Top business ownership considerations financial advisors working with gen x clients in North Carolina

Willie Myles is a financial advisor with Equitable Advisors in Cary, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 16 years of industry experience. He has worked at Equitable Advisors since 2016, previously serving at Axa Advisors and MSI Financial Services. Outside of advising, he is a co-chairman of a fundraising campaign for Alpha Light Fund Inc., a nonprofit focused on renovating the House of Alpha. Equitable Advisors serves a range of clients including individuals, pension plans, corporations, and charitable organizations, providing financial planning, retirement consulting, and asset management through a network of representatives and third-party managers. The firm offers various investment vehicles and ERISA fiduciary services, relying on third-party program sponsors and an affiliation with a publicly traded parent company.

Arjun Aggarwal is a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley in Raleigh, NC, holding a Series 66 designation and 18 years of industry experience. He has been with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney since 2009 and has worked at Morgan Stanley Private Bank, National Association since 2015. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer offering a wide range of advisory programs to individuals and institutions, including tailored financial planning services. The firm manages approximately $2.74 trillion in client assets and employs a structured planning process using firm-approved tools and economic modeling techniques.

Robert Pike is a CFA® charterholder with 20 years of industry experience. He is based in Winston Salem, NC, and currently serves as an advisor at Sheets Smith Wealth Management. Prior to joining his current firm, he worked for 16 years at Stratford Advisors, Inc. Sheets Smith Wealth Management serves individuals, families, trusts, foundations, endowments, and retirement plans. The firm customizes investment strategies based on each client’s risk tolerance and time horizon, typically employing a long-term, buy-and-hold equity approach combined with tactical fixed-income and alternative investments.

Mitchell Hodgkiss is a financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial Services who holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 28 years of industry experience. His career includes roles at Wells Fargo Clearing and Morgan Keegan & Company, LLC prior to joining Ameriprise. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Pi Kappa Alpha KK Alumni Association. Ameriprise Financial Services is a large, diversified advisory firm serving both individual and institutional clients. The firm offers a specialized Premier Retirement Income service that provides retirement income planning advice through a structured, non-discretionary process incorporating proprietary research and third-party data.

Andrew Driscoll is a financial advisor at Lake Effect Wealth LLC in Charlotte, NC, holding a Series 65 designation with six years of industry experience. He previously worked at Grandview Analytics from 2015 to 2019 before founding Lake Effect Wealth, where he has been the sole advisor since 2019. Lake Effect Wealth serves individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as corporations and businesses, offering discretionary portfolio management alongside project-based and comprehensive financial planning. The firm employs a passive investment strategy based on Modern Portfolio Theory, incorporating low-turnover, tax-aware portfolio construction, and distinguishes itself by providing business planning and employee benefits optimization services uncommon among independent solo advisers.

Jeremy Roets is a financial advisor with Thrivent Investment Management in Minneapolis, MN, holding Series 63 and Series 66 designations. He has 12 years of industry experience, including over a decade with Thrivent Investment Management and fifteen years with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Thrivent Investment Management provides Dedicated Planning Services to individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofit clients, offering comprehensive written recommendations across various financial topics. The firm focuses on holistic, goal-based analyses and allows clients to integrate planning with managed-account programs, while maintaining separate services and avoiding discretionary trading authority for planning engagements.

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.

Erkki Peippo is a financial advisor with Concorde Asset Management, LLC in Ann Arbor, MI, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 24 years of industry experience. He previously worked at Sagepoint Financial Inc. for 14 years and operates Erkki M. Peippo, CPA, PC, providing accounting and insurance services. Outside of advising, he owns and manages Peippo Farms, a farming operation in Gladstone, MI. Concorde Asset Management serves individual, corporate, and retirement-plan clients with discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management and tailored financial planning. The firm uses model portfolios and third-party strategists, including its Concorde UMA program on Envestnet, to build individualized portfolios and offers ERISA retirement-plan advisory services.

