A Team You Can Count On

At Stellaris Financial & Tax Advisory, we’re about more than numbers. We get to know you — your dreams, goals and concerns — so you can get busy planning the retirement you’ve always wanted.

Your Path Is Our Purpose

Your Path Is Our Purpose

For over two decades, Stellaris founder Pete Conway has been dedicating his professional life to guiding individuals and families of the suburbs of Chicago toward brilliant financial futures by combining personalized services with genuine care and an emphasis on education.

Today, that mission is stronger than ever. With an approach rooted in trust and a deep understanding of your unique story, Pete and his team are committed to arming you with the tools, strategies and information you need to grow and safeguard your wealth. We tailor solutions to your distinct needs so you can pursue your passions and provide for those you love.

Stellaris Financial & Tax Advisory

Your Stellaris Guides

Pete Conway

President & Investment Adviser Representative

Pete is an independent financial advisor who is passionate about educating clients on their pre- and post-retirement plans. He believes an educated client is empowered to make the best choices for themselves and their family. Pete adheres to the highest fiduciary standards of honesty, integrity and fairness, ensuring his clients’ best interests are always the foundation of his financial advice.

Pete and his team build customized financial plans with risk-managed investment portfolios designed to meet each client’s specific goals, needs and risk tolerance. Pete understands that a financial plan without a tax plan is incomplete. He utilizes proactive tax-reduction strategies, which are key to a successful retirement. This approach allows his clients to enjoy a more tax-efficient lifestyle and help avoid tax problems when passing wealth to their heirs.

Pete began his career in 1986 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where he facilitated trades in financial futures and options for institutional clients. In 1999, he transitioned to a new career as an independent Investment Adviser Representative (IAR). Professional, experienced and responsive, Pete values the need for transparency in his work. His approach to both life and business is centered on building lasting relationships, believing that a trusted advisor who provides tailored advice for short- and long-term goals is essential.

A native Chicagoan and lifelong Chicago sports fan, Pete enjoys skiing, biking and volleyball.

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Ethan Conway

Vice President

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Ethan Conway

Vice President

Ethan is dedicated to simplifying the complexities of retirement planning, helping people find clarity and confidence in their financial futures. Drawing inspiration from his father’s legacy of service, he believes in the power of meaningful relationships and purposeful work to make a lasting impact.

Ethan excels at leveraging digital tools to create approachable financial experiences for clients. He is always on the lookout for ways to break down the complexities of finance into easy-to-digest concepts.

A resident of Arlington Heights, Illinois, Ethan is an avid skier, a lifelong baseball enthusiast and a budding rock climber. He also shares his family's love of movies and enjoys playing video games online with friends.

Laura Cagle

Client Service Administrator

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Laura Cagle

Client Service Administrator

Bio coming soon!

See How We’ve Helped Guide Our Clients

Read from those who’ve trusted us to point them toward brighter futures.

My wife and I have been retired for 10 years. We started working with Pete several years before our retirement. Pete and his staff have been very helpful in advising us on potential benefits due to periodic shifts in our investment portfolio. These actions have proven positive for our financial and personal peace of mind. His tax advisement has proved helpful and satisfying.


Though our relationship started out as a purely business one, we feel we have also developed a personal relationship with Pete. He always takes his time to explain the pros and cons of any financial move. We never feel rushed to make a decision, and we leave Pete’s office feeling satisfied with our decision, in addition to feeling happy to have spent some time with a trusted friend. We look forward to working with Pete and his staff for many years to come.
— Ron and Tam
My wife and I are retired and have been associated with Pete Conway for 15 years, one of, if not the best, financial decisions we have made. The service is outstanding and concise. Pete and his staff keep up to date with the status of our investments and when we should consider alternate strategies.

We are completely satisfied with every aspect.
— Carl and Carol
My wife and I have been working with Pete Conway for about 10 years.

