WEALTHCARE PARTNERS - Key Persons
As Director of Research, Brett is directly responsible for managing several of our strategies, including Perennial Growth, Long Term Trend and Write Income. Additionally, the Research department conducts thorough analyses of companies to identify undervalued stocks that carry attractive upside potential.
Job Titles:
- Representative of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC
- Senior Relationship Manager
Brooke started with WealthCare Partners in 2016 as our first Wealth Planning Administrator! She left for a little over a year when she had her first child and has come back to the team part-time. She graduated from Ball State with a degree in Organizational Communications, and currently holds the Series 6 and 63 registrations. She is also licensed in life, health, and variable insurance. Prior to her career with WealthCare Partners, she managed logistics for large warehouses.
Brooke and her husband, Troy, live in Danville and stay busy with their three little boys! They spend their time renovating their home, being active members in their church, and walking around the Danville square.
Brooke Taylor is a non-producing registered representative of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC.
Burt White - Chief Strategy Officer
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Chief Strategy Officer
- Carson 's Chief Strategy Officer
Burt White serves as Carson's Chief Strategy Officer, helping steer the company's strategic focus as a member of the executive board.
In his role, his primary responsibility is to augment and elevate Carson's opportunities for growth across the entire spectrum of corporate and investment strategy. Harnessing the power of the firm's experienced Investment Research team, Burt advances Carson's ability to deliver an unparalleled wealth management experience for partner firms, transform the investment platform for scale, and advance the digital client experience to redefine how the industry shows and talks about wealth.
A prominent voice and advocate for the independent advisor, Burt joined Carson after serving as Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at LPL Financial for 14 years. There, he fostered the development and evolution of LPL's capabilities to effectively support advisor efficiency and growth. Prior to this, he worked for a decade at Wachovia Securities and spent time as an investment analyst at Mercer Investment Consulting. Burt received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the College of William & Mary, and he holds the Series 7, 24, 63, 65 and 87 registrations.
His passion for making a meaningful impact in the lives of clients and advisors, combined with his unique talent for client storytelling, adds a valuable component to helping Carson's advisors best serve their clients and generate new business. He is an innovative leader who will continue to help Carson deliver on the firm's mission to be the most trusted for financial advice.
Burt resides in the Charlotte, North Carolina metro area with his family.
Burt White is not affiliated with Cetera Advisor Networks, LLC.
With over 25 years of small business office management experience, Donna Smith is the secret to keeping WealthCare Partners on track and moving forward. Her responsibilities as an Operations Manager include ensuring clients receive their withdrawals in a timely manner and facilitating the preparation and processing of forms. In addition, she coordinates the implementation of the bucket plan, transferring funds between buckets whenever the market or accounts require it.
Donna was born and raised in Indianapolis, attending both Ben Davis High School and IUPUI. She previously worked in the custom home building field.
Brownsburg is where Donna and her husband, John, now call home. When not at work, you can find her spending time with family, taking photos of her adorable grandchildren, sewing, or traveling. She is also an active member at Pleasant Heights Baptist Church and assists with women's and children's ministry.
Drew graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2004 with a degree in Finance and has been working in the Financial industry ever since. Prior to joining Carson Group, Drew spent the last 7 years working in the trading department of an RIA in Omaha. Drew currently holds a FINRA Series 65 registration.
Drew has been married to his wife Stephanie since July 2015 and they have a 3-year-old daughter, Cora. Drew enjoys spending time with family and friends whenever possible, especially during sporting events. Drew is a huge sports fan and enjoys cheering on his teams all year round.
During his free time, Drew enjoys golfing, reading historical non-fiction books, and spending time outside doing yard work.
Job Titles:
- Wealth Advisor
- CEO, Senior Wealth Advisor
Job Titles:
- Director of Client Services
In May of 2012 Erin Ebert officially became a valuable member of the WealthCare Partners team, assuming the important duties of Director of Client Services. Our clients see her as their sounding board for questions big and small and their resource for help with their Client Experience site. Erin also keeps us connected to the community by managing our social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Previously a teacher, Erin graduated with a degree in education from Indiana University. The same skills she used as an elementary and middle school physical education/health teacher now come in handy when she's keeping our office on task and in top shape.
Outside of the office, Erin is busy running her household. She married her husband, Corey, in June of 2011, and they have two daughters. Their family time is often spent traveling, watching and participating in sports, exploring the outdoors, or simply enjoying one another's company.
A nationally recognized writer and researcher, Jamie is a regular contributor to Forbes, InvestmentNews and MarketWatch. A highly sought-after speaker in the financial services industry, Jamie has also been featured on Wall Street Journal podcasts, NPR radio and Fox radio, and has made multiple appearances for NBC10 Philadelphia, PBS and USA Today.
