Flat-fee advisors focused on young professionals in Iowa

Austin Norris is a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Oskaloosa, IA, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 21 years of industry experience. He has been with Edward Jones since 2005. Outside of his advisory role, Norris has ownership interests in real estate and construction businesses, including a real-estate office building, farmland, and involvement in a construction project. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving individual and institutional clients nationwide. The firm manages over $1 trillion in assets through a large network of advisors and offers a range of advisory programs, including discretionary wrap fee strategies, separately managed accounts, and affiliated mutual funds, operating under a fiduciary standard.

Blake Hamer is a CFP® professional at Stifel with eight years of industry experience. He has been with Stifel since 2017 and worked previously at Ocwen Loan Servicing from 2013 to 2017. He serves as Treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors for the Family YMCA of Black Hawk County. Stifel serves a diverse client base including individuals, institutional clients, and municipal entities, offering brokerage and investment advisory services that incorporate proprietary capital market assumptions and probabilistic modeling developed by its Investment Strategy Group.

Michael Gasperi is a financial advisor at Avantax Planning Partners, Inc. with 28 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and has worked at Cetera Wealth Services, LLC, Avantax Investment Services, Inc., and ProEquities, Inc. He also serves as a Senior Financial Advisor and Non-Equity Partner at Honkamp Krueger Financial Services, where he acts as a wholesaler to CPA representatives. Avantax Planning Partners provides investment advice and planning primarily to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and businesses through referral arrangements with independent CPA firms and registered advisor representatives. The firm employs a model-based style allocation strategy overseen by an Investment Advisory Committee and generally manages client accounts on a discretionary basis with centralized trading and reporting.

Nicholas Manna is a financial advisor at Merrill with a Series 66 designation and experience starting in 2023. His prior work includes roles at Bank of America, Williams-Sonoma, Inc., and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Merrill serves a wide range of clients, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, and institutional investors, offering managed account programs, discretionary portfolio management, and brokerage execution. The firm emphasizes manager selection and tax-efficient strategies, supported by deep integration with Bank of America affiliates and a comprehensive investment platform.

Kyle Ver Woert is a financial professional with nine years of industry experience, currently affiliated with Cetera. He holds the Series 66 designation and has worked at firms including Equitable Advisors and Axa Advisors. He is also involved with Haga Kommer, a financial services business. Cetera Investment Advisers serves a diverse client base including individual, high-net-worth, institutional, and retirement-plan clients through a network of independent advisors. The firm offers discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, fiduciary solutions, and access to third-party managers, combining retirement and fiduciary capabilities with a broad institutional platform.

Donald Harris is a financial advisor at Beaird Harris with 29 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has been with Beaird Harris Wealth Management, Inc. since 1996, as well as Beaird Harris & Co P.C. since 1989. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as a managing officer and trustee for several trusts and management companies. Beaird Harris Wealth Management, LLC is a fee-only, SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, high net worth clients, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, pension plans, and business entities. The firm employs Modern Portfolio Theory with diversified asset-class exposure primarily through low-cost mutual funds and ETFs, and it offers alternative investments and tax-managed strategies.

Katie Strother is a CFP® with 10 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Curi Capital, LLC. She previously worked at Park Ridge Asset Management for seven years before joining Curi Capital and its affiliated entities. Outside of her advisory role, Strother is involved in her community as a nursery room leader at Peace Church and as a varsity girls soccer coach at Wilson Christian Academy. Curi Capital serves individuals, families, institutions, and charitable organizations with a range of wealth management, asset management, and retirement plan services. The firm employs a long-term, fundamental investment approach and combines in-house strategies with external managers to support its clients’ financial goals.

Jill Raderstorf is a financial advisor at Aptus Financial, LLC in Columbus, Ohio, holding a Series 65 designation with one year of industry experience. Her prior roles include positions at Hamilton Capital, LLC, Fifth Third Bank, and Ohio Innovation Fund. She also serves as an unpaid advisor for Accelerating Angels, an early-stage venture investment firm focused on high-growth, women-owned businesses, where she assists with due diligence processes. Aptus Financial provides flat-fee financial planning and advisory services to individuals, employer-sponsored plans, and organizations, primarily serving early- to mid-career professionals, business owners, and medical/dental trainees. The firm emphasizes a passive, long-term approach centered on tax-aware asset allocation and low-cost index funds and ETFs, operating as a fiduciary adviser without discretionary portfolio management.

