Kartik Patel is a financial advisor at Simplify Investments with eight years of industry experience and holds a Series 65 designation. He also serves as president of Data Express Inc., an information technology consulting firm where he provides business analysis and strategic advice to clients, including those in the financial sector. Prior to founding Data Express, he worked at Tech Karma Inc. for six years. Simplify Investments is an independent, fee-only registered investment adviser serving private individuals, families, and small businesses. The firm employs a fundamentally driven, value-oriented investment approach focused on U.S.-traded stocks, ETFs, and bonds, maintaining a concentrated portfolio and making limited quarterly changes.

John Herr is a financial advisor with Alpha Strategies Corporation in Sterling, VA, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and having 21 years of industry experience. He has been with Alpha Strategies Corporation since 2010. The firm provides discretionary portfolio management and integrated financial planning to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, charitable organizations, and corporations. Alpha Strategies manages approximately $47.9 million across about 86 client accounts, employing modern portfolio theory to construct diversified portfolios with both traditional and alternative investments, and retains all portfolio management in-house.

Jitin Singhal is a CFA® charterholder with 15 years of industry experience. He is the sole advisor at E J Financial Corp., where he has worked since 2004. Prior to his current role, he spent 14 years at Farmer Mac. Singhal also serves as Senior Director of Portfolio Analytics and Strategy at Sallie Mae. EJ Financial Corporation provides investment advisory, finance, and technology consulting to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporations. The firm manages approximately $1.9 million across six portfolios and employs a research approach combining quantitative and economic analysis, offering both discretionary and non-discretionary advisory relationships.

As a member of the financial independence community, I understand the value of quality fee only advice catering to the complex and "nontraditional" route we are taking to life. I have built a "lifestyle" practice, where I can serve clients, maintain my balanced lifestyle with two girls, pursue my hobbies and travel. I primarily work with clients on an ongoing retainer basis, charged with a monthly billing arrangement. For legacy (separated) clients or family of clients, I offer hourly based planning. I also prepare tax returns and manage assets, both of which I charge a separate fee for. After graduating from University of Maryland, College Park, I worked in public accounting doing tax preparation and consulting for high net worth individuals, estates and trusts. I changed careers into financial planning in 2013, working mainly with clients pursuing a traditional retirement path, including attorneys, physicians, executives and families with wealth. After working for a large planning firm in the DC area, I launched my firm in 2018. I am a CFP® and CPA. Given my background, I specialize in tax planning, retirement planning and frugality!

John Rathnam is the sole advisor at Rathnam Capital, LLC, an independent firm based in Bluemont, VA. He holds the CFA® designation and Series 65 license, with 21 years of industry experience. Rathnam has led Rathnam Capital since its founding in 2010. Rathnam Capital serves individual and high-net-worth clients, managing approximately $81 million across about three dozen households. The firm provides discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting, utilizing customized asset allocation strategies and third-party sub-advisers to address a range of investment needs.

Eric Norberg is the principal of EAN Equity Financial Services LLC, an independent firm based in Leesburg, VA. He holds the CFP® and ChFC® designations and has 11 years of industry experience. Prior to his current role, he worked at PKS Investment Advisors LLC for one year. In addition to his advisory work, Norberg provides CPA tax preparation and small life insurance sales through his firm. EAN Equity Financial Services offers personalized financial planning and investment management to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and small businesses. The firm employs a combination of strategic and tactical asset allocation using both active and passive investment vehicles and fundamental security analysis, and maintains a tax-preparation practice alongside its advisory services.

David Pickei is the sole advisor at Reye Partners Asset Management LLC in Leesburg, VA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 24 years of industry experience. He has been with Reye Partners since 2005. Reye Partners Asset Management provides discretionary, separately managed investment management and portfolio consulting services primarily for individual clients and trusts. The firm serves both high-net-worth and non-high-net-worth clients, emphasizing portfolio composition, due diligence, diversification, and capital preservation through a manager-of-managers approach.

Kevin Bernard is the principal of Pivot Capital Management, LLC in Ashburn, VA, holding Series 65 and Series 66 licenses with 10 years of industry experience. He has held roles at several firms, including Avantax Insurance Agency and Solomon Edwards, and currently leads an accounting and consulting practice as Director of Assurance and Federal Practice at IBS Management & Consultancy Services, LLC. Bernard is also the managing member and CEO of a bookkeeping and tax preparation firm and maintains a real estate referral affiliation. Pivot Capital Management, LLC provides discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management and standalone financial planning services to individuals, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm employs a multi-method investment process incorporating fundamental and technical analysis and manages a range of investment types according to client objectives.

Bryan Lohr is a financial advisor at Present Value Financial Services LLC with seven years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has been with his current firm since 2018 following a period of semi-retirement. Present Value Financial Services LLC serves individuals and families across income levels, offering comprehensive financial planning, investment management, tax preparation, and financial education. The firm employs a bottom-up fundamental analysis approach combined with capital market theory to create diversified, cost-conscious portfolios and emphasizes financial education through public seminars and workshops.

Robert Allen is a Series 65-licensed financial advisor with 22 years of industry experience. He has been the principal at Allen Investment Management since 2014. Allen Investment Management serves individual investors, foundations, charitable organizations, businesses, and pension/profit-sharing plans by providing discretionary investment supervisory services combined with integrated financial planning. The firm emphasizes a value-oriented, long-term investment approach supplemented by active sector rotation or limited short-term trades and manages roughly $27.1 million in discretionary client assets across approximately 41 client relationships.

Sean Defrehn is a financial advisor at DeFrehn Consulting with 9 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has previously worked at Triad Advisors, Inc. and OSAIC. Outside of financial advising, he teaches hunter safety classes for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. DeFrehn Consulting is an independent firm serving clients from Adamstown, MD.