He's been published in dozens of financial, educational and legal journals and developed educational materials for The American College's CFP®, CLU®, ChFC® and RICP® programs, along with CE programs for attorneys.
Additionally, Jamie has co-authored three text books and has two ebooks on Retirement Planning, "Retirement Success In 10 Steps: How To Stretch Your Dollar To Last Through Your Golden Years" and "Retirement Risks: How To Plan Around Uncertainty For A Successful Retirement." He is also the author of 2018's "Rewirement: Rewiring The Way You Think About Retirement."
Jamie was selected by InvestmentNews as one of the top 40 financial services professionals under the age of 40 in 2015. And in 2017, he was selected by The American Bar Association as one of the top 40 young attorneys in the country. Jamie was also named a Lawyer of Distinction and elected to the prestigious role of an American Bar Foundation Fellow.
Before joining Carson, Jamie was an associate professor of taxation at The American College of Financial Services in the Retirement Income program, and served as the director of the New York Life Center for Retirement Income.
Jamie received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science at Davidson College in North Carolina, where he was captain of the Division I Men's Varsity Swim Team. He attended Villanova School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor degree and graduated with honors. He received his Master of Business Administration degree from Villanova University Business School. Jamie also holds his LLM from Temple University and four financial planning designations, the CFP®, CLU®, the ChFC®, and the RICP®, and sits on ReverseVision's Board of Directors.
He co-created the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) designation, which has over 6,000 graduates since its inception in 2012, and over 12,000 financial advisors currently enrolled in the program.
Job Titles:
- Senior Relationship Manager
Jen's attention to detail, combined with her desire to help others, is what makes her a great fit for our Senior Relationship Manager. She brings a wealth of customer service experience and is no stranger to helping an office run efficiently while ensuring the needs of clients are met.
A graduate of Ball State University, Jen spent a decade working for a law firm where she gained valuable experience with benefits and retirement plans. She also has significant experience in human resources.
Outside of the office, Jen enjoys trying new restaurants, traveling to North Carolina and spending time with her boyfriend and their two dogs Hank and Mia. She hopes to someday visit Zion National Park.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President, Investment Operations and Performance
Justin grew up in Iowa and graduated from Purdue University with a BS in Accounting and Finance. After college, Justin moved to Chicago where he worked in Risk Management for a hedge fund-of- funds and in operations for a global investment and advisory firm. While in Chicago, he obtained his MBA in Finance from DePaul University. After 10 years in the city, Justin and his wife moved to Carmel, Indiana where he worked for a fund administrator before joining WealthCare.
Justin and his beautiful wife Katie married in 2009. They have a son Max who was born in 2018 and a daughter Olivia who was born in 2020. Justin is often found at live music events, running on the Monon Trail, traveling, and spending time with his family.
Job Titles:
- Trading Operations Analyst
Job Titles:
- Senior Trade Operations Analyst
Mark Petersen's business career spans 35 years of which 30+ have been as a Certified Public Accountant. In the early 90's Mark transitioned to the investment business as a Registered Investment Advisor and has added CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner to his credentials. Mark is insurance licensed in Nebraska where he is a lifelong Nebraskan with Midwestern values and work ethic. 13 years of Mark's career were spent in the state of Texas. Mark joined the Wealth Enhancement Group of Carson Wealth Management Group in 2005. Today his role is Vice President, Affluent Wealth Planning, which allows him an opportunity to work with high and ultra high net worth families on complex planning decisions involving cash-flow needs, business succession planning and generational asset transfers.
Away from the office Mark enjoys time with his wife and the family's Meyers parrot. You are likely to find Mark on the golf course in good weather, followed by a stint behind the grill. In 2016 Mark had his vintage 1979 Raleigh road bike restored and enjoys long distance bike rides. Mark is motivated to be the best he may be in everything he does, but especially enjoys helping others make well reasoned choices when faced with life's forks in the road.
Job Titles:
- Representative of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC
- Vice President, Insurance
Matt is responsible for building, leading and managing Carson Group Insurance, an insurance offering that supports Carson Group in the preparation, presentation and implementation of insurance for clients of the firm. Matt works to ensure that our advisors have the best solutions to meet their clients' every need when it comes to insurance and how it fits into their overall financial plan.
Matt has spent the last 22-plus years working for a major insurance carrier both in the corporate home offices in a variety of roles and as the Managing Director of a large field office. Matt excels in relationship-building and the development of skills around insurance concepts, needs analysis and proper solution placement.
Matt attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and is a die-hard Husker to this day. Matt has been married to his wife, Amy, for 25 years and has two sons - Jacob, 21, who is a senior at the University of Nebraska, and Ryan, 18, who is a freshman at the University of Nebraska. Over the years, Matt has enjoyed watching both of his sons play travel and high school baseball. Matt also loves to play golf and travel, and as an avid cook he spends a lot of time in the kitchen or by the grill/smoker.
