Independent financial advisors in Watertown, NY

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.

When you need to protect your estate from unexpected tax bills, especially around New York's estate tax exemption limits, choosing the right advisor is crucial. Without expertise in local estate tax rules, you might face costly surprises that reduce what you leave behind.

  • Estate tax knowledge. Confirm how they navigate New York's estate tax cliff, which can cause large taxes just above exemption thresholds.
  • Independent perspective. Independent advisors here operate without firm constraints, potentially offering more flexible strategies tailored to your estate.
  • Experience with local laws. Ask how they incorporate state-specific rules into your overall estate plan, not just federal guidelines.
  • Coordination with your team. Effective estate planning often requires working with your attorney and tax preparer; check how they collaborate with your existing professionals.

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

Marcia P

Series 63, Series 65

Watertown, NY

First Command Advisory Services

Marcia Pistner is a financial advisor at First Command Advisory Services with four years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has a background in financial planning dating back to 2006. Outside of her advisory role, she is a fitness instructor at the YMCA and teaches wreath-making classes, contributing proceeds to a local food pantry. First Command Advisory Services is an SEC-registered adviser serving individual, corporate, and charitable clients, with a particular focus on active-duty service members and their families. The firm offers financial planning and multiple wrap-fee asset management programs using model portfolios managed by a centralized Investment Management Team.

Passive / index investing Active portfolio management Retirement income strategy Tax-loss harvesting ESG / Sustainable investing Self-Employed Young Professionals
user avatar

Solomon R

Series 65

Watertown, NY

Vicus Capital, Inc.

Solomon Rosner is a financial advisor at Vicus Capital, Inc. with a Series 65 designation and one year of industry experience. His prior roles include work with Rosner Financial Group and Cetera Wealth Services, LLC. Outside of financial advising, he is involved with Stay ADK, an organization active since 2018. Vicus Capital provides investment management and financial planning to individuals, businesses, trusts, and employee benefit plan sponsors, offering both discretionary and non-discretionary services. The firm employs a combination of fundamental and technical analysis across various strategies and places explicit emphasis on retirement-plan consulting and fiduciary services.

ESG / Sustainable investing Passive / index investing Tax-loss harvesting Private / alternative investments Religious/faith focused
user avatar

Joseph B

Series 63, Series 65, Series 66

Watertown, NY

LPL Financial

Joseph Butler Jr. is a financial advisor with LPL Financial in Watertown, NY, holding Series 63, 65, and 66 licenses and bringing 35 years of industry experience. His prior roles include seven years at Invest Financial Corporation and ongoing work with Community Bank since 1997. LPL Financial is an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, retirement plans, banks, credit unions, corporations, and charitable organizations. The firm offers a range of advisory programs, financial planning, and brokerage services, utilizing model portfolios and research from multiple sources.

College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.)
user avatar

Gregory C

Series 63, Series 65

Watertown, NY

Morgan Stanley

Gregory Couch is a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley with 42 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and previously worked at UBS Financial Services for 12 years. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management provides a variety of advisory programs to both individual and institutional clients, including tailored financial planning supported by firm-approved tools and modeling techniques. The firm manages approximately $2.74 trillion in client assets and offers services through Financial Advisors and its Estate Planning Strategies Group.

General estate planning guidance
user avatar

Michael C

Series 63

Watertown, NY

Cetera

Michael Crowley is a financial advisor at Cetera with 26 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 63 designation and has previously worked at Avantax Advisory Services and Avantax Investment Services. Crowley is also president of Crowley & Halloran, CPA, P.C., a tax preparation and accounting firm, and serves as a trustee of Jefferson County Community College and treasurer of the Watertown Noon Rotary Club. Cetera Investment Advisers LLC serves a broad client base, including individuals, retirement plans, corporate and charitable clients, and institutional accounts. The firm offers a multi-manager platform with discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and access to third-party managers.

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

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
user avatar

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
user avatar

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
user avatar

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
user avatar

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

Advisors focused on

Find advisors by type

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 referrals are provided by FinanceHQ LLC ("FHQ"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Warmer and an SEC-registered investment adviser. We may be compensated by participating advisors. You pay no fee to use our matching service, and advisor fees are not increased because of a referral. We do not supervise advisors, manage or hold assets, guarantee performance, or provide advice about specific investments.

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

© 2026 Warmer Holdings Inc. ("Warmer")