David Bahnick is wealth advisor and founding partner at Capital Planning Wealth Management, the Center Valley firm that has served clients since 1994.

He has spent 38 years in financial planning, building the practice into one that handles retirement, investment, insurance and tax planning.

Bahnick starts each engagement by learning a client’s situation before his team builds a plan around their goals.

“I firstly spend time getting to know clients and their current financial situation,” he says on the firm’s website.

He describes a planning process that highlights both risks and opportunities. “We look for both potential crisis and opportunity in their portfolios,” he said in a previous LVB profile.

Eric Boyle is the third generation of the independent family-owned financial planning company Crest Financial Group in Allentown. He has been with the company since 2007.

While managing overall business operations, Boyle spends his time running client appointments and giving fiduciary wealth management advice. He has created a one-stop-shop by incorporating investment management, tax preparation and a strong relationship with a local estate attorney for legal estate planning needs.

The Crest Financial Group team works with 1,000 clients, manages $650 million of assets and prepares 500 tax returns per year. Named a Top Certified Financial Planner by InvestmentNews in 2025 and a Best-in-State Wealth Advisor by Forbes in 2026, Boyle is recognized as one of the top CFPs in the state and country.

Boyle is bridging the gap between senior advisors and the next generation who view wealth management from a different lens. “Striking a balance between traditional methods and technology-driven methods is key,” he said.

As for his strategy for success, Boyle said, “Surround yourself with smart, capable and ethical people and create an environment that allows them to succeed. Help others to develop the knowledge and tools to allow them to thrive without oversight yet be available when a challenge arises.”

Kathryn M. Brown is founder and senior wealth advisor of Morton Brown Family Wealth in Allentown, where she has guided individuals and families through complex financial planning for 25 years. Brown leads the firm’s planning strategy, supports team development and oversees compliance, with a focus on building an advisory practice that delivers thoughtful, intentional counsel around money and life.

She has grown the firm deliberately — expanding the team and strengthening its structure while preserving the culture she considers her proudest achievement.

“I’m most proud of the culture we’ve built and the people behind it,” Brown said.

As consolidation reshapes the wealth management industry, she has remained committed to independence and local roots.

“We’ve been intentional about staying independent and locally rooted, while continuing to grow and serve clients more broadly,” she said.

Michael Fischer is president and CEO of Client 1st Financial, a Fogelsville-based financial advisory firm he founded in 2012, bringing 14 years of industry experience to personalized financial planning, legacy support and philanthropic strategies.

He has remained committed to building long-term relationships with clients and their families rooted in superior service. Legacy planning stands at the core of Fischer’s work.

“I help my clients align their financial decisions with their values and long-term goals,” he said, guiding families through the process of passing down not only assets but also life lessons, traditions and philanthropic efforts for future generations.

Through the Client 1st Foundation, managed by the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, Fischer and his team support local nonprofits. A former board chair of New Bethany Inc., he also organizes community food drives.

Rachel Lower built Cornerstone Advisors around a philosophy that privately held businesses need more than financial advice — they need a partner across the full arc of growth, transition and succession.

As president and CEO of the Allentown firm, she integrates estate planning, business acceleration and human capital development into a cohesive advisory model, while cultivating an internal culture she views as equally central to client and team success.

Lower has focused on developing leaders within the firm and deepening long-term relationships that extend beyond clients to their employees, families and communities. Outside the office, she serves as Treasurer on the ArtsQuest Foundation Board.

“Supporting organizations that invest in both people and community is something I’m deeply passionate about,” Lower said.

Gerald J. Miletics Jr. co-founded The Rockland Group-Wealth Management and runs the Bethlehem firm as managing partner and CEO.

The firm advises thousands of households and holds more than $500 million in assets under management.

Miletics started his career in 1999 at AXA Advisors, now Equitable Advisors, and built a practice around financial plans clients can understand and implement.

A large part of that work involves public school educators; he supports the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, the Pennsylvania Association of Career and Technical Administrators and the Lehigh Valley ASBO. He also mentors other financial planners, helping them understand their roles in helping others.

Mike Molewski is a principal and financial advisor at CAPTRUST in Allentown, where he has guided ultra-high net worth and business-owning families for 40 years. Molewski provides counsel in multi-generational wealth planning, estate preservation, charitable planning and insurance advisory, leading a team serving clients locally and nationally. Mentorship is central to his leadership approach.

“I encourage the next generation to strive to improve every day, take accountability for their work, become involved in the community and always finish the job,” he said.

Molewski and his wife Diane recently completed their term as 2025-26 Campaign Co-Chairs of the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.

“Leadership isn’t just about giving back, but about inspiring others to invest in the well-being and future of our neighbors,” he said.

Laurie Peer is president of RKL Private Wealth, a division of RKL LLP in Reading, where she has led wealth management strategy and client service for 37 years. Peer founded RKL Private Wealth and has grown it to nearly $2.4 billion in assets under management, building a holistic, multidisciplinary model that begins with each client’s values and aligns strategy across every aspect of their financial life. She oversees firm strategy, team development, and client experience while fostering a culture of empowerment and innovation.

“I helped redefine what it means to be a true advisor by building a model that delivers strategies aligned with every aspect of clients’ financial lives,” Peer said.

Her leadership philosophy centers on people.

“What drives me is helping clients, colleagues and fellow leaders achieve more than they thought possible,” she said.

Duane Peoples runs an Allentown wealth advisory firm built as a family enterprise and a second career.

He came to financial advising after more than 25 years in private business, where he oversaw 350 employees at a family-owned export manufacturing company whose supply chain crossed four continents.

As founder and CEO, he works alongside his wife, Patricia, the firm’s managing partner and an advisor since 1989, and their two adult children, Craig and Grace.

Peoples is a certified financial planner, certified kingdom advisor and certified exit planning advisor, the last reflecting the firm’s work with business owners preparing to sell.

Jonathan Soden is one of five founding partners of Magellan Financial, the Allentown asset and wealth management firm that he and his colleagues opened in December 2009 and that now manages $427 million in assets.

As managing partner, Soden oversees the firm’s corporate retirement plans, day-to-day decisions in its actively managed accounts and its outside marketing.

He joined Legg Mason as a financial advisor in 2002, following nearly a decade as a small-business owner, and teamed with his current partners in 2006.

Outside the firm, Soden funded the Soden Trust for Sustainability at Moravian University in 2007 and was an original board member of the Bethlehem Food Co-Op.

Eric Wiegand is a partner, senior wealth advisor and Lehigh Valley market leader at River Wealth Advisors, where he has guided clients and developed advisors for 19 years. Wiegand advises the firm’s most complex client relationships while leading its advisory and financial planning platform — establishing standards and ensuring consistent delivery of fiduciary advice across the organization.

He helped build and scale that platform by implementing disciplined processes and clear planning standards that strengthened advisor effectiveness and enhanced client confidence in complex financial decisions. His leadership approach centers on accountability, clarity and service.

“I am driven to simplify complex decisions, develop advisors and lead with integrity,” Wiegand said. “I believe success comes from disciplined planning, thoughtful leadership and an unwavering commitment to always acting in clients’ best interests.”