Matt Lewis is a non-producing registered representative of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC.
Job Titles:
- Representative of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC
- Senior Relationship Manager
Matthew attended Taylor University and graduated with a degree in Social Studies Education. He was a 4-year starter on the baseball team. After college, he went on to teach US History, World History, Government, Economics, and Special Education at various Northern Indiana High Schools. Matthew's love of sports led him to also coach basketball and baseball at the high school level. He continues to play in an adult baseball league each summer.
After teaching for 10 years, Matthew had an opportunity to turn his investment hobby into a career. He worked as a financial advisor at Prudential for one year and then as an advisor at OneAmerica for another two years before joining the WealthCare Partners team in the fall of 2017. His new role as Senior Relationship Manager allows him to continue his passion of investment analysis and planning, while still providing high level service to clients. He currently holds the Series 7, 65, 63 and 6 registrations.
Matthew has been married since 2014 to his beautiful wife, Emily. In May of 2017, they welcomed their first child, Claire into their home. In April of 2019, they welcomed their son Evan.
Matthew Alspaugh is a non-producing registered representative of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC.
Patrick has a broad background across different parts of the finance industry, but much of it has been devoted to serve clients, both internal and external. Working in investment management and also having experience in debt and foreign currency markets, he is able to use a lot of different knowledge to formulate solutions. When Patrick sets out to research something new, he tries to be as thorough as possible and leave little room for surprises later.
Patrick earned a Bachelor's degree in Finance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and then later obtained both an MBA and Masters of Securities Analysis and Portfolio Management (MSAPM) from Creighton University. He also holds the FINRA Series 65 license.
He started his career in financial services with Fisher Investments in California, working in both the Private Client and Institutional groups. Patrick later spent four years trading foreign currency with First National Bank of Omaha on behalf of their clients. After that, he worked in the Conagra Brands Treasury department doing foreign currency trading and helping to manage employee pension investments. Prior to joining Carson Group, Patrick was a Portfolio Manager at TS Banking Group, where he selected and reviewed investments for wealth management clients and the bank holding company.
Patrick spends most of his time outside of work with his wife and children. He also listens to a lot of music and an assortment of podcasts (comedic, true crime, scientific).
A member of the Wealth Enhancement Group, Pat provides a proactive approach for improved wealth enhancement by looking for targeted areas of tax planning.
Pat comes to Carson Wealth with over 40 years of experience as a Certified Public Accountant with a dense background of working with various clients to surmount tax complexities. Prior to joining Carson Wealth, Pat was a general and founding partner of the accounting firm Mangin, Carter & Co, located in Vincennes, Indiana.
Pat grew up on a farm in southern Indiana and graduated from Indiana State University with degrees in Business Administration and Aerospace Technology. He later completed his accounting studies at Indiana University. He developed a passion for accounting and tax work while employed by Kemper CPA Group, LLP, which he joined upon completing his accounting studies at Indiana University.
Pat lives in Vincennes, Indiana and enjoys hiking in Northern California and the Arizona areas. Pat has three children: Brook, Brandi and Brittney, who all have entered various professions after graduating from college. He also enjoys being owned by a Weimaraner!
Tom Fridrich is not affiliated or registered with Cetera Advisor Networks LLC. Any information provided by Tom is in no way related to Cetera Advisor Networks LLC or its registered representatives.
Monica joined the WealthCare Partners team in March of 2018. She has over 25 years of experience in financial operations. Her knowledge extends from retail operations, mall management services, and back office investment services to smaller family owned operations. She has worked for Simon Property Group (12 years), Rennaissance Administration (12.5 years) and TKO Graphix (10 years). Monica attended IUPUI.
She is a life-long resident of Avon and has raised 7 daughters and is now very active with her 16 grandchildren. She enjoys, reading, knitting, horseback riding and spends a lot of time with her many pets. Monica has served as a volunteer with Family Promise and Shared Blessings food pantry. Her passion is to make every day count and help others whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Job Titles:
- Director, Portfolio Strategy
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Chief Market Strategist
- Carson 's Chief Market Strategist
Ryan Detrick serves as Carson's Chief Market Strategist. In his role, he is responsible for advancing Carson's Investment Research team, delivering market insights and expanding the firm's investment platform. Beyond this, he provides research and guidance that drives growth for the more than 130 Carson partners who collectively manage $20 billion in assets.
Prior to Carson, Ryan spent six years at LPL Financial, most recently serving as their Chief Market Strategist. At LPL, he was responsible for managing more than $70 billion in AUM, along with research and writing for advisors. He also led the LPL Market Signals podcast, their YouTube channel, and their research blog.
Originally from Springfield, Ohio, Ryan has spent more than 20 years working in the financial markets. He has a Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designation, a bachelor's in finance from Xavier University, and an MBA from Miami University. Ryan regularly shares his insights on national broadcast outlets such as Yahoo! Finance, CNBC, FOX Business and Bloomberg TV and radio.
