Kitces IAR Ethics CE Day

Michael Kitces is the Head of Planning Strategy for Buckingham Wealth Partners, a private wealth management and advisor TAMP platform based in St Louis, MO, that oversees approximately $50 billion of client assets.

In addition, he is a co-founder of XY Planning Network, AdvicePay, New Planner Recruiting, fpPathfinder, and FA BeanCounters, the former Practitioner Editor of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, and the publisher of the popular financial planning industry blog Nerd’s Eye View through his website Kitces.com, dedicated to advancing knowledge in financial planning. In 2010, Michael was recognized with one of the FPA’s “Heart of Financial Planning” awards for his dedication and work in advancing the profession.

Adam is an Associate Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com. He previously worked at a financial planning firm in Bethesda, Maryland, and as a journalist covering the banking and insurance industries. Outside of work, he serves as a volunteer financial planner and class instructor for non-profits in the Northern Virginia area. He has an MA from Johns Hopkins University and a BA from the University of Virginia.

Shelitha Smodic, CFP®, is the CE Nerd Writer for Kitces.com. Shelitha is pursuing a doctorate in personal financial planning from Kansas State University with a research focus on family financial well-being and estate planning. Prior to pursuing her PhD full-time, she worked as the Associate Curriculum DesigNerd at Kitces.com, designing, researching, and writing content for courses. In addition to supporting the Kitces education team, Shelitha speaks, teaches, and writes about personal finance through Meaning of Money, her financial education platform. Prior to working in financial education, Shelitha was a financial advisor and the director of financial planning for a wealth management firm. She received her master’s degree in personal financial planning from Kansas State University and her bachelor’s degree in business administration from The University of Tennessee.

Emil J. Ali is a partner at McCabe & Ali, LLP where he represents registered investment advisors and broker dealers in complying with SEC, State, and FINRA obligations. He also helps advisors break away from wire houses and form their own advisory firms, while ensuring compliance with the Broker Protocol, negotiation of promissory notes, and any FINRA arbitrations.

Emil routinely represents investment advisors in examinations before the SEC and state securities regulators. McCabe & Ali LLP's national practice allows them to service advisors of all sizes across the U.S. Emil previously worked for the United States Department of Labor (DOL), Employee Benefits Security Administration where he focused his time on issues related to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). His experience at the DOL allows him to help clients understand the complex provisions of ERISA, including fiduciary obligations.

Chris Stanley is the Founder of Beach Street Legal LLC, a law practice and compliance consultancy for investment advisers and financial planners. In this role he provides legal advice and compliance counseling related to federal and state securities laws, SEC rules and regulations, RIA mergers & acquisitions, investment management compliance, RIA registration, and general corporate legal matters. Most recently he served as General Counsel for Loring Ward (now integrated into Focus Partners Advisor Solutions), a turnkey asset management provider headquartered in San Jose, California. He also previously served as Loring Ward's Chief Compliance Officer, as well as Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer for the SA Funds – Investment Trust, a mutual fund family advised by Loring Ward. Chris received his J.D. and M.B.A. from Santa Clara University, and his B.A. from Boston College. He has also passed the FINRA Series 7 General Securities Representative and Series 24 General Securities Principal examinations, as well as the NASAA Series 66 examination. He is admitted to the State Bars of California, Missouri, and the District of Columbia.

Leila Shaver, the founder of My RIA Lawyer, is a securities lawyer who has dedicated her 10+ year career to helping independent financial advisers and firms navigate the legal complexities of the financial services world. With a comprehensive range of services, including RIA and broker-dealer registration, ongoing broker-dealer and RIA compliance, contract drafting, mergers and acquisitions, private fund set-up and more, Leila and her team are committed to providing both legal and compliance services to their clients.

Leila started My RIA Lawyer after working as an associate attorney at a law firm that did not value her and her desire to practice law her way. With a passion for the securities industry and a commitment to making a difference, Leila has built a successful business by focusing on the needs of her clients and providing personalized services.

