Independent financial advisors working with mid-career professionals in Gaithersburg, MD

Martin Depetris is a financial advisor at Fidelity with seven years of industry experience and holds the Series 66 designation. His prior work includes roles at Bank of America, Merrill, H. Beck, and Scottrade, as well as four years at Fidelity Investments, LLC. Fidelity’s Strategic Advisers LLC provides investment management and advisory services to retail and institutional clients, including an IRS-qualified Charitable Gift Fund and registered investment companies. The firm employs a systematic investment approach that combines proprietary research, quantitative analysis, and algorithmic portfolio construction across mutual funds, ETFs, and ETPs.

Matthew Bacon is a CFP® professional with 14 years of experience in financial advisory. He currently works at MAI Capital Management, LLC and has held previous roles at Carmichael Hill & Associates, University Federal Credit Union, CUSO Financial Services, MSI Financial Services, and New England Securities. MAI Capital Management, LLC provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, integrated wealth management, retirement plan consulting, and family-office services to a diverse client base including high-net-worth individuals, families, institutional clients, and sports professionals. The firm employs a range of portfolio management strategies and serves as both product sponsor and adviser to mutual funds and private investment vehicles.

Cornell Abod is the sole advisor at Beacon Investment Advisors LLC with a Series 65 credential and 23 years of industry experience. He has been with Beacon since 2003 and is also the owner of C.P. Abod & Co., LLC, an accounting firm, as well as Beacon RPC, LLC, a retirement plan consulting company. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC provides discretionary wealth management, portfolio management, and financial and retirement planning services to individuals, families, high-net-worth households, trusts, estates, corporations, and retirement plans. The firm manages approximately $542 million in discretionary assets and uses fundamental analysis to develop client-specific investment plans that often include diversified portfolios and derivative strategies.

Mariah Lightfoot is a Series 66-licensed financial advisor with LPL Financial, based in Gaithersburg, MD, and has eight years of industry experience. She has worked at LPL Financial since 2019 and previously held roles at Mass Mutual Investors Services, Mass Mutual Life Insurance Co, MGM National Harbor, and Capella University. LPL Financial is a national broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser providing advisory and brokerage services to individuals, retirement plan participants, banks, trust companies, and other institutions. The firm offers a range of financial planning and investment management solutions and supports its advisors with proprietary research, third-party strategies, and various operational tools.

Robert Costello is a financial advisor at Transamerica Financial Advisors with 30 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and has worked at several firms including Grove Point Investments, H. Beck, and Prudential. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in rental property management. Transamerica Financial Advisors serves a wide range of clients including individual investors, pension plans, trusts, and corporations. The firm offers both advisory and broker-dealer services, utilizing proprietary and third-party model portfolios across discretionary and non-discretionary platforms.

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.

Sally Hyman is a financial advisor with Seasons of Advice Wealth Management in New York, NY. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 43 years of industry experience, including roles at Ameriprise Financial Services and RBC Capital Markets. Outside of her advisory work, she records and sells vocal CDs and is involved in publishing her father's book on the spiritual meaning of disease and science. Seasons of Advice Wealth Management provides financial planning and discretionary investment management to individuals, high net worth clients, trusts, small business owners, professionals, and families. The firm uses a proprietary planning process that integrates goal tracking, asset allocation, and tax planning, tailoring investment recommendations to each client’s objectives and risk tolerance.

Jeffrey Macdonald is a CFP® and ChFC® with 18 years of industry experience. He has worked at Investment Management & Planning LLC and LPL Financial since 2010, following two years at Wells Fargo Clearing. Investment Management & Planning LLC provides investment advisory and financial planning services primarily to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm constructs tailored portfolios using mutual funds, ETFs, equities, and fixed-income securities, employing fundamental analysis and continuous supervision, and operates as both a wrap program sponsor and affiliated registered representatives of LPL Financial.

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.

Thomas Phillipsen is a Series 65 licensed advisor at Annex Wealth Management, LLC with experience beginning in 2024. His prior work includes roles at Associated Bank and JJ Keller & Associates, as well as experience at Ripon College. Annex Wealth Management is an SEC-registered advisory firm managing approximately $8.05 billion for about 9,800 clients, including high-net-worth individuals, pension plans, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm utilizes a team-oriented investment process based on a core-and-tactical framework and offers comprehensive wealth management, discretionary portfolio management, retirement consulting, and online goals-based services.

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.