Mark Helm is a CFP® and holds a Series 65 license, with 22 years of experience in financial advisory. He has been the sole advisor and founder of Helm Financial Advisors, LLC since 2003. Helm Financial Advisors, LLC is a fee-only, state-registered firm providing holistic financial planning and investment advisory services primarily to individuals and families. The firm employs a retainer and project fee model, offers integrated tax preparation and IRS representation, and focuses on non-discretionary advice with client-approved trading.

Jonathan Peyton is a CFP® professional with 21 years of industry experience. He is the principal of Different Investments, LLC and has previously worked at USAA Financial Advisors, LPL Financial, and Finalis Securities. Outside of financial advising, he is involved in several business ventures including founding a publishing firm that produces educational content, a business consulting firm, and an accounting consultancy. Different Investments, LLC (dba C-Suite Planning) provides discretionary investment management and comprehensive financial planning to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and business clients. The firm emphasizes tailored portfolio management guided by an Investment Policy Statement and serves a diverse client base that includes executives, entrepreneurs, and institutional clients.

Kyle Kim is the principal of Kyo Asset Management, LLC in Sterling, VA, with 29 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has worked previously at firms including LPL Financial and The Private Client Advisory Group, LLC. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in residential and commercial real estate development through Kyo Capital Management. Kyo Asset Management, LLC provides discretionary investment management services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, businesses, and retirement plans. The firm constructs customized portfolios using stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, and REITs, employing a combination of fundamental and technical analysis with a primarily long-term investment orientation.

Christopher Williams is a financial advisor at Capital Fiduciary Advisors in Ashburn, VA, holding a Series 66 designation with 17 years of industry experience. He has worked at Capital Fiduciary Advisors since 2011, including a period at Andersen from 2016 to 2021. Capital Fiduciary Advisors provides wealth advisory and portfolio management services to high-net-worth individuals, trusts, estates, and institutional clients such as pension and profit-sharing plans. The firm offers personal financial planning and uses a formal due-diligence process to select third-party investment managers, supporting clients with institutional-style reporting and educational seminars.

Darren Straniero is a CFP® with 17 years of industry experience. He is the sole advisor at OnPlane Financial Advisors, an independent firm he has led since 2018. Prior to founding OnPlane, he worked for Park Ave Securities and Guardian Life Insurance for ten years each. OnPlane Financial Advisors serves individual clients and families, providing comprehensive financial planning and asset management primarily through virtual meetings. The firm employs a passive, index-oriented investment strategy and uses a fixed retainer fee model rather than percentage-of-assets billing.

Bradley Piesco is a CFP® and ChFC® with 16 years of experience in financial advisory services. He has been the principal of Magpie Consulting LLC since 2007. Magpie Consulting LLC provides asset management and financial planning services to individual investors, including both high-net-worth and non-high-net-worth clients. The firm emphasizes IPS-based risk modeling and downside analysis, offering primarily ETF-based portfolios managed mostly on a non-discretionary basis.

Lamar Watson, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, founded Dream Financial Planning to serve the needs of young professionals and minorities who typically don’t have access to fee-only and fiduciary financial planning. Prior to founding Dream, Lamar worked at a wealth management firm in Reston, VA, for over a decade. At his most recent firm, he served as the lead research analyst on a team of advisors that managed approximately $2 Billion in assets. He also served as a Vice President and Financial Advisor in the Private Wealth Management division. In this role, he worked with hundreds of clients across the country to help them meet their financial goals. Lamar’s proprietary process, the DREAM Financial Planning Process™, is the culmination of 15+ years of industry insight and experience. Less than 30% of all CFPs nationwide are in their 20s and 30s. I use The DREAM Financial Planning Process ™ to help my clients save, grow, and protect their wealth. We operate as a virtual firm and offer evening and weekend meetings for our client’s convenience. Ask about our unique pricing structure that starts at $100 per month for young professionals. We don’t have asset minimums for our clients. Less than 3.5% of all the 80,000 Certified Financial Planners (CFPs) in the United States are black or Latino, according to a new survey from the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning. Put another way; there are just 2,700 black or Latino CFPs in America; 1,200 blacks and 1,500 Latinos. Born in D.C. and a lifelong resident of Virginia, Lamar is a die-hard fan of many Washington D.C. area sports teams, most notably the Washington Redskins. His love for the Redskins all began when his grandfather started taking him to games when he was just eight-years-old. Previously, Lamar served as a volunteer basketball coach for the Chantilly Youth Association and Frederick County Parks and Recreation. In his free time, Lamar enjoys working out, biking on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, and traveling. Feel free to contact me to schedule a complimentary 30-minute phone call to see if Dream Financial Planning is a good fit for you and your family.

Diane Case is the principal of Shenandoah Financial, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 20 years of industry experience. She has operated as a sole proprietor since 1993 and worked at Gradient Advisors, LLC from 2015 to 2016. In addition to her financial advisory work, she is a licensed insurance agent and dedicates approximately 25% of her time to that practice. Shenandoah Financial provides financial planning and consulting services to individuals and small businesses, referring clients to third-party money managers for investment management. The firm assists clients with tailored financial plans, monitors third-party manager performance, and handles related administrative tasks.

Melanie Brophy is a CFP® and holds a Series 66 license with 12 years of experience in the financial services industry. She has worked at Next Play Financial Solutions, LLC since 2018 and previously spent five years with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Next Play Financial is an independent, fee-only advisory firm serving individual and high-net-worth clients with investment management and comprehensive financial planning. The firm’s investment approach emphasizes passive strategies using diversified index funds and ETFs, supplemented by fundamental analysis and select third-party managers.