Independent, business succession planning financial advisors in Scranton, PA

The right financial advisor for you depends on how you weigh location, expertise, experience, the clients they typically serve, and how they work with you.

If you're preparing to transfer your business ownership or retire soon, you need an advisor who understands the complexities of business succession planning. Without focused expertise, you might overlook critical tax implications or timing issues that can reduce your business's value or disrupt your retirement income.

  • Tax impact awareness. Confirm how they navigate state and federal taxes during ownership transfer, especially since retirement income is generally exempt from state income tax after eligible age.
  • Ownership transition strategies. Ask about their approach to structuring buy-sell agreements or family succession to maintain business continuity.
  • Valuation insight. Ensure they can explain how they assess your business's worth to align with your retirement goals.
  • Independent advice. These advisors operate without firm constraints, which can mean more flexible solutions tailored to your unique situation.

Here are top matches to get you started. Review each profile to compare experience, credentials, and approach.

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Susan S

Series 63, Series 65

Scranton, PA

Northeast Advisory Group, LLC

Susan Sariti is a financial advisor with Northeast Advisory Group, LLC in Scranton, PA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and 15 years of industry experience. Her prior roles include positions at LPL Financial and Peoples Security Bank & Trust Company. She is also involved as an insurance agent through Northeast Benefit Administrators, LLC. Northeast Advisory Group provides investment advice to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, and retirement plans, offering asset management, retirement plan services, consulting, and educational programs. The firm utilizes mutual funds and third-party managers, applying the Fi360 Fiduciary Score for due diligence and managing a mix of discretionary and non-discretionary assets.

Wealth management Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Retirement income strategy General retirement planning Founder/Business Owner
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Megan A

Series 66

Scranton, PA

Commonwealth Financial Network

Megan Alpert is a financial advisor at Commonwealth Financial Network with 19 years of industry experience. She holds the Series 66 designation and has worked at firms including Bank of America and Merrill. Megan also works as a success and fulfillment coach outside of her financial advisory practice. Commonwealth Financial Network is a dual-registered broker/dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser serving a national network of approximately 2,900 advisors and hundreds of thousands of clients. The firm offers a broad range of managed-account programs, third-party asset manager access, and back-office services including trading and reporting.

Passive / index investing Active portfolio management Tax-loss harvesting Wealth management Retirement income strategy Founder/Business Owner Executive Retired
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Tracy Z

Series 63, Series 65

Scranton, PA

Capital Wealth Investments

Tracy Zullo is a financial advisor at Capital Wealth Investments with 25 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has worked at firms including Mutual Securities, Inc. and Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments. Zullo also operates as an independent insurance agent. Capital Wealth Investments serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and other business entities with discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and pension consulting. The firm manages approximately $423 million in discretionary assets and employs a range of securities and alternative investments, using multiple methods of analysis and various leverage strategies.

Retirement income strategy Elder care planning Income planning Private / alternative investments Options & derivatives strategies
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David G

Series 63, Series 65

Scranton, PA

Morgan Stanley

David Grudkowski is a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley with 32 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and has worked at Morgan Stanley Private Bank and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney since 2009, as well as at Citigroup Global Markets since 2000. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management provides a broad range of advisory programs to individuals and institutional clients, offering tailored financial planning supported by structured discovery processes and firm-approved tools. The firm manages approximately $2.74 trillion in client assets and delivers services both directly and through corporate financial planning agreements.

General estate planning guidance

Conor M

Series 66

Scranton, PA

Merrill

Conor Malone is a Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. He works with individuals, corporations, and nonprofit organizations to help them achieve their financial goals by addressing their complete financial picture through a disciplined planning and investment process. Conor specializes in family wealth management strategies, services for endowments, foundations, and non-profits, investment consulting for defined contribution plans, legacy planning, managing new wealth, personal retirement planning, portfolio management, socially responsible and ESG investing, special needs planning strategies, and tax minimization. Conor holds a Bachelor's Degree from Saint Joseph's University and a range of professional designations including CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP), Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA), and CERTIFIED PLAN FIDUCIARY ADVISOR® (CPFA), among others. He is also licensed in Pennsylvania for Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Variable Annuities, and Long Term Care. His approach emphasizes listening carefully to clients' concerns, developing long-term strategies, maintaining trust through close communication, and working closely with clients' other professionals to coordinate financial decisions. Outside of his professional role, Conor resides in South Abington, Pennsylvania, with his wife Ellen and their four children. He is active in the community through involvement in organizations such as the Friendly Sons of Lackawanna County. He enjoys biking, football, golfing, ice hockey, skiing, and spending time with his family.

