Certified Investment Strategist (CIS)

A frequent speaker, instructor, advisor and writer on credit risk and commercial banking topics and issues, Dev is principal of Devon Risk Advisory Group and engages in consulting, speaking and training on a wide range of risk, credit, and lending topics. As former SVP and senior credit policy officer at SunTrust Bank, Atlanta, he was responsible for developing, implementing, and administering credit policies for SunTrust's wholesale lines of business--commercial, commercial real estate, corporate investment banking, capital markets, business banking and private wealth management. He also spent three years as managing director and credit approver in SunTrust's Florida commercial lending and corporate investment banking areas, respectively. Prior to SunTrust, Dev was chief credit officer for Barnett Bank's Palm Beach region. Besides stints at other banks in Florida, Kansas City, and Ohio, Dev's experiences outside of banking include CFO of a Honolulu construction company, combat engineer officer in the U.S. Army, and college economics instructor in Hawaii, Missouri, and Florida. A graduate of Ohio State University and the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking, he earned his M.B.A. from the University of Hawaii.

Dev serves as an instructor at the Stonier Graduate School of Banking, the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking, and the American Bankers Association's (ABA) Commercial Lending School. His school, conference, and workshop audiences have included participants drawn from the ABA, RMA, OCC, Federal Reserve, FDIC, FFIEC, SBA, the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and the AICPA.  He worked with RMA to develop, implement, and teach its Critical Thinking course.

Dev has written about credit risk management, financial analysis and related subjects for the ABA's Commercial Insights, the Risk Management Association's RMA Journal, the IMA’s Strategic Finance and other business professional journals. He is the author of Analyzing Construction Contractors and its related RMA workshop. A past national chair of RMA and former Florida Chapter president, Dev serves as a member of the RMA Journal's advisory board.  He represented the banking industry as a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Private Company Council, which reviews and recommends changes to existing and proposed generally accepted accounting principles that make them more cost-effective for privately held companies.  Finally, he has consulted on credit risk issues with banks in Morocco, Egypt, and Angola through the US State Department's Financial Service Volunteer Corps (FSVC).

Dr. Minniti is the President and Owner of Minniti CPA, LLC. Dr. Minniti is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Forensic Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Valuation Analyst, Certified in Financial Forensics, Master Analyst in Financial Forensics, Chartered Global Management Accountant, and is a licensed private investigator in the state of Arizona. Dr. Minniti received his doctoral degree in business administration from Walden University, received his MBA degree and Graduate Certificate in Accounting from DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management, and received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix. Dr. Minniti taught graduate and undergraduate courses in forensic accounting at DeVry University, Grand Canyon University, Kaplan University, Northwestern University, and the University of Phoenix.

He designed graduate and undergraduate courses for Grand Canyon University, Northwestern University, and Anthem College. He is a writer and public speaker. He has experience in forensic accounting, fraud examinations, financial audits, internal audits, compliance audits, real estate valuations, business valuations, internal control development, business continuation planning, risk management, financial forecasting, and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance work. Dr. Minniti is an instructor teaching continuing professional education classes for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Compliance Online, CPE Link/CCH . AccountingEd, Global Compliance Panel, Clear Law Institute, CPE Solutions, Canopy CPE, The Institute of Management Accountants, the National Association of Valuators and Analysts, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Institute of Internal Auditors, and various state CPA Societies.

Dr. Drew Stevens founder of Wisdom to Wealth, works with individuals that grapple with finances and transforms them into wealthy professionals with the liquidity and lifestyle they desire to live with profound longevity to create a legacy. He specializes in coordinating Social Security and retirement income benefits. Drew holds the industry's most prestigious designation: NSSA© - National Social Security Advisor.

Erik served as the head of listed derivative operations for the Tokyo branch of a major U.S. investment bank and later became the market risk manager for a value investing global equity long-short hedge fund in the U.S. He started Framework to give serious investors an intuitive grasp of these powerful financial instruments after the publication of his book, The Intelligent Option Investor.

For the past 35 years Ilene has provided financial literacy and investment education for individual clients to enhance their understanding of money, finances, and investments; and to organizations with a particular emphasis on retirement planning. She has worked for notable Washington, DC area investment companies in management and in building organizational depth in financial education. 