Daniel Memo is a Senior Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. He has been in the financial services industry since 1998 and began his career with Smith Barney. Daniel focuses on serving high net worth individuals and business retirement planning. He holds FINRA Series 7, 66, 3, and 31 registrations. Daniel earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from John Carroll University. He also holds professional designations including Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor (CPFA), Personal Investment Advisor (PIA), and Retirement Accredited Financial Advisor (RAFA). His areas of expertise include college education planning, corporate benefits, equity compensation services, retirement income, and small business strategies. Daniel is active in the Poland community where he resides with his wife, Erin, and their four sons. He participates in organizations such as the Poland Community Baseball Association, Poland Flag Football, and St. Vincent De Paul. He has served as a board member of the Rich Center for Autism and is affiliated with Magic of Michael. Outside of work, Daniel enjoys baseball, basketball, football, golfing, swimming, table tennis, traveling, and spending time with his family.

Julie Mcdaniel is a CFP® and Series 66 credentialed financial advisor with 17 years of industry experience. She has been with Impactfolio LLC since 2019 and previously worked at Sharkey, Howes & Javer Inc for six years. Based in Denver, CO, she is part of a three-advisor team at Impactfolio. Impactfolio LLC is a SEC-registered adviser serving individual and high-net-worth clients, trusts, and other entities, managing approximately $289 million across about 126 relationships. The firm employs a strategic asset-allocation model that integrates ESG factors with traditional financial analysis and offers discretionary investment management alongside comprehensive financial planning services.

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.

Many blue-collar business owners spend years building successful companies but struggle with inconsistent cash flow, high taxes, and uncertainty about how to turn their business into a secure retirement. Unlike most financial firms that focus primarily on investments, I take a planning-first approach that connects your business strategy with your personal financial goals. As a CFP® professional and fee-only fiduciary advisor with 10+ years of experience, I help business owners integrate cash flow planning, tax strategies, risk management, retirement planning, and investments into one coordinated plan. Having experienced the challenges of business ownership firsthand and growing up in a family business, I understand that your business is often your largest asset. My goal is to provide the guidance and strategy business owners need to protect what they've built and create financial freedom beyond their business.

I believe that everyone should have access to a professional advisor who understands their needs and can help them achieve the lifestyle they desire. As a financial advisor, I am dedicated to learning about your personal goals and using them to build a retirement plan tailored to your unique situation. NexJenn Financial Services was founded in response to the demand for financial planning from my tax clients. Often squeezed between spending for their kids’ education, caring for an elderly relative and saving for their own retirement, many were anxious about their financial future. I have enjoyed helping my clients find a balance and focus on building a strong financial future. I am a CPA® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Professional®, as well as a Retirement Income Certified Professional®. Additionally, I am a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors and the XY Planning Network. In my spare time, my husband and I volunteer at a homeless shelter. I also love to bike and travel and am an aspiring photographer. I have been married for 30 years and together with my awesome husband, we’ve raised three awesome kids.

I'm a fiduciary & CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER living in Indianapolis, Indiana but serving clients nationwide. For years I've helped individuals and families plan for retirement and other imporant financial decisions. In college, I studied economics with a concentration in finance. After college, I worked for large wealth management firm in Indiana and then a boutique financial advising office specializing in retirement planning. That firm was later acquired and after a few years working for the acquiring firm I left to start WealthGuides. As an advisor I've worked with clients age 22 to 92. While I've worked with a wide range of people, I've always found my passion was with working with people to create a plan for retirement. As an advisor I provide guidance to my clients on taxes, their investment portfolios, estate planning, & charitable giving amongst others areas. I show people where they can save on taxes and I give clarity and strategies for how my clients can maximize the potential for what they can spend on themselves and give to others. On the personal side I'm a runner, a reader, a cat dad, and a traveler. I also enjoy sipping on a nice glass of wine or whiskey.

I am a seasoned technology professional and an entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley. I have experience starting and running a software company that was venture-funded and subsequently acquired by a public company. During my high-tech career, I got intrigued by money matters such as savings, investments, insurance, taxes in order to achieve my family's financial goals. Out of curiosity, I spent time reading and researching various aspects of personal finance. I realized that there are a growing number of financial options available with increasing complexity in these choices. My passion towards financial planning ultimately resulted in pursuing formal education in financial planning, subsequently completing the CFP Board requirements to be a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® Professional. I launched Encover Personal Finance in 2018, primarily to help technology professionals achieve their financial life goals based on my own experience. I believe in serving clients honestly and transparently in a conflict-free manner. https://www.encoverpersonalfinance.com/about