Wealth management Retirement income strategy College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.) Charitable giving & philanthropy Parents
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Ethan S

CFP®, Series 65

Auburn Hills, MI

Plante Moran financial advisors

Ethan Siekkinen is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license, currently serving as a financial advisor with Plante Moran Financial Advisors. He has one year of industry experience and has previously worked at J Wilson Wealth Management and operated Rizzo Lawn Care. Plante Moran Financial Advisors, LLC provides investment advisory, financial planning, and estate planning services to a diverse client base including individual households, institutional clients, and sovereign wealth funds. The firm employs a multi-disciplinary investment process and offers both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, manager search, and tax-lot accounting services.

Active portfolio management Options & derivatives strategies Private / alternative investments Concentrated stock management Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Michael I

Series 63, Series 65

Livingston, NJ

Raymond James Financial

Michael Ipp is a financial advisor with Raymond James Financial, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations and bringing 42 years of industry experience. He has been with Raymond James Financial Services Advisors since 2010 and serves as an independent contractor for 1792 Wealth Advisors. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors provides financial planning, investment consulting, and advisory services to a diverse client base, including individuals, high-net-worth clients, corporations, and institutional clients. The firm offers tailored, non-discretionary planning and uses analytical tools to support client decision-making, while also maintaining specialized programs such as municipal advisory services and SIMPLE IRA Employer Advisory & Consulting Services.

Wealth management Tax strategies for small businesses Business succession planning General estate planning guidance Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Jeffrey M

CFP®, ChFC®, Series 66

Greenville, DE

Investment Management & Planning LLC

Jeffrey Macdonald is a CFP® and ChFC® with 18 years of industry experience. He has worked at Investment Management & Planning LLC and LPL Financial since 2010, following two years at Wells Fargo Clearing. Investment Management & Planning LLC provides investment advisory and financial planning services primarily to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm constructs tailored portfolios using mutual funds, ETFs, equities, and fixed-income securities, employing fundamental analysis and continuous supervision, and operates as both a wrap program sponsor and affiliated registered representatives of LPL Financial.

General retirement planning Business succession planning Tax strategies for small businesses Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Founder/Business Owner Executive Mid-Career Professionals Approaching retirement
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Patrick F

Series 66

New Market, MD

Intentional

Patrick Ferguson is a financial advisor at Intentional with 17 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at firms including Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, Commonwealth Financial Network, and LPL Financial. In addition to his advisory role, he is a licensed agent involved in the sales of fixed and traditional insurance products. Intentional provides discretionary portfolio management and financial planning services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, families, businesses, and institutions. The firm offers pension consulting, estate planning support, business exit planning, and due diligence on alternative investments, utilizing a combination of fundamental, technical, and economic analysis within a fiduciary framework.

Business exit / sale strategy Multi-generational wealth transfer Private / alternative investments Founder/Business Owner
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Jerald L

Series 63

San Antonio, TX

Frost Investment Services

Jerald Liesman is a financial advisor at Frost Investment Services with 33 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 63 designation and has worked at Frost Brokerage Services, Inc. and Frost Bank since 1993 and 1987, respectively. Frost Investment Services is a retail-focused, SEC-registered adviser serving individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and business entities. The firm offers discretionary portfolio management, comprehensive financial planning, and managed account programs that integrate model portfolios from its affiliate with third-party managers, utilizing a research-driven investment process and providing optional tax and ESG overlay services.

Tax-loss harvesting ESG / Sustainable investing Retirement income strategy General estate planning guidance Business succession planning Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Jared F

Series 65

Huntington Beach, CA

Northwest Asset Management

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.

Retirement income strategy Wealth management Active portfolio management Founder/Business Owner
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Edwina M

Series 65

Cincinnati, OH

Waverly Advisors, LLC

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.

Private / alternative investments Real estate investing Options & derivatives strategies Tax-loss harvesting Multi-generational wealth transfer Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Craig M

Series 63, Series 65

Columbia, SC

Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC

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.

Active portfolio management Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Annuities Options & derivatives strategies Founder/Business Owner Retired
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David H

Series 65

Irvine, CA

Martin Wealth Management, LLC

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.

Medicare planning Annuities
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Sarah C

CFP®, Series 63, Series 65

Boston, MA

Santander Securities LLC

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.

ESG / Sustainable investing Tax-loss harvesting General retirement planning Income planning Founder/Business Owner
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