Despite facing challenges, Leila has persevered and has become a voice to lead the financial services industry into the next generation. With a belief in the negative impact of over regulation on financial services companies and their investors, Leila is passionate about her work and is determined to make a positive impact in the industry.

James (Jim) Lundy serves as a Co-Leader of the Securities Enforcement Subgroup and is a partner, litigator, and counselor in Foley & Lardner’s Securities Enforcement & Litigation Practice. He defends and protects clients under investigation by the SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), FINRA, States, and other regulatory bodies by leveraging his experience working in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement for almost a decade as a senior trial counsel and branch chief. He spent the last several years of his service with the SEC helping lead the Division of Examinations program for the Midwest.

Companies and their boards of directors, investment advisers, broker-dealers, hedge and private equity funds, investment banks, futures trading firms, and the individuals leading these organizations regularly turn to Jim for counsel. He has helped clients resolve high-stakes SEC, CFTC, FINRA, State, and other enforcement investigations with no charges filed, and he has lowered enforcement settlement demands by hundreds of millions of dollars. Jim also proactively represents digital asset clients in defense and regulatory work; leads internal investigations; defends cybersecurity enforcement investigations; serves as an independent monitor and expert witness; provides counsel on compliance, governance, and policy issues; and defends clients in complex financial services litigation.

Jim plays a leadership role with the Blockchain & Digital Assets Practice. He is also an active member of the Fund Formation & Investment Management, Government Enforcement Defense & Investigations, Artificial Intelligence, Cannabis, and Sports & Entertainment Practices.

Patrick Noel is a compliance professional with over a decade of regulatory experience, currently
serving as a Senior Compliance Consultant with the XY Planning Network. Before joining XY
Planning Network in 2021, Patrick honed his expertise at the Texas State Securities Board,
where he navigated the complexities of regulatory compliance as an inspections and
compliance examiner. Patrick obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Texas at San Antonio and also holds the IACCP® (Investment Advisor Certified Compliance Professional) designation. Patrick is dedicated to helping financial advisors understand and implement effective compliance strategies that align with regulatory expectations.
Outside of his professional pursuits, Patrick enjoys gardening, tackling home improvement
projects, and cherishing quality time with his wife of 15 years and their three beautiful children.

Amy is the founder and owner of Rooted Planning Group, a 100% women owned, fee-only financial planning firm.

As a kid, she always liked numbers. She would spend hours creating math problems and solutions. Whenever she wanted to play math teacher, her brother was forced to be her student! Given her love of facts and figures, it’s really no surprise that she chose a career where she worked with numbers.

Amy has 32 years in the financial services profession, and her passion is to provide financial planning that looks at all aspects of your life and how your finances support you. She believes that you can use your dollars and cents to create and live a meaningful life unique to your own dreams and desires.

She started Rooted Planning group because she wanted to offer financial PLANNING services. She believes that our profession has a tendency to focus on “assets under management,” and she wanted to focus on the journey of your life (what she refers to in her podcast as your financial “vineyard''). She truly believes that life and finances have different palettes that should be celebrated and not judged.

She is the author of "Uncork Your Finances," Financial Toolkit Workbook, and podcast host of Money Roots, which were all created as a way to take the "scary" out of finance.

In addition to serving on several boards, she serves as a mentor to other women in the profession, sat on the National Board of the National Association of Personal Financial Planners (NAPFA) from 2020 – 2023, and now is a Trustee of the NAPFA Foundation, all in hopes of having professional influence on the number of women in the profession (or lack thereof).

She also co-founded the Southern Tier Women's Financial Conference in 2014, which is an annual event with a day of collaboration, networking, and financial education for women

In pursuit of her perfect life, she splits her time between Parrish, Florida and Jasper, New York. She loves what she does, but she also very much enjoys warmth, a great book, good conversation, wine tastings and volunteering.