Her prior experience includes roles at Badgley Phelps Wealth Managers, Brighton Jones, and Charles Schwab. Avier Wealth Advisors provides financial planning and discretionary investment management to individuals, families, and various business entities. The firm emphasizes broad asset allocation strategies using primarily mutual funds and ETFs, incorporates factor research into equity allocations, and offers integrated planning and portfolio management services, including handling held-away assets.

Ryan Paul is a CFP® professional with 13 years of experience in the financial services industry. He is currently with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC, where he has worked since 2016. His prior experience includes roles at Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Clearing. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in tax preparation and accounting on a limited basis. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services manages over $122 billion in assets and provides financial planning, asset management, and retirement-plan consulting to individuals, high-net-worth clients, corporations, and retirement plans. The firm employs a diversified, risk-class based investment approach utilizing both passive and active managers, supported by an internal Investment Committee.

Keith Johnson is a financial advisor at Associated Investment Services, Inc. with 12 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66 designation and has worked previously at Securities America Advisors and Securities America Inc. He has been with Associated Investment Services since 2017. Associated Investment Services, Inc. provides advisory and brokerage services to individual investors, small corporations, trusts, estates, and charitable institutions. The firm offers model portfolio and separately managed account programs through third-party managers and its affiliate Kellogg Asset Management, delivering advisory services via the Envestnet/NFS platform with a predominantly non-discretionary investment approach.

Pranay Dureja is a financial advisor at Dorsey, Wright & Associates, LLC with four years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has previously worked at Nasdaq, Merrill, and Bank of America. Outside of finance, he is a co-founder and partner of Studio Suzuki, a small record label promoting and distributing local musical artists. Dorsey, Wright & Associates provides discretionary investment management to individual investors and offers research, model licensing, and advisory services to institutional and professional clients. The firm’s investment approach is based on technical analysis, utilizing Point & Figure charting and relative strength methods across multiple asset classes.

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.