Independent advisors focused on government employee in Georgia

Jeffrey Park is a financial advisor with Merrill, holding a Series 66 credential and seven years of industry experience. He has worked at Merrill in multiple capacities since 2011, with brief stints at JPMorgan Chase Bank and J.P. Morgan Securities in 2022. Merrill serves a diverse client base including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, and institutional clients, offering managed account programs, discretionary portfolio management, and brokerage services. The firm employs a range of program strategies and manager-constructed portfolios, with oversight from its CIO and platform management, and leverages its affiliation with Bank of America to support trading, lending, and capital markets activities.

Kristin Manna is a financial advisor with Primerica Advisors and holds a Series 66 designation. She has one year of industry experience, including roles at Park Avenue Securities, Guardian Life Insurance Company, and Consolidated Planning Holdings, Inc. Prior to entering the financial industry, she worked in education for eight years. Outside of advising, Kristin is an author and publisher of a basketball coaching notebook and works as a math tutor for high school students. Park Avenue Securities serves a broad retail client base with a range of brokerage and advisory services, utilizing proprietary and third-party investment strategies across various account types and investment vehicles.

Claxton West is a financial advisor at Wells Fargo Clearing with eight years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at Wells Fargo Clearing since 2017. Prior to that, he was employed at the University of Georgia and Aflac. West has a 35% ownership interest in a trucking and logistics business called Big Red and serves as a finance committee member at Madison Baptist Church. Wells Fargo Clearing provides retirement plan consulting to qualified ERISA and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, offering both discretionary and non-discretionary services. The firm’s advisory process is IPS-driven and incorporates modern portfolio theory, with a notable inclusion of insurance-related products and bank deposit sweep options among its investment offerings.

Kelsey Mc Knight is a financial advisor at Edward Jones in Commerce, GA, holding a Series 66 designation with three years of industry experience. Kelsey has been with Edward Jones since 2013. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving over four million individual and institutional clients, offering a range of advisory programs and investment strategies. The firm manages approximately $1.01 trillion in assets under management and operates through a large network of financial advisors and branch offices nationwide.

Thomas Mason is a Series 65-licensed financial advisor at Corient with nine years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Fisher Investments and AssuredPartners Investment Advisors. Corient provides investment advisory and financial planning services to a diverse client base, including individuals, trusts, pension plans, charitable organizations, and corporations. The firm uses a team-based investment model to create customized, goals-based asset allocations and integrates risk management through factor models, stress testing, and manager due diligence.

Amanda Fleming is a financial advisor at Edward Jones in Lexington, NC, holding a Series 66 designation with one year of industry experience. Prior to joining Edward Jones, she was involved with several businesses including Max Travels, LLC, a travel agency she founded and where she designed vacations for clients, primarily family. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving more than four million individual and institutional clients with a range of investment programs and advisory services supported by a nationwide network of over 23,000 financial advisors.

Michelle Vargas, Certified Financial Planner™ is the President of Waymaker Financial Planning, a Fee-Only firm that provides transparent and accessible financial guidance. She enjoys helping clients navigate and plan all aspects of their financial life so that they will worry less about their future and free up more time to spend doing what they love. After earning a degree in Finance from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1990, she moved to Florida and started her career with Harcourt Brace Publishing. Her journey into personal finance began when she signed up for her 401K and wanted to learn about additional options to plan for retirement. This eventually led to working as a financial advisor and completing the extensive education requirements for becoming a CFP® in 1998. She believes her experience as a young professional searching for unbiased advice enables her to better serve Gen XY professionals because she remembers what it was like being in their shoes. As a former homeschool parent and the wife of a federal employee, she is passionate about helping women, homeschool families, and federal workers plan wisely for a comfortable financial future. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking in Colorado, barbecuing with family, and working in her garden.

Richard Schaeffer is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with 41 years of industry experience. He is associated with Schaeffer Financial LLC, where he has worked for over two decades, and currently serves as part of a five-advisor team. His prior experience includes roles at Grove Point Investments and LPL Financial. Schaeffer Financial serves individuals and families, including federal employees and foreign nationals holding G‑IV visas, as well as trusts, foundations, and small businesses. The firm provides financial planning and discretionary portfolio management, emphasizing diversified asset allocation tailored to clients’ goals and risk tolerance, and frequently coordinates with outside professionals to implement client plans.

Hi, I'm Steve. I've loved financial planning ever since I was a kid watching the ticker tape on CNBC as my mom, a homemaker learned about finances herself. I grew up in a very frugal household who taught me about working hard and saving for the future. My mother was a homemaker or "domestic engineer" as she calls it and my father was a federal employee. I was fortunate to be introduced to Rita Abel and become the owner of her small, family owned financial planning firm in 2019. Today we work with approximately 60 families. What makes us unique is our passion to be "accountability partner's" for our clients to ensure they take care of the important financial matters in their lives. We are part financial advisors and party financial therapists for our married couples but most importantly we are organized, proactive and have a passion for financial planning. Looking forward to meeting and if you want to know more, I encourage you to read our google reviews online. Just search "Abel Financial Reviews" in google.

Mark Teichman is a financial advisor at C2 Investment Group with 20 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 63 designation and has been with C2 Investment Group since 1998. Teichman is also co-owner of C2, LLC, which offers Tracker, a portfolio accounting and reporting application. C2 Investment Group provides investment advice exclusively to institutional public-fund clients, focusing on government bond index-tracking services involving U.S. Treasury and agency securities. The firm delivers services on a non-discretionary, consultative basis and employs an index-tracking optimization approach tailored to public institutional mandates.

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 financial advisor at Waverly Advisors, LLC with two years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and previously worked at 9258 Wealth Management for five years and Teradata Corp for eleven years. In addition to her advisory role, she serves as assistant director of tax planning at 9258 Tax and Planning. Waverly Advisors, LLC is an SEC-registered enterprise adviser serving individuals, corporations, retirement plans, and pooled investment vehicles. The firm offers discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and fiduciary services, employing a combination of centralized and customized investment strategies across traditional and alternative asset classes.

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 Safeguard Investment Advisory Group, LLC, holding a Series 65 credential and 15 years of industry experience. He has worked with Safeguard since 2020 and previously held roles at LifePro Asset Management, LLC, Martin and Associates Insurance Services, Inc., and Martin Wealth Management, LLC. Hart is also a Certified Financial Fiduciary and volunteers as an instructor with the Foundation for Fiduciary Education (NACFF), providing unbiased fiduciary financial education. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group, LLC serves individual, high-net-worth, institutional, and business clients, offering discretionary portfolio management, access to third-party sub-advisers, and fee-based financial planning. The firm employs a fundamental-analysis investment process with a preferred horizon of two to ten years and manages over $600 million across approximately 1,800 client relationships.

Sarah Currier Barrella is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with 26 years of industry experience. She is currently with Santander Securities LLC and Santander Bank, NA, having previously worked at TD Bank and Citizens Securities, Inc. Barrella holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. Santander Securities LLC provides investment advisory and related services to a diverse client base, including individuals, corporations, charitable organizations, retirement plans, and institutional clients. The firm offers wrap-fee advisory programs and financial planning services, delivering investment advice through the FMAX managed-account platform with discretionary portfolio management and ongoing suitability reviews.