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We both retired about three years ago, and we are quite pleased with the way that Pete has addressed our financial concerns. When we started, we indicated that we would like to have most of our money to be “low risk” and a lesser portion to be “at risk.”  As it turned out, that is exactly what they have arranged. We are 77% low risk and 23% at risk. Yes, we might have made more money taking a more aggressive posture, but we are conservative in nature with our retirement funds.

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Pete has a very friendly personality, which makes it very easy to speak with him. He is a great listener when it comes to us expressing our financial concerns.

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He makes financial recommendations to us but does not force them upon us. He is readily available for meetings. We trust this company with our retirement funds, and we are pleased to continue to see them continually grow.
— Cary and Donna
I started working with Pete in 2017 after attending his seminar on strategies to minimize taxes. Pete’s knowledge of investing combined with in-house tax preparation by an enrolled agent is the best combination to keep your hard-earned money. Also, investment options/decisions are expedited when tax information is at Pete’s fingertips.

After retiring a few years ago, we have worked to optimize income from an inherited IRA while minimizing taxes and IRMAA surcharges for Medicare premiums. Pete is a wealth of knowledge and always willing to take the time and explain the subject matter.

I look forward to meeting with Pete to discuss both financial planning and our personal lives.
— Vince
Pete, there is no way I can thank you enough for all you have done to help me get through the hardest time I have ever had. Bill had so much confidence in you and told me you would be there to help me through all of this. God puts special people in our lives, and I’m so thankful he put you in ours. Thank you.
— Jeanne
My husband and I met Pete about 10 years ago at a retirement class he taught. We were quite impressed with Pete and decided to have our taxes done by his office. Several years later, we made an appointment with Pete to discuss our financial future and retirement and what we should do with our 401(k) funds once we retire.

Pete helped us choose the best investment portfolio to serve our needs and provided us with peace of mind even when the market reacted poorly. We are very happy with Pete and the staff and look forward to many more years of working together.
— Mike and Sue

Your Tax Guides

Keith Baum

Tax Preparer

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Keith Baum

Tax Preparer

Keith joined the University of Illinois Tax School in 2017 as an instructor and a reviewer for the University of Illinois Federal Tax Workbook. He graduated from the University of Illinois in Springfield in 2007 with a degree in accountancy and, after working for several firms, launched his own practice in 2014. His practice centers on tax preparation and taxpayer representation for individuals and small businesses.

Keith is an enrolled agent and a National Tax Practitioners Institute Fellow.

Keith is married and lives in his birthplace of Round Lake, Illinois.

James Oleksy

Tax Preparer

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James Oleksy

Tax Preparer

Jim is an experienced tax accountant with a 20+ years career in income tax planning, compliance and reporting for his valued clients. He has extensive knowledge of the tax code and has worked with both individuals and corporations to optimize their tax strategies to yield maximum savings. He is also instrumental in planning successful investments and highly knowledgeable in estate and trust taxation, ensuring financial security for the families he serves.

Jim has dedicated his career to assisting his clients in navigating complicated IRS and taxation issues, giving them confidence when working with government tax agencies. He prides himself on building long-term relationships with clients across generations and has been working with many throughout his career.

Jim and his wife enjoy traveling the world and spending time with their five children and three grandchildren.

Your Investment Guides

To help you with investment management, we partnered with Brookstone Capital Management (www.brookstonecm.com), an SEC Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) and a well-established firm with more than $10.5 billion of assets under management as of December 2024.

Brookstone Capital Management and Stellaris Financial & Tax Advisory are independent of each other and maintain separate offices.

