John Schniepp

Jonathan Nagy is a financial advisor at Alpine Road Financial in Bend, OR, holding a Series 65 designation with one year of industry experience. Prior to his current role, he worked at Bluebird Design and Build and Adidas Group. He also provides consulting services to Retire Sound, Inc. for employer financial-wellness programs. Alpine Road Financial offers investment management and financial planning primarily for mid-career technology professionals managing equity compensation and concentrated stock positions. The firm employs a total-portfolio, asset-allocation approach combining passive and active strategies, and provides educational seminars and third-party coordination for specialized client needs.

Megan Van Den Mar is a CFP® professional with 11 years of industry experience. She is the sole advisor at Alongside Financial Partners, a firm she joined in 2025. Prior to this, she worked at Painted Porch Advisors and West Coast Financial, LLC. Alongside Financial Partners provides wealth management, financial planning, and investment management services primarily for individuals and high-net-worth clients. The firm uses fundamental analysis combined with Modern Portfolio Theory, incorporating both passive and active investment vehicles, and offers customized socially responsible investing options.

Aaron Rivers is the founder of Living Earth Investments, LLC and holds a Series 66 designation with 17 years of industry experience. He has worked at McAdams Wright Ragen, Wedbush Morgan Securities, and U.S. Bancorp in roles including community bank investing, equity research, and fixed income trading. Rivers has led Living Earth Investments, an independent firm based in Bend, Oregon, since 2008. Living Earth Investments provides discretionary portfolio management for individuals, trusts, foundations, and businesses, focusing on sustainable investments screened for environmental and ethical criteria alongside traditional valuation metrics. The firm emphasizes continuous monitoring and quarterly reviews of client portfolios.

Kirby Kleinsmith is a CFP® and ChFC® with 20 years of experience in financial advising. He is the principal of Kleinsmith Resource Management, LLC, a firm he has led since 2012, and has also worked with Irwin Investments, LLC since 2006. Outside of his advisory work, he is a ski instructor at Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort. Kleinsmith Resource Management is a solo-operator independent advisory firm serving individual clients with discretionary portfolio management and financial planning services. The firm employs a range of investment strategies including active trading techniques and uses a broad investable universe, managing assets in-house with a focus on integrating ongoing planning updates and investment oversight.

David Smith is a CFP® and ChFC® with 40 years of experience in financial advisory services. He has been the owner and president of Strategic Wealth Management, LLC since 2009 and previously worked at Deschutes Financial, LLC. Strategic Wealth Management, LLC provides financial planning, investment advisory, and portfolio management services to individual clients, trusts, estates, charitable entities, business clients, and pension and profit-sharing plans. The firm offers both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, utilizing a combination of in-house planning tools, risk assessments, and third-party platforms, and operates with a dual registration model that supports fee-based advisory programs as well as commissionable securities and insurance products.

I’ve found that clients come to me with a series of specific challenges that they’d like help with as they approach retirement and living in retirement. These challenges center around how to best: Replace their employment income from the assets they’ve saved Minimize taxes paid now and in retirement protect against the risks of the future (i.e. inflation, market downturns, unplanned health issues, assets taken from them unjustly, longevity, etc.) How to avoid common mistakes that can be very costly over the course of their lifetime. There are dozens of important financial decisions you face that can easily feel confusing and overwhelming. This is where I can help you. I launched Gray Wealth Strategies to bring highly personal, truly objective, evidence-based advice to your key financial decisions. This is what we should expect as we make critical financial choices. Regrettably, however, a vast majority of the financial services industry does not operate under such a standard where the advice/products being recommended truly align with your best interests. In fact, you may have even experienced a few of those “advisors” yourself. I aim to change that experience for you. I operate under a “fiduciary standard”. This means that I am legally bound to provide objective advice in your best interests with zero product sales or commissions as your flat-fee only CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. My flat-fee only structure is unique in the industry. We offer clients two flat-fee only options: 1) a one-time retirement plan which is intended for DIY investors who want to get a second opinion and validate their decisions and 2) a full-service wealth management relationship. As part of our full-service relationship, we focus on leveraging your retirement roadmap (i.e. initial financial plan) and using it to inform, customize, and optimize your investments, taxes, and estate planning needs. Clients who are familiar with the standard asset under management (AUM) fee structure (i.e. being charged a percentage of your assets) will appreciate these flexible, flat-fee only offerings, and I personally think it’s a great way to objectively help pre-retirees and retirees. I absolutely love the work I do and I am proud of the value I bring to my client’s key financial decisions. That said, my #1 pride is my family: my wife, Jessica, and our three children (Waverly, Everton, and Zealand). We split time between the outdoor wonderland of the Pacific Northwest where we mountain bike, ski, camp, and raise our littles, and the great city of Austin, TX where family resides and Lake Austin calls for fun family time. That’s my “why”: being the best advisor I can be to my clients and living the best life possible with my family and friends. What’s your “why”? And how can I best help you live it with the resources you have? Please reach out and I look forward to getting to know you. Read Andrew's blog here: https://graywealthstrategies.com/blog/