Ms. Slatko has significant experience in the areas of leadership development, team development, career development, executive coaching and talent management. She has expertise in designing learning solutions – virtual instructor-led training and instructor-led -- to meet the unique challenges of clients. She was a key provider of executive and employee education for The Southland Corporation, U.S. Mapping, Century 21, and ERA Real Estate. She has worked with executives and leaders in the areas of communication, selling, client management, leadership development, and team development. 

Ms. Slatko has extensive experience in Federal retirement programs and training federal employees. When the previous retirement system was replaced by FERS, Ilene was at the forefront of presentations to educate affected employees in their choices. She has been a trainer for retirement presentations at agencies throughout the DC area,

She has been a speaker at conferences including the Army Materiel Command Women’s Financial Day, Delaware Women’s Conference, and numerous youth financial literacy programs. Ms. Slatko is currently the host of a weekly Roku and Apple TV show called, The *It Show, the first financial program designed specifically for young women. In addition, she has been the Director of Training for companies in the financial and real estate fields. 

Ilene is an alumna of Marietta College where she studied Drama, Speech, and English. 

Larry is the Head of Financial and Economic Research, Buckingham Wealth Partners. Since joining the firm in 1996, Larry Swedroe has spent his time, talent and energy educating investors on the benefits of evidence-based investing with enthusiasm few can match.

Larry was among the first authors to publish a book that explained the science of investing in layman’s terms, “The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You’ll Ever Need.” He has since authored seven more books: “What Wall Street Doesn’t Want You to Know” (2001), “Rational Investing in Irrational Times” (2002), “The Successful Investor Today” (2003), “Wise Investing Made Simple” (2007), “Wise Investing Made Simpler” (2010), “The Quest for Alpha” (2011) and “Think, Act, and Invest Like Warren Buffett” (2012).

He has also co-authored eight books about investing. His latest work, “Your Complete Guide to a Successful and Secure Retirement,” was co-authored with Kevin Grogan and published in January 2019.

In his role as chief research officer and as a member of the firm’s Investment Policy Committee Larry regularly reviews the findings published in dozens of peer-reviewed financial journals, evaluates the outcomes and uses the result to inform the firm’s formal investment strategy recommendations. He has had his own articles published in the Journal of Accountancy, Journal of Investing, AAII Journal, Personal Financial Planning Monthly, and the Journal of Portfolio Management.

Larry’s dedication to helping others has made him a sought-after national speaker. He has made appearances on national television shows airing on NBC, CNBC, CNN and Bloomberg Personal Finance. Larry is a prolific writer, contributing regularly to multiple outlets, including Advisor Perspectives, The Evidence Based Investor, and Alpha Architect.

Before joining Buckingham, Larry was vice chairman of Prudential Home Mortgage. He has held positions at Citicorp as senior vice president and regional treasurer, responsible for treasury, foreign exchange and investment banking activities, including risk management strategies.

Larry holds an MBA in finance and investment from New York University, and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Baruch College in New York

Peter has over 35 years’ experience in the financial markets and has managed treasury operations in financial institutions including Barclays, BNP, Ulster Bank and ACCBank.

Peter is an expert in foreign exchange, interest rate and market risk and has implemented treasury processes and procedures for a number of financial institutions. Throughout his banking career he advised clients on best practice with regards their treasury operations and has continued this work as a consultant.

As chief dealer and subsequently general manager of treasury, pensions and investments he became expert in structured finance, funding, trading, investments and risk management.

Peter’s economic analysis and expertise about the financial markets, is highly sought after by the Irish and international media. His direct manner, alongside his honest and clear assessments of present economic conditions, makes him very popular with the general public and the media alike, he features regularly on RTE, TV3, BBC World, RTE Radio, Today FM and NewsTalk.

Rich Arzaga is a dedicated advocate for investors who own directly held real estate investments, an asset class often overlooked by financial advisors. With a focus on comprehensive financial planning, Rich also provides valuable guidance on various real estate matters, including real estate cash flow modeling, buy-sell-hold decisions, 1031 exchanges, tax-advantaged strategies, inherited properties, and other challenges investors may face.

As the Founder and CEO of The Real Estate Whisperer Financial Planning and Education, an advice-only firm, Rich brings a wealth of expertise to the table. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), and a Registered Investment Advisor. Finding a dually credentialed professional like Rich, with both CFP® and CCIM designations, is exceptionally rare in the financial planning landscape. His clientele includes real estate investors of varying experience levels, business owners, and affluent families.

