Top financial advisors working with self-employed clients in Georgia

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.

Claxton West is a financial advisor at Wells Fargo Clearing with nine years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at Wells Fargo Clearing since 2017, following roles at the University of Georgia and Aflac. Outside of his advisory work, he has a 35% ownership stake in a trucking and logistics business and serves as a finance committee member at Madison Baptist Church. Wells Fargo Advisors provides investment advisory services, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting to individual, corporate, and institutional clients. The firm operates nationally with over 14,000 advisors and offers both brokerage and advisory solutions, utilizing research from Wells Fargo Investment Institute and third-party data to support its investment approach.

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 financial advisor at Corient with nine years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has previously worked at Fisher Investments, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors, and operated as a self-employed advisor. Corient provides investment advisory and financial planning services to a diverse client base including individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, pension plans, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm uses a goals-based, team investment approach that combines in-house strategies with third-party manager solutions and employs risk management tools and continuous portfolio monitoring.

Charles Steele is a CFP® and holds a Series 66 license, with 20 years of experience in the financial industry. He has worked at Kestra Advisory, Kestra Investment Services, and Cambridge Investment Research prior to founding Steele Advisory LLC. Steele is also a licensed insurance agent, spending a limited amount of time on insurance sales and implementation. Steele Financial Studios provides discretionary investment management, comprehensive financial planning, and retirement plan advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, businesses, and plan sponsors. The firm emphasizes fundamental analysis and a long-term investment approach, incorporating low-cost mutual funds, ETFs, individual securities, and unaffiliated independent managers, with a notable focus on pension and retirement plan consulting.

Kristin Manna is a financial advisor at Guardian Life with a Series 66 designation and one year of industry experience. She previously worked at Consolidated Planning Holdings, Inc. and spent eight years with Charleston County School District. Outside of finance, she is an author and publisher of "The Basketball Coach's Notebook" and works as a math tutor for high school students. Guardian Life's subsidiary, Park Avenue® Wealth Management, serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and corporate clients, offering brokerage services, financial planning, retirement consulting, and a combination of proprietary and third-party investment advisory programs.

Geoffrey Tomes is a financial advisor with Sanctuary Advisors, LLC, holding a Series 66 credential and 26 years of industry experience. He has worked at Noyes Advisors LLC for 11 years and David A Noyes & Company for 26 years. His other business activities include involvement in fixed life and health insurance and fixed annuities. Sanctuary Advisors, LLC serves a diverse client base including individuals, corporations, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations through a network of over 400 independent investment adviser representatives. The firm offers a range of portfolio management and financial planning services employing various analytical approaches and maintains distinctive features such as negotiated performance-based fees for large institutional clients and affiliations with specialized asset management firms.

Ryan Vollweiler is a CFP® with 22 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Schwab Wealth Advisory Inc. since 2021. He has held prior roles within the Schwab organization dating back to 2017 and briefly worked at Voya Financial Advisor, Inc. in 2015-2016. Schwab Wealth Advisory provides non-discretionary fiduciary investment advice to clients enrolled in the Schwab Wealth Advisory program, delivering services such as annual financial reviews and investment recommendations using Schwab’s proprietary research tools. The firm operates as an internal advisory unit within Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., distinguishing itself by not charging clients directly and by limiting discretionary management to affiliated or third-party money managers.

Jonathan Levatino is a financial advisor at LPL Enterprise with a Series 66 designation and four years of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at The Prudential Insurance Company of America, Pruco Securities LLC, and Apple Inc. Outside of his advisory role, he also works as a rideshare driver for Uber and Doordash. LPL Enterprise serves a diverse client base including individuals, retirement plans, charitable organizations, and corporations, offering financial planning, advisory services, and access to model wealth portfolios and third-party asset management programs. The firm integrates advisory programs with brokerage and insurance product sales through its affiliated entities.

Rachel Gentz is a financial advisor at Verity Asset Management with six years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has worked at firms including Menna Wealth Planning Group and The Leaders Group DBA Simplicity Investments. In addition to her advisory roles, she is president and owner of Rachel A Menna Advisors Inc. Verity Asset Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser that provides discretionary portfolio management, retirement-plan advisory, and financial planning to individual, corporate, institutional clients, and other advisers. The firm uses a model-driven investment process emphasizing tactical asset allocation across diverse asset classes and offers both internally managed and third-party models under fiduciary standards.