John Merullo

I began my career in the financial services industry nearly ten years ago. Prior to founding Dreamfield Planning Group, I served as an associate wealth management advisor at Sconset Wealth Management—an advisory practice nested in the downtown Boston office of Northwestern Mutual—where I developed financial plans and managed investment assets. In a preceding role in the same office, I led an internal business unit providing investment consulting services to multiple financial advisors representing more than $200 million of assets under management (AUM). Previous to that, I served as an associate financial advisor at a Foxborough, Massachusetts financial planning practice and as a research analyst at a Cambridge, Massachusetts public policy research firm. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in History from Hendrix College and a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University. I am both a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and a CFA Charterholder. I have lived for many years in Milton, Massachusetts with my wife Allie and our son Ben. In my spare time, I enjoy travel, reading, playing guitar, and taking long walks with the family dog, Louie.

I have been a financial planner for over a decade, working with individuals and families to help them with all aspects of their financial lives. Prior to founding Hark Financial Planning, I worked as a senior advisor and financial planner at firms based in Boston, MA and Reston, VA. In those roles, I have been a member of an investment committee, founded and managed a tax practice, advised a Fintech start-up, and, most importantly, worked with clients to achieve their goals. One of my main motivations for leaving those firms and founding Hark was my belief that there is more to helping clients than just having good technical knowledge and offering investments. Like in legal practice, technical knowledge of the subject matter is critical but is only a foundational part of the work. The next steps are to understand what the client actually wants to accomplish with your engagement and to tailor your work for the specific matter at hand given the client’s objectives. For me, that means spending a lot of time listening to my clients and asking questions to explore what their real objectives are before just jumping into applying technical skills. I am a CFP® professional and IRS Enrolled Agent. I have an MBA from The Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC Chapel Hill and a BA from The College of William & Mary.

Hi there! I'm Ashley Rittershaus, CFP®, founder of Curious Crow Financial Planning, an advice-only firm dedicated to helping clients achieve the life they dream about and feel more confident managing their money on the path to financial freedom. I believe the concept of traditional retirement is outdated and that it is possible to live your best life now, while also taking care of your future self. Money is simply a tool to live the life you want. Whether you're interested in FIRE, changing careers, early retirement, taking a sabbatical, working less, financial independence, starting a business, or anything else, let's develop a plan to make it happen! I offer a flat-fee 6-month comprehensive financial planning engagement, during which we'll review all aspects of your financial life and develop a plan to get you where you want to go. During the first 3 months, we'll focus on building your plan and recommendations, over the course of 4 meetings. The next 3 months will be focused on implementing the recommendations and ensuring you are set up for success going forward. By the end of the 6 months, the goal is that you will have the planning recommendations implemented and will also have the skills, knowledge, and systems in place to feel confident managing your finances on an ongoing basis. Some of the areas we'll cover are: - Cash Flow Analysis - Financial Freedom & Retirement Projections - Investment Strategy - Tax Planning - Risk Management & Insurance - Estate Planning We'll also cover any other areas that apply to you, including: - Debt Management - Employee Benefits Optimization - Charitable Giving Strategy - Education Planning - Small Business Planning - Major Purchase Planning - and anything else related to your finances! Advice-only is a great choice for DIY investors or for anyone who prefers to learn how to manage their own investments, rather than delegating asset management to an advisor. I provide investment advice as part of my overall comprehensive financial planning services, without managing your investments or charging AUM (assets under management) fees. I'm based in the Greater Boston area, but provide 100% virtual services, which allows me to work with clients anywhere in the United States.

After a winding path of studying dance, working in theater, and various corporate jobs, Sylvie followed a passion for finance and realized she could offer something unique to support fellow creatives: financial planning and expertise, tailored to the unique lifestyles and demands of a career in the arts. She founded The Financial Grove to help remove the burden of financial worry for creatives in the arts. Through this work, she hopes to enable a newfound freedom of choice in projects, without having to decide based on a feeling of scarcity, or a fear of the unknown. Sylvie believes in the power and utmost significance of storytelling, and has witnessed how ingrained financial trauma, coupled with gaps in literacy, can prevent creatives from making decisions motivated by expression and passion. Her mission is to support storytellers to express their voice authentically. She currently lives in Cambridge, MA with her family, but frequently finds herself back in her hometown of New York City (and often forgets she doesn't still live there).

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a numbers nerd. Growing up, we had a small chalkboard propped up against the wall. Instead of scribbling random shapes, I would have my parents give me math problems to solve. (Don’t worry – I don’t do my math on a chalkboard anymore!). I started my career in financial services fresh out of college when I was hired at a boutique wealth management firm just outside of Boston. It was there that I quickly fell in love with financial planning. To me, it is the perfect blend of nerdy, technical, problem-solving, spreadsheet analysis and touchy-feely, meaningful, life-changing relationship work. I have always considered myself lucky to have found this profession when I didn’t even know I was looking for it. What better calling can there be than to help guide people in using their money to live their most deeply significant and fulfilling lives? I spent more than 18 years of my career with firms that only worked with individuals and families that had substantial wealth. In short, you already needed to have achieved financial success to get access to our advice! While I have always loved my work and the clients I helped, I could never shake the feeling that there was something missing. Instead of only working with people who already had wealth, I wanted to work with people to help them build it. As a result, Katapult Financial Planning was born.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to wealth planning, and good financial advice means getting to know the unique person or family on a personal level. I’m a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor™, and the Founder of One Financial Design. As a self-development enthusiast, I’ve spent countless hours thinking about how to use money to live a true and fulfilling life. Personally, my husband and I often come back to the goal of spending more time and money on family experiences with our two kids, before time passes us by. Are you ready to explore your financial possibilities? I can't wait to hear your story. Visit my website www.onefinancialdesign.com to learn more and schedule an introductory call.