Top financial advisors working with educators, teachers, and academics in Southfield, MI

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 work in education or academia, your financial planning needs often include managing irregular income cycles and planning for pensions tied to your school district or university. A common mistake is overlooking how these unique income patterns and pension rules affect your long-term savings and retirement timing.

  • Pension integration. Confirm how the advisor incorporates your pension benefits into your overall retirement plan, not just your personal savings.
  • Income timing strategies. Ask how they handle budgeting and investing around school-year pay schedules and summer breaks.
  • Education-specific benefits. Look for knowledge of loan forgiveness programs, 403(b) plans, and other educator-focused financial tools.
  • Long-term career changes. Discuss how they plan for sabbaticals, tenure decisions, or shifts between teaching and research roles.

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

Want help finding the right advisor?

Answer a few questions to see advisors matched to you.

user avatar

Carl B

Series 65

Troy, MI

Wittenberg Investments Inc.

Carl Bradley Jr. is a financial advisor at Wittenberg Investments Inc. with one year of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at the Oakland County Road Commission as an appraiser since 2011. Outside of his advisory role, he is president of Maverick Investments LLC, a real estate investment company. Wittenberg Investments Inc. provides discretionary portfolio management and financial planning services to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans. The firm uses fundamental analysis to construct portfolios with a variety of investment vehicles and offers pension consulting with a focus on ERISA compliance.

Options & derivatives strategies Annuities
user avatar

Ari F

CFP®, Series 63, Series 66

Southfield, MI

Focus Partners Wealth, LLC

Ari Fischman is a financial advisor with Focus Partners Wealth, LLC, holding the CFP® designation and Series 63 and 66 licenses, with 24 years of industry experience. He has held roles at several firms including Kovitz Investment Group Partners and Lion Street Financial. Outside of his advisory work, he serves on the Pension and Insurance committee for the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit and sits on the Board of Directors for Hillel Day School, where he contributes to the endowment committee and strategic planning. Focus Partners serves individuals, high-net-worth families, family offices, and institutional clients with wealth management and advisory services. The firm employs a long-term, tax- and fee-sensitive investment approach that combines active and passive strategies, third-party managers, and private funds within an enhanced open architecture framework.

Options & derivatives strategies Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Business sale tax planning Dentist Founder/Business Owner Executive Retired Established Professionals Approaching retirement Values-based investing
user avatar

Grant S

Series 63, Series 65

Southfield, MI

Kestra Advisory

Grant Sharkey is a financial advisor at Kestra Advisory with Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and three years of industry experience. He has worked at Kestra Investment Services since 2021 and has prior experience across various roles including Extended Travel, Pharmaco, and Ulliance Inc. Sharkey is also the owner of a tax entity, Sharkey Capital LLC. Kestra Advisory Services provides investment advisory and retirement-plan consulting to a broad mix of institutional and individual clients, offering services such as fiduciary consulting, plan design, and advisor-managed accounts. The firm serves large institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, and manages approximately $79.8 billion in assets.

Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Business exit / sale strategy Annuities Wealth management Founder/Business Owner Executive
user avatar

Ruth I

Series 65

Southfield, MI

Focus Partners Wealth, LLC

Ruth Impastato is a financial advisor at Focus Partners Wealth, LLC with two years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and has previous experience at Kovitz Investment Group Partners, Telemus Capital, and Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group. Focus Partners Wealth, LLC serves individuals, high-net-worth families, family offices, corporate and institutional clients with wealth management and advisory services. The firm employs a long-term, tax- and fee-sensitive investment approach that integrates active and passive strategies, third-party managers, and private funds under an enhanced open architecture framework.

Options & derivatives strategies Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Business sale tax planning Dentist Founder/Business Owner Executive Retired Established Professionals Approaching retirement Values-based investing
user avatar

Gerald M

Series 63, Series 65

Southfield, MI

Advance Capital Management Inc

Gerald Malone II is a financial advisor with Advance Capital Management Inc in Southfield, MI. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 25 years of industry experience, having been with Advance Capital Management and Advance Capital Services since 2000. Advance Capital Management serves a diverse client base including individuals, retirement plans, foundations, and institutional clients, providing discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement-plan consulting. The firm uses an Investment Committee to guide decisions and offers services such as direct indexing, alternative investments, and crypto-related strategies.

