By Private Advisor Group Marketing
At Private Advisor Group, independence is in our DNA. It’s the principle that guides how our advisors serve their clients and the same spirit Americans have celebrated for 250 years.
As the nation marks its 250th anniversary this July, we’re reflecting on the values that continue to define both our country and our advisor community: service, personal responsibility, leadership, and the freedom to choose your own path.
For many advisors in our community, those values were first forged through military service. Today, they carry that same commitment into the businesses they’ve built, using independence to serve clients with purpose, integrity, and care.
We’re proud to shine a light on a few of those stories below.
William Rabbitt | WP Financial, LLC
U.S. Army Veteran | Financial Advisor & Owner
Bill Rabbitt spent years in the U.S. Army as a forward observer, a role that demanded precision, accountability and split-second decision-making. Those traits followed him into a 33-year career in financial planning.
On military training and client service: “In the military, repetition and pressure hone your skills. When the hard stuff starts, your training needs to take over. It’s no different in financial planning.” Bill built his practice around that same discipline, continuous learning and constant preparation. His firm’s tagline says it all: Confidence Through Planning.
His path into the industry wasn’t easy. Starting on straight commission with his wife, three kids under five and a mortgage, Bill and his wife Kim scraped through the lean early years. She worked three jobs; he made cold calls by the hundreds, and they celebrated every appointment like a victory. That grit, forged in the Army, was what carried him through.
To veterans considering this field, Bill’s message is clear: “You were already in the best first job anyone could ever have. You are confident in who you are. You know you can learn and lead. Use all of that.”
Adam Weiner | Artemis Wealth Advisors
U.S. Navy SEAL | Managing Partner
Adam Weiner served 18 years as a Navy SEAL. Years of high-stakes missions, elite teamwork and leadership under pressure. When he entered the financial services world, he brought every bit of training with him.
For Adam, the most powerful connection between military service and financial advising is perspective. That grounded outlook allows him to be a calm, steady presence for clients in even the most volatile markets.
His mission as an advisor is rooted in education: “Peace of mind comes from understanding, while fear comes from the unknown. I want my clients to understand their plan, so they sleep well at night.” The independent model allows Adam to build those plans on his own terms, giving clients advice tailored to their goals rather than a firm’s agenda.
Adam’s transition into wealth management started in annuity wholesaling, where he quickly realized he wanted to be on the planning side of the desk designing comprehensive strategies for clients with the same autonomy and rigor he applied to SEAL mission planning.
His advice for veterans: “At its core, wealth management is about serving others — and that’s something veterans already know how to do exceptionally well.”
Mike Guarino | Granite Wealth Partners
Military Family | Financial Advisor
Mike Guarino didn’t serve himself, but his story is rooted in service. His father was a JAG attorney in the United States Marine Corps, stationed at Camp Lejeune, where Mike was born. His dad represented Marines returning from Vietnam, and the values he learned on the job transferred to home. “My dad’s uniform and the Marine Corps Sabre he passed down to me — those weren’t just symbols of service. To me, they represent honor, integrity and strength.”
Later in life, Mike had the privilege of working alongside his father as a financial advisor. What he learned went far beyond the business. He watched how his father treated people, how seriously he took responsibility to serve clients, and how he carried himself with the same dignity in the office as he did in uniform. He watched how his father treated people, how seriously he took responsibility to serve clients and how he carried himself with the same dignity in the office as he did in uniform.
Those lessons are the foundation of how Mike runs Granite Wealth Partners today. “I’m constantly reminded that this business is about serving others. It’s about responsibility. It’s about doing things the right way, even when it’s not easy.” In volatile markets, the discipline and steadiness instilled by a military upbringing helps Mike guide clients through uncertainty with clarity and confidence.
That spirit of quiet appreciation extends beyond his practice. When Mike spots veterans at dinner — the ones wearing hats with the emblems of where they served — he picks up their bill without saying a word. “It’s a small gesture, but it means something to me. It’s my way of honoring my father and showing appreciation for all those who served.”
John Donnelly & Jorge Vergara | Essex Wealth Advisory, LLC
U.S. Marines & U.S. Navy Veterans | Financial Advisors
Serving in the military fosters an ethos that both John and Jorge believe translate directly into a career as a financial advisor. Loyalty, commitment to the mission, and putting the team above individual goals are hallmarks of military service and they’d argue, of great financial advising. Together with their partner Michael DiPierno, the three have been serving many of their clients for over thirty years, acting as “co-pilots” for their clients’ financial success.
John served in the U.S. Marines as an Avionics Technician with the Presidential Helicopter Squadron HMX-1 at Quantico, reaching the rank of Sergeant, before transitioning to the U.S. Navy as a Petty Officer and Hospital Corpsman in Bethesda, MD, serving from 1978 to 1985. Jorge served in the U.S. Marines as a Landing Support Specialist from 1983 to 1986.
For John, the transition to financial services began in uniform. He was doing personal income tax returns for fellow Marines at Quantico as a side hustle and later obtained his Series 6 and Life and Health Insurance licenses while still working ICU shifts as a Hospital Corpsman. Jorge used his GI college benefits to attend Kean College before joining Merrill Lynch’s financial advisor training program.
The two have worked across nearly every model in the industry including wirehouses, bank and insurance-based programs, the mutual fund world before joining LPL in 2009. That move, they say, was the turning point. The independent channel gave them the open architecture they always wanted: the best managed money programs alongside comprehensive financial planning, all while running their own shop. For both advisors, independence meant having the freedom to serve clients the way they believed was right, a value that closely mirrors the personal responsibility and accountability they learned in military service.
“This is a passion, not a job,” John says. “That’s what drives us every working day.”
The core values John carried out of the Marines, Honesty, Courage and Commitment, are the same ones he brings to every client relationship. “Integrity and dependability are standard military leadership traits,” he says, “and they demonstrate to our clients that we take our fiduciary role seriously.” With a client base built on three decades of trust, both John and Jorge believe the military’s greatest gift to their practice isn’t a strategy or a skill set; it’s the understanding that not everything is about profit. Serving their country was an honor. Serving their clients, they say, is the exact same honor.
A Community Built on Service
The decision to become an independent advisor is often rooted in the same principles that define military service: accountability, leadership, and a commitment to putting others first. It’s about helping more Americans live the American dream.
As America marks 250 years of independence, it’s a reminder that independence is more than a milestone. It’s a responsibility, a privilege, and a commitment to serve others with integrity.
To our military community, thank you for your service and for continuing that commitment in the financial profession, for making a difference for your clients and communities every day. Here’s to 250 years of independence and to serving others, in uniform and beyond.
