Top financial advisors working with clients approaching retirement in Punta Gorda, FL

Thaddeus Obecny is a financial advisor with Cetera who holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 27 years of industry experience. His career includes long tenures at Avantax Insurance Agency, LLC and Avantax Investment Services, Inc. He is also a partner in a notary public service and serves as an executor of an estate, overseeing its operations. Additionally, he assists with financial management for his son's professional golf business. Cetera Investment Advisers LLC is an SEC-registered adviser that serves individuals, retirement plans, corporate and charitable clients, and institutional accounts through a nationwide network of independent advisors. The firm offers a multi-manager platform with discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and access to third-party money managers, managing over $256 billion in assets.

Joshua Howell is a CFP® with 30 years of industry experience, currently serving at Prospera Financial Services, Inc. since 2023. Prior to joining Prospera, he worked at Wells Fargo Advisors for nine years. Howell is also the owner of Howell Wealth Management, LLC, an independent financial practice based in Punta Gorda, FL. Prospera Financial Services, Inc. is an enterprise-scale adviser and dually registered broker-dealer that manages approximately $12.4 billion across 207 advisors and 140 offices. The firm serves a diverse client base including individuals, corporate and charitable entities, and retirement plans, offering investment advisory and financial planning services through various platforms and customizable portfolio solutions.

Todd Priest is a financial advisor at J.P. Morgan Securities with eight years of industry experience. He holds the Series 63 and Series 66 designations and has previously worked at Wells Fargo and Bank of America. J.P. Morgan Securities provides investment consulting and advisory services primarily to institutional clients and retirement plan sponsors, combining quantitative asset-allocation modeling with centralized due diligence and applying an ESG eligibility framework in its investment recommendations.

Jeffrey Leedy serves as the Senior Resident Director for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in Punta Gorda. He is a founding partner of Aber & Leedy Wealth Management and has been with Merrill Lynch since 1999, holding the Resident Director position since 2008. In this role, he leads a team that assists clients with their ongoing financial needs, focusing on personalized financial strategies. With decades of experience, Jeffrey specializes in retirement planning, high-net-worth guidance, residential lending, and collateralized lending services. He works closely with high-net-worth individuals, as well as small to medium-sized nonprofit organizations and family businesses. Jeffrey holds the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC) designation and maintains several FINRA registrations, including Series 7, 63, 65, 9, 10, and 31. He also holds Florida Life, Health, and Annuity licenses. Jeffrey received his High School Diploma from Clearfork High School. Outside of his professional life, he enjoys fishing, hunting, woodworking, and spending time with his family. He has served as a board member of the Charlotte County Chapter of the American Cancer Society. Jeffrey is married to his wife Angela and together they have five children and twelve grandchildren.

Timothy Meyer is a CFP®-designated financial advisor with Edward Jones, based in Punta Gorda, FL. He has 16 years of industry experience, including 17 years with Edward Jones. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving more than four million individual and institutional clients. The firm manages approximately $1.01 trillion in assets and offers a range of advisory services, including discretionary and non-discretionary strategies, separately managed accounts, and affiliated mutual funds, supported by a large nationwide network of financial advisors and branch offices.

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 and previously at AXA Advisors, LLC. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as co-chairman of a fundraising campaign for the nonprofit Alpha Light Fund Inc., focused on renovating the House of Alpha. Equitable Advisors serves a diverse client base including individual, high-net-worth, retirement plan, corporate, charitable, and institutional clients, offering financial planning, broker-dealer services, insurance distribution, and access to third-party asset management programs. The firm operates as both an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer, leveraging LPL-sponsored programs and endorsed TAMPs to deliver advisory and brokerage solutions.

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.