Top financial advisors working with young professionals in Stamford, CT

Michael Robinson is a Series 65-licensed advisor with Ridgeview Asset Management Partners, LLC, where he has worked since 2016. He has a total of 16 years of industry experience, including a decade at General American Investors, Inc. Robinson also serves as a director of a small private company. Ridgeview Asset Management Partners advises high-net-worth individuals, families, trusts, foundations, and endowments through customized, discretionary separately managed accounts, and sponsors private pooled vehicles for institutional investors. The firm employs rules-based, risk-controlled investment programs tailored to client risk profiles, using diversified and tax-sensitive portfolios guided by technology and quantitative benchmarks.

Marc Defeo is a financial advisor with TIAA-CREF, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations and 27 years of industry experience. He has been with TIAA-CREF since 2014. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC’s Advice & Planning Services division offers financial planning and discretionary managed account programs to individuals, trusts, estates, partnerships, corporate entities, and small retirement plans, often serving clients with prior TIAA-administered employer retirement plan relationships. The firm provides planning services that conclude at delivery as well as ongoing discretionary management through various managed account programs and serves as adviser to the TIAA Donor Advised Fund.

James Cook is a CFP® with 20 years of industry experience, currently serving as an advisor at TJT Capital Group, LLC. He previously worked at JC Capital Advisors Group LLC and has been with TJT Capital Group for 17 years. Cook is also the editor of the newsletter The Investors Strategist. TJT Capital Group provides discretionary portfolio management for individuals, small businesses, trusts, estates, and institutional clients, focusing on asset allocation and mutual fund and ETF selection. The firm employs a combination of fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis to manage accounts aligned with four objective profiles and oversees approximately $294 million in assets under management.

Michelle Ross is a Series 65-licensed financial advisor with Asset Management Group, Inc. in Stamford, CT. She has seven years of industry experience and has been with the firm since 2019. Asset Management Group, Inc. provides discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting services to individuals, pension plans, trusts, estates, and corporate clients. The firm emphasizes asset allocation and manager selection using a combination of fundamental, technical, quantitative, and qualitative analysis.

Elizabeth Cleary is a financial advisor with Mass Mutual Investors Services in Stamford, CT, holding the CFP® designation and industry licenses including Series 63 and Series 65. She has 17 years of experience in the financial services industry, with a background at Metlife Securities Inc and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. Outside of her advisory role, she is the owner of Lefebvre Financial Services, LLC, and serves as a trustee on an irrevocable life insurance trust. Mass Mutual Investors Services, LLC is a broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, business owners, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and employers. The firm offers financial planning, asset management, and educational seminars, providing collaborative, goal-based planning using firm-approved analytical tools.

Donald Harris is a financial advisor at Beaird Harris with 29 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has been with Beaird Harris Wealth Management, Inc. since 1996, as well as Beaird Harris & Co P.C. since 1989. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as a managing officer and trustee for several trusts and management companies. Beaird Harris Wealth Management, LLC is a fee-only, SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, high net worth clients, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, pension plans, and business entities. The firm employs Modern Portfolio Theory with diversified asset-class exposure primarily through low-cost mutual funds and ETFs, and it offers alternative investments and tax-managed strategies.

Katie Strother is a financial advisor with Curi Capital, LLC in Raleigh, NC, holding CFP® and Series 65 credentials and bringing 11 years of industry experience. Her prior experience includes roles at Park Ridge Asset Management and Curi RMB Capital LLC. Outside of her advisory work, she is involved in her community as a nursery room leader at Peace Church and serves as a varsity girls soccer coach at Wilson Christian Academy. Curi Capital is an SEC-registered investment adviser managing approximately $11.6 billion in assets and serving individuals, retirement plans, institutions, and family offices. The firm employs a long-term, fundamental investment approach using proprietary and third-party strategies across equity and fixed income, and offers a range of services including wealth management and specialized offerings for medical professionals.

Jill Raderstorf is a financial advisor at Aptus Financial, LLC with two years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and previously worked at Hamilton Capital, LLC and Fifth Third Bank. Outside of her advisory role, she serves as an unpaid advisor to Accelerating Angels, a venture investment firm focused on high-growth, women-owned businesses, where she assists with building due diligence processes. Aptus Financial provides flat-fee financial planning and advisory services to individuals, trusts, charitable organizations, and employer-sponsored defined-contribution plans. The firm emphasizes financial planning over discretionary portfolio management, supporting clients with passive, long-term indexing strategies, structured educational programs, and subscription-based ongoing support.

We’re built for families! We focus on bridging generations to connect families and their finances. As Baby Boomers, you created more wealth than any generation before you. Now in your retirement years, the economic expansion that aided your careers doesn’t feel as robust. You worry about your savings lasting a lengthy life expectancy. You also worry that your children and grandchildren will be the first generation to not have it better than the generation before them. Our goal is to solve both problems. Our structure allows us to provide the same great advice whether you have a lifetime of savings or you are just starting out. That means we can work with multiple generations, and where appropriate, find opportunities to coordinate across generations while maintaining privacy and independence. I am a millennial myself with over a decade of experience helping retirees with personal finances. That combination of youth and experience gives me an advantage over many of the advisors out there. My youth, to retirees, means I am likely to be around for the entirety of your retirement. All those plans you made with your advisor, will be executed by the advisor that helped you plan them. If that includes an inheritance, good news because I want to work with your heirs too! To a younger generation, you get an advisor you can relate to who doesn’t treat your problems as less significant because you don’t have the same level of assets. Just because I’m young, doesn’t mean I’m green! I was previously the Practicing Partner of a wealth management firm focused solely on retirees. As the lead portfolio manager, I oversaw almost $500 million in client portfolios. That experience means I’ve guided and advised clients through every stage of a successful retirement. It also means I know what a successful retirement looks like. As I’ve always said, best laid plans begin with the end in mind, so my experience serves just as well early in your journey to financial independence. I started my own firm because I saw an increasing need to reconnect families and their finances. Grandparents are providing child care, children are providing elderly care, and everyone is chipping in to pay for education. As much as ever families need each other, and our program is specifically designed to be prepared when they do.

Michael Grinnell is a Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Since joining the firm in 2015, he has brought a problem-solving approach influenced by his background in Mechanical Engineering, earned from Santa Clara University. Michael concentrates on business development, marketing, and engaging with the next generation of clients. His areas of expertise include education planning, family wealth management strategies, legacy planning, liquidity management, personal retirement planning, portfolio management services, and small business strategies. He holds several professional designations, including Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA), and Personal Investment Advisor (PIA). Outside of work, Michael enjoys a range of outdoor activities such as fishing, golfing, hiking, hunting, music, rock climbing, running, skiing, surfing, and tennis. He is actively involved in the community through organizations like St. Anthony Organization and The Covenant House California.