Independent, business ownership considerations financial advisors 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.

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.