We’re built for families! We focus on bridging generations to connect families and their finances. As Baby Boomers, you created more wealth than any generation before you. Now in your retirement years, the economic expansion that aided your careers doesn’t feel as robust. You worry about your savings lasting a lengthy life expectancy. You also worry that your children and grandchildren will be the first generation to not have it better than the generation before them. Our goal is to solve both problems. Our structure allows us to provide the same great advice whether you have a lifetime of savings or you are just starting out. That means we can work with multiple generations, and where appropriate, find opportunities to coordinate across generations while maintaining privacy and independence. I am a millennial myself with over a decade of experience helping retirees with personal finances. That combination of youth and experience gives me an advantage over many of the advisors out there. My youth, to retirees, means I am likely to be around for the entirety of your retirement. All those plans you made with your advisor, will be executed by the advisor that helped you plan them. If that includes an inheritance, good news because I want to work with your heirs too! To a younger generation, you get an advisor you can relate to who doesn’t treat your problems as less significant because you don’t have the same level of assets. Just because I’m young, doesn’t mean I’m green! I was previously the Practicing Partner of a wealth management firm focused solely on retirees. As the lead portfolio manager, I oversaw almost $500 million in client portfolios. That experience means I’ve guided and advised clients through every stage of a successful retirement. It also means I know what a successful retirement looks like. As I’ve always said, best laid plans begin with the end in mind, so my experience serves just as well early in your journey to financial independence. I started my own firm because I saw an increasing need to reconnect families and their finances. Grandparents are providing child care, children are providing elderly care, and everyone is chipping in to pay for education. As much as ever families need each other, and our program is specifically designed to be prepared when they do.

Michael Grinnell is a Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Since joining the firm in 2015, he has brought a problem-solving approach influenced by his background in Mechanical Engineering, earned from Santa Clara University. Michael concentrates on business development, marketing, and engaging with the next generation of clients. His areas of expertise include education planning, family wealth management strategies, legacy planning, liquidity management, personal retirement planning, portfolio management services, and small business strategies. He holds several professional designations, including Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA), and Personal Investment Advisor (PIA). Outside of work, Michael enjoys a range of outdoor activities such as fishing, golfing, hiking, hunting, music, rock climbing, running, skiing, surfing, and tennis. He is actively involved in the community through organizations like St. Anthony Organization and The Covenant House California.

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.

Wesley Pool is a financial advisor with Wells Fargo Clearing in Fort Worth, TX, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and 14 years of industry experience. He previously worked at JPMorgan Securities LLC for seven years and has entrepreneurial experience with #TagMeBro LLC. Wells Fargo Clearing provides retirement plan consulting to qualified ERISA and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, offering both discretionary and non-discretionary services grounded in modern portfolio theory and tailored to plan objectives and risk tolerances. The firm’s advisory process includes a broad range of investment options, including insurance-related vehicles and bank deposit sweep programs.

Hassan Al Kadhimi is a financial advisor with LPL Financial in Rockville, MD, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and one year of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at J.P. Morgan Securities, JP Morgan Chase Bank, and TD Bank. He is also involved with NIHFCU Wealth Advisors, a DBA for his LPL business. LPL Financial provides advisory and brokerage services to a diverse client base, including individual investors, retirement plan sponsors, institutions, and high-net-worth households. The firm offers a variety of delivery options supported by an in-house research team, combining large-scale advisory operations with a broad range of financial products.

Amanda Scheele is a financial advisor at Raymond James & Associates with 15 years of industry experience. She holds a Series 66 designation and has worked previously at Wells Fargo Clearing and Wells Fargo Advisors LLC. Amanda is also involved with Lucky Duck, a separate business activity. Raymond James & Associates provides financial planning and investment consulting services to a diverse client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporate and charitable entities, and government clients. The firm offers tailored financial plans and investment recommendations, supported by research and planning tools, and serves both retail and institutional clients with a range of advisory programs.