Top financial advisors working with baby boomers and clients approaching retirement in Newark, NJ

Oscar Abaunza Velazquez is a financial advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors in New York, NY, holding Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and seven years of industry experience. He has worked at Wells Fargo Clearing since 2019 and Wells Fargo Bank since 2018. Outside of his advisory role, he co-owns a medical billing business. Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network is a large broker-dealer and registered investment adviser serving individuals, trusts, and institutions with a broad range of financial planning and investment services. The firm offers tailored planning solutions using proprietary research and tools, supporting clients with diverse needs including retirement, business transition, and special-needs planning.

Frederick Palmerton is the sole advisor at Palmerton Financial Services, LLC, an independent registered investment adviser based in Newark, NJ. He holds a Series 65 designation and has 20 years of industry experience, managing his own firm since 2002. Palmerton Financial Services primarily serves individual clients as well as corporate and nonprofit organizations, offering discretionary supervisory management of customized investment portfolios. The firm employs a long-term, fundamental equity-oriented investment approach focused on a limited list of large, well-covered companies, with low turnover and portfolios tailored to client risk tolerance and objectives.

Samuel Wallace Jr. is a financial advisor at Merrill with 30 years of industry experience. He has been with Merrill since 2009 and holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. Merrill, together with its affiliate Managed Account Advisors LLC, provides managed account services through the Select Portfolio Solutions Program to Bank of America fiduciary clients. The firm offers model-based and discretionary investment strategies developed by internal and third-party managers, serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, pension plans, corporations, and charitable organizations.

Stephen Roth is a CFP® with 23 years of industry experience. He is currently with Gladstone Wealth Partners and has held prior roles at LPL Financial, LLC and PRUCO Securities, LLC. Outside of advisory roles, he has served as a benefit consultant in the non-variable insurance sector. Gladstone Wealth Partners serves individuals, corporations, pension and profit-sharing plans, and charitable organizations through a network of nearly 100 investment adviser representatives. The firm offers discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting using a broad range of investment approaches tailored at the representative level.

Shaquille Blake is an Investment Consultant at Fidelity Investments, a role he has held since 2024. Prior to this, he worked as a Retirement Planner for the Tax Exempt Market at Fidelity from 2022 to 2024, and as an Investment Solutions Representative II at Fidelity from 2021 to 2022. His earlier experience includes serving as a Complex Branch Analyst at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney from 2018 to 2021. Shaquille focuses on guiding clients through personalized retirement and goal-based planning strategies. He aims to understand each client's unique needs and priorities to deliver strategies offered by Fidelity that align with both short- and long-term financial goals. Outside of his professional work, Shaquille has interests in art, fitness, football, hiking, and volunteering.

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.

Stavroula Koutsfetsoulis is a financial advisor at Ameriprise with 25 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been with Ameriprise and its affiliated entities since 2011. In addition to her advisory role, she is involved in fiduciary activities as an attorney-in-fact (power of attorney). Ameriprise is a large institutional firm that provides retirement-income planning services primarily to individuals with substantial investable assets. The firm combines research, modeling, and tax-efficiency analysis to deliver written recommendation reports through a centralized consulting team, focusing on tailored retirement income strategies.

Barbara Brewer is a financial advisor at RBC Capital Markets with 20 years of industry experience. She holds a Series 66 designation and has been with RBC Capital Markets Corporation since 2008. RBC Wealth Management, a division of RBC Capital Markets, serves individual investors, institutional clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, corporations, and charitable organizations. The firm offers various advisory programs with discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, custody, and brokerage services, tailoring strategies to clients’ Advisory Risk Profiles through a mix of in-house and third-party providers.

Richard Martin is a financial advisor at Cetera with 29 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 63 designation and has a background that includes nearly three decades at Avantax Advisory Services and eight years at Avantax Insurance Agency. Outside of his advisory work, he is the owner and sole proprietor of Martin & Pellegrin, CPAs, a tax preparation and accounting firm. Cetera Investment Advisers LLC is an SEC-registered firm that serves a broad client base including individuals, retirement plans, corporate and charitable clients, and institutional accounts. The firm provides a multi-manager platform offering discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and access to various program structures and third-party money managers.

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.

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.

Chase Burton is a financial advisor at Rather & Kittrell, Inc. with two years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has worked in various roles including at the University of Tennessee and Northwestern Mutual. Outside of finance, he owns a sole proprietorship focused on pressure washing services. Rather & Kittrell, Inc. provides wealth management, financial planning, and retirement plan advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and institutional investors. The firm uses globally diversified, multi-asset class model portfolios based on Modern Portfolio Theory and manages approximately $1.855 billion in assets.

Ryan Paul is a CFP® professional with 13 years of experience in the financial services industry. He is currently with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC, where he has worked since 2016. His prior experience includes roles at Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Clearing. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in tax preparation and accounting on a limited basis. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services manages over $122 billion in assets and provides financial planning, asset management, and retirement-plan consulting to individuals, high-net-worth clients, corporations, and retirement plans. The firm employs a diversified, risk-class based investment approach utilizing both passive and active managers, supported by an internal Investment Committee.

Glenn Fels is a Wealth Management Advisor with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Since 1985, he has assisted individuals, families, and businesses in growing their wealth and achieving their financial objectives. Glenn offers a range of services including retirement planning, education plans, wealth accumulation preservation and transfer, estate planning services, executor and trust administrative service, and access to consumer banking services. For business clients, he provides services such as cash management, group benefit plans, commercial banking, financing for business development, real estate financing, investment banking, and succession planning. Glenn holds a Bachelor's degree from Rider University, earned in 1983, and has earned several professional designations including CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP), CERTIFIED PLAN FIDUCIARY ADVISOR (CPFA), Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC), Personal Investment Advisor (PIA), and Retirement Accredited Financial Advisor (RAFA). He is also a member of the Bucks County Estate Planning Council. Raised in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, Glenn currently resides in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Outside of his professional work, he spends time with his family, works on improving his golf game, and makes weekend trips to the beach. He is married with two grown sons.

As a comprehensive financial planning firm we can assist you with your investment management, social security, debt management, budgeting, net-worth tracking, overall organization, tax planning, charitable planning, insurance review, and much more. As a flat fee firm we know the stock market isn't the only solution for your investment problems and love to brainstorm real estate, small business, private credit, and other alternative investment options that lead to the main goal. To improve your financial life and increase your net-worth. If you want a second set of eyes on your investments or financial decisions then feel free to give us a call and we'll talk through if we are a good fit for you. If not, then we will point you in the right direction.