Rich's reputation extends beyond his role as a financial advisor. He is an honored instructor and adjunct professor in the UC Berkeley Personal Financial Planning program and the UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Extension. Additionally, he has been featured twice at the esteemed Commonwealth Club of San Francisco and has earned a place among Worth Magazine's Top 250 Wealth Advisors in the Nation. Rich's real estate strategies have been showcased in prominent publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, Investor's Business Daily, The Journal of Financial Planning, The Journal of Accountancy, Real Estate Business, REALTOR® Magazine Kiplinger Retirement Newsletter, and other business and finance magazines.

Academically, Rich holds an impressive background. He graduated with distinction from the Personal Financial Planning Program at UC Berkeley, complementing his Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University. Furthermore, he pursued Graduate Studies in Management at Northwestern University J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, solidifying his knowledge and expertise in the field.

Beyond his professional achievements, Rich treasures his enduring relationship with his undergraduate sweetheart, as they have shared a blissful marriage for over three decades. Together, they have raised two daughters and enjoy the companionship of their beloved flat-coated retriever – a “very good dog.”.

Shawn McCabe, MSA, MBA, CFP® has received the most votes as myCPE - Most Promising Personalities in Accounting 2021 and hence we are glad to announce him as the winner in this category for this year.

Here’s more information about his background.

After serving ten years of active military service and completing a combat tour in Afghanistan, Shawn started his career in financial planning and investments in 2007.  Joining the industry at the beginning of the “Great Recession” allowed him to quickly learn that the stock market can be unpredictably cruel, and at the same time, extremely rewarding to those who stayed the course. Also, during that time, he and his clients became an invaluable part of each other’s lives. They relied on him to get them through the worst markets in years. He learned more about life, trust, perseverance, and the undeniable need for clients to have genuine and executable plans.

As a Financial Advisor and the CPAlliance™ Director with CPS Investment Advisors, Shawn’s passions and profession are aligned. He gets to enrich and grow the CPAlliance™ program by helping CPAs become CPA financial planners and teach them how to help clients achieve or protect their financial independence. His ability to understand and breakdown the most complex problems, along with his broad professional experience, uniquely equips him to be the perfect coach, mentor, and trainer for the CPAlliance™ members, as well as, advise clients on how to achieve and protect their financial independence.

When he’s not helping CPAs and clients plan and execute, he can be found spending time endurance training (or binge watching the next great Netflix series) with his wife Amy, playing guitar, and singing worship tunes with Emma, watching Isabella make pyramids with her water ski team, or rooting Ethan on as he plays Lacrosse for his high school.

Shawn earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and an MBA from Saint Leo University. He earned a Certificate in Financial Planning from Florida State University and became a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional in 2011. 

Stefan Sharkansky is the Founder and creator of Personal Fund and a former instructor at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz extensions. He holds a Masters in Computer Science from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Statistics (econometrics) from the University of Washington. His personal research on low-cost and tax-efficient investing led him to develop the mutual-fund and ETF cost-analysis and portfolio-building tool, Personal Fund. Stefan and Personal Fund have appeared in platforms and publications such as The New York Times, Barron’s, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. With his background as an academic, developer, serial entrepreneur, and former improv-comedy performer, Stefan is skilled at presenting complex topics in an accessible and useful format to help financial professionals better manage their clients’ portfolios.

More than forty years of practice in tax planning, estate and trust administration and planning, personal financial planning and accounting have given Warren an extraordinarily deep understanding of personal finance. At his New York City firm, Adelman, Katz & Mond LLP, his clients, who include primarily high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs and sole proprietors, benefit from his particular expertise in tax law, its applications and implications for individuals. Warren is an adjunct professor of accounting and taxation at Long Island University, New Jersey City University, and Rutgers Business School. He has spoken at the Institute of Management Accountants, both the New York and Long Island chapters of Financial Planning Association, the New York State Society of CPAs, New York University, and Lorman Educational Services. In addition, he is an accomplished author, and has regularly contributed to publications the experts rely on, like Marshall Loeb's Money Guide, Taxation for Accountants, and The CPA Journal. Warren has been very active in professional organizations, and has frequently been elected as president, board member or committee chair. Warren is a fan of local sports teams.  He also likes to read biographies and books on current events. He and his wife, Susan, live in Langhorne, PA. They have two children, Sam and Robin, and a granddaughter, Reily