His strong relationships and expertise help enhance Carson's industry-leading investment management offering and further the firm's mission of being the most trusted in financial advice. Ryan, a lifelong Cincinnati Bengals fan, resides in Ohio with his family. In his free time, he can be found coaching his two boys in various sports. He enjoys travelling to new places and eating at any - and all - restaurants.
Ryan Detrick is not affiliated with Cetera Advisor Networks, LLC.
Job Titles:
- Director of Trust Services
Scott Berryman, JD, serves as Carson's Director of Trust Services. In this role, he manages Carson's trust offering to serve as trustee of Carson client's trusts, as well as serving as a subject matter resource on the Advanced Solutions Team fielding questions and working with advisors, clients, and attorneys drafting trusts for clients.
Prior to Carson, Scott worked as a trust officer at a small private high-touch trust company after practicing law as a trust and estate attorney working in both planning and trust/estate settlement in a boutique estate planning firm.
A graduate of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Scott received his law degree from the University of Nebraska School of Law. He's an active member of the Omaha Bar Association, the Nebraska Bar Association, Sarpy County Bar Association and the Omaha Estate Planning Council. An advocate of life-long learning, Scott serves on the steering committee for the Yale Richards Professional Education Seminar, providing top tier content for philanthropic planners and advisors.
Scott's experience in government service, community service and philanthropy, along with his experience as a stay-at-home parent and entrepreneur, allow him to connect personally with the variety of clients that Carson serves. Especially enthusiastic about planned giving, Scott not only counsels families on how trusts might benefit their financial plans and estate plans, but also their charitable plans.
A native of Cozad, Scott and his family now live in Omaha. He enjoys spending time with his family, especially cooking healthy dishes together and watching his kids perform in marching band.
Job Titles:
- Director, Investment Platform
- Director, Investment Platform / Research Department
Sonu has over 15 years of experience in the Asset Management industry. Before joining Carson, he was a Partner and Director of Research at Convex Capital Management where he co-managed portfolios, advised clients and led the research effort, including creating a proprietary leading economic index for 30 countries and systematizing investment processes. Prior to that Sonu worked independently with hedge fund managers and high-net worth individuals to develop quantitative investment models for trading equities, options, ETFs and closed-end funds.
Sonu started his career in finance during the final year of his Ph.D. at Purdue University, when he got an opportunity to do options modeling work. He finished his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2006, with his dissertation focused on simulating blood flow in diseased arteries. However, he decided to pursue finance as he enjoyed the mathematical modeling aspect of it, and the challenges thrown up by human behavior in markets. Prior to his Ph.D., Sonu received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue and Bachelors in Engineering from the National Institute of Technology (Trichy) in India.
Sonu and his wife love to travel and are looking forward to doing a lot more of it as their twins grow up. They also enjoy listening to an eclectic selection of music as a family and being outdoors in the city (Chicago weather permitting). At home, you may find him hanging out with the family with a guitar in his hands, cooking or if the kids are asleep, watching TV or reading. He is also passionate about teaching Math - including statistics, probability and personal finance - at the community college in Chicago downtown.
Steve Ford - Founder, President
Job Titles:
- Founder
- President
- Wealth Advisor
- Founder & President, Senior Wealth Advisor
As the president and founder of WealthCare Partners, Steve Ford is faithfully committed to acting in the best interests of his clients and his team. For over three decades, Steve has been a dedicated leader in the financial industry and an advocate for men and women who want to take control of their financial future. His background as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) makes him the right consultant to turn to when looking for advice on financial planning, investment allocations, money management, tax reduction, estate planning, and business profitability strategies.
A native of Indiana, Steve graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in accounting from Anderson University. He began his career at Ernst & Young, and in 1979 embarked on a 30-year partnership with CWMcF CPAs. Before establishing WealthCare Partners, he became licensed to sell investments and attained series 6, 7, 24 and 63 registrations. Steve is an Investment Adviser Representative who holds life and health insurance licenses.
Steve has a deep appreciation for achieving balance through solid work ethic and quality time away from the office. He is the proud father of two children, Eric and Kari, and greatly enjoys their family activities. Traveling is also a favorite pastime of Steve.
While he loves playing a round of golf or games of tennis and pickleball, Steve has also been known to participate in church softball and volleyball leagues. His involvement doesn't stop there, however, as he led youth activities and served on the board of Westlake Community Church and Indiana Epilepsy Foundation. He is now an active member at Connection Pointe Christian Church.
Job Titles:
- Senior Institutional Trader
Tom Fridrich is not affiliated or registered with Cetera Advisor Networks LLC. Any information provided by Tom is in no way related to Cetera Advisor Networks LLC or its registered representatives.