Top advisors focused on young professionals in Kentucky

Julie Smith is a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Prestonsburg, KY, holding a Series 66 designation and one year of industry experience. Prior to joining Edward Jones, she worked at Community Trust Bank and held various roles in healthcare and therapy organizations. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving over four million individual and institutional clients, offering a wide range of advisory programs and investment strategies supported by a large nationwide network of financial advisors and branch offices.

Linda Oeth is a financial advisor with Raymond James Financial in Louisville, KY, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and 28 years of industry experience. Her prior roles include positions at Weinzapfel Wealth Advisors, Economy Securities, and CWM, LLC. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. serves a diverse client base including individual investors, high-net-worth and non-HNW clients, pension plans, charitable organizations, corporations, and municipal entities. The firm provides financial planning and non-discretionary investment consulting through various programs and emphasizes advisory and implementation-support services rather than discretionary management.

George Rassi is a financial advisor with Fifth Third Securities, Inc. in Centerville, OH, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 14 years of industry experience. He has been with Fifth Third Securities since 2011 and has worked with Fifth Third Bank since 2010. Outside his advisory role, he is involved in managing several rental properties through personal ownership and business entities. Fifth Third Securities, Inc. offers brokerage and investment advisory services through its Passageway Managed Account Program to individuals, charitable organizations, corporate clients, and institutional investors. The firm combines a municipal-advisor registration with its affiliation to Fifth Third Bank and provides clients access to multiple discretionary managed-account options, including advisor-directed models and tax-overlay services.

Jordan Pruden is a Series 66-licensed financial advisor with Morgan Stanley in Bowling Green, KY, and has eight years of industry experience. He has worked at Morgan Stanley since 2019, including time at Morgan Stanley Private Bank, N.A., and previously spent two years at Merrill and one year at Service One Credit Union. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals and institutional clients with a wide range of advisory programs, including tailored financial and estate planning. The firm manages approximately $2.74 trillion in client assets and employs structured planning tools and models to support its advisory services.

Myron Barker is a CFP® professional with 37 years of industry experience, currently serving at Wells Fargo Clearing since 2021. He previously worked at UBS Financial Services for nine years. Wells Fargo Clearing provides retirement plan consulting to qualified ERISA plans and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, offering both non-discretionary and discretionary services. The firm’s advisory process is IPS-driven and grounded in modern portfolio theory, with a notable inclusion of insurance-related vehicles and bank deposit sweep options among its investment menu.

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.