Concentrated stock management Tax-loss harvesting Retired Founder/Business Owner
user avatar

Arjun S

Series 66

Frisco, TX

TIAA-CREF

Arjun Swarup is a financial advisor with TIAA-CREF in Frisco, TX, holding a Series 66 designation and one year of industry experience. Prior to joining TIAA-CREF, he worked at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and has an academic background from NYU College of Arts and Sciences. TIAA‑CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC’s Advice & Planning Services division provides financial planning and discretionary managed account programs to individuals, trusts, estates, and small retirement plans, often serving clients connected to TIAA-administered employer retirement plans. The firm offers both point-in-time planning and ongoing managed account services within a fiduciary framework, including acting as adviser to a donor-advised fund.

General estate planning guidance Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Educators, Teachers, and Academics Founder/Business Owner Approaching retirement Mid-Career Professionals
user avatar

Kevin H

CFP®, Series 63, Series 65

Birmingham, AL

RFG Advisory, LLC

Kevin Harper is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) with 29 years of industry experience. He is currently with RFG Advisory, LLC in Birmingham, AL, where he has worked since 2015, including prior roles at LPL Financial and Ameriprise. Harper is a co-owner of LHP Capital LLC, a commercial real estate business. RFG Advisory provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse client base, including individuals, high-net-worth investors, retirement plans, and select institutional clients. The firm employs discretionary investment strategies through model portfolios, third-party platforms, and serves as a sub-adviser to multiple ETFs, with additional specialized services for retirement accounts and alternative investments.

Options & derivatives strategies Private / alternative investments Tax-loss harvesting Founder/Business Owner Executive Retired Women Professionals Mid-Career Professionals

Jacob H

Series 63, Series 66

Charlotte, NC

Edward Jones

Jacob Heinz is a financial advisor at Edward Jones in Charlotte, NC, with 15 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 63 and Series 66 designations. His previous positions include roles at Fidelity Investments and E*TRADE Capital Management. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving more than four million individual and institutional clients. The firm offers a range of advisory solutions, including discretionary and non-discretionary strategies, separately managed accounts, and affiliated mutual funds, supported by a nationwide network of thousands of financial advisors and branch offices.

Divorce financial planning Retirement income strategy Wealth management Real estate investing Educators, Teachers, and Academics
user avatar

Lindsey E

Series 63, Series 65

Cambridge, MN

EFS Advisors

Lindsey Egan is a financial advisor at EFS Advisors with 11 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and previously worked at First Republic Securities and First Republic Investment Management from 2016 to 2019. Outside of her financial advisory role, Lindsey is the owner of Women Who Explore, a community offering outdoor adventures and small group travel experiences for women. EFS Advisors provides investment advice and portfolio management to a broad client base, including individuals, business entities, charitable organizations, and qualified retirement plans. The firm employs a client-centric suitability scoring process combined with technology tools to recommend model portfolios and supports clients through discretionary and non-discretionary account management.

Options & derivatives strategies Educators, Teachers, and Academics
user avatar

Scott S

Series 63, Series 65

Farmington, CT

Medallion Wealth Advisors, LLC

Scott Stevens is a financial advisor at Medallion Wealth Advisors, LLC with 34 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has previously worked at firms including Morgan Stanley and American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. Stevens is also the proprietor of Stevens & Associates, LLC, a separate business. Medallion Wealth Advisors serves individuals, families, and retirement plans for educators and nonprofit organizations. The firm provides portfolio management, financial planning, and pension consulting with a long-term investment approach that includes discretionary and non-discretionary account management and may utilize third-party managers when appropriate.

General retirement planning Educators, Teachers, and Academics
Warmer team member

Not sure where to start?

We'll help you think it through—whether you ultimately need an advisor or not. Warmer helps you compare advisors clearly, so you can choose with confidence.

Find your advisor

For advisor listings, we rely on sources including public filings and data provided by advisors, and we cannot guarantee that all information is current or accurate. Advisors are independent and may not have reviewed or updated this information. Please review an advisor’s Form ADV and do your own diligence before deciding whether to work with them.

Advisor matching and introductions are provided by FinanceHQ LLC (“FHQ”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Warmer and an SEC-registered investment advisor. We receive compensation from certain participating advisors for introductions or referrals. This creates a conflict of interest because we have an incentive to recommend advisors who compensate us, including those who pay us more. You pay no fee to use our matching service, and advisor fees are not increased because of a referral or introduction. We do not review the ongoing performance of advisors, manage or hold assets, guarantee performance, or provide advice about specific investments.

By using our service, you agree to our Terms of Service and Advisory Agreement, and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. Please review FHQ’s ADV Part 2A and Form CRS. Logos provided by Logo.dev

© 2026 Warmer Holdings Inc. (“Warmer”)