THE BROOKSTONE LEADERSHIP TEAM

Dean Zayed

Founder & CEO

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Dean Zayed

Founder & CEO

Dean is the founder and CEO of Brookstone Capital Management. Brookstone is a nationally recognized, SEC Registered Investment Advisory firm with over $11 billion in assets under management. Brookstone is one of the largest turnkey asset management platforms (TAMPs) in the country and has forged strategic relationships with over 600 independent financial advisors who utilize the Brookstone investment platform to gain access to Brookstone’s investment intelligence and collective resources. In 2021, Brookstone was ranked the #1 fastest-growing RIA firm in the country by Financial Advisor magazine. Brookstone was also ranked the #2 fastest-growing RIA firm for the last decade according to WealthManagement.com and has been recognized multiple times as a Financial Times Top 300 RIA firm in the country. Wealth Advisor, America’s Best TAMPs (2024), ranked Brookstone in first place nationwide for Best Model Marketplace, second place for Top TAMP Overall and third place for Best Service. Brookstone has been an Inc 5000 Firm for six years in a row.

Dean is also the founder and CEO of Prizm Financial Advisors, Inc., a private wealth management practice dedicated to helping its clients achieve all of their lifetime financial goals. Dean provides comprehensive financial planning, including asset allocation, retirement planning, tax planning, education planning and portfolio management. With extensive experience and the ability to deliver effective, timely and unparalleled financial solutions, Dean commits to offering a one-source solution for the management, growth and preservation of his clients’ wealth.

Dean also founded and is the principal of Perkins & Zayed, P.C., The Estate and Trust Law Group, a boutique law firm that focuses on estate planning, asset protection and wealth preservation. The law firm has completed thousands of estate plans for clients all over the country and uses the most sophisticated techniques to help clients achieve each one of their goals while minimizing taxes and expenses.

Dean graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts in economics. As an Omicron Delta Epsilon Economics Honor Society member, he completed the Business Institute and Undergraduate Leadership programs. In addition, Dean received a Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University School of Law. He received his master's degree in taxation (LLM) from Chicago-Kent College of Law. Dean has obtained his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification.

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Darryl Ronconi

President & COO

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Darryl Ronconi

President & COO

Darryl Ronconi joined Brookstone as Chief Operating Officer in 2015. Prior to joining Brookstone, Darryl was the COO/CIO of Genworth Financial Investment Services (GFIS), which comprised a "FINRA-registered broker-dealer and an SEC Registered Investment Advisor with over 2,200 advisors and $15 billion in AUM.

At GFIS, Darryl was a member of the Senior Leadership Team, a Board of Directors member and a voting member on the RIA Investment Committees and the B-D Product Approval Committee. He participated in all facets of running the GFIS broker-dealer and RIA businesses while directly overseeing technology, operations and various business teams.

He has led numerous multi-million dollar strategic initiatives throughout his career, including acquisitions and organic business programs that have dramatically increased revenue and reduced costs. Darryl played an integral role in quickly growing GFIS from 300 advisors with $2 billion in AUM to 2,200 advisors with $15 billion in AUM. Darryl holds a Bachelor of Science in finance from the University of South Florida and a Master of science from DePaul University. Darryl held FINRA 7, 24 and 63 licenses.

Mark DiOrio

Chief Investment Officer

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Mark DiOrio

Chief Investment Officer

Mark DiOrio joined Brookstone as the Chief Investment Officer in 2015. In his role, he leads the firm’s investment committee and drives its investment policy, framework and portfolio construction methodology. He oversees the portfolio strategy group that provides recommendations on strategic and tactical portfolio design. Mark directs research on external managers and develops internal strategies. He produces and presents content for advisor training, a weekly Market Watch update and the firm’s quarterly market reports.

Prior to joining Brookstone, he was responsible for launching and managing a boutique investment subsidiary of a publicly traded regional bank holding company. While there, Mark ran a global tactical asset allocation strategy and accumulated an eight-year GIPS®-compliant track record. Mark has nearly 20 years of investment industry experience, including 10 years of multi-asset class portfolio management. He has been featured in Investor’s Business Daily and quoted in The Wall Street Journal. Mark received his Master of Business Administration from Benedictine University, his Bachelor of Arts from Eastern Illinois University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®). Mark is a member of the CFA® Institute and the CFA® Society of Chicago.

Matt Lovett

Chief Compliance Officer

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Matt Lovett

Chief Compliance Officer

Matt has over 20 years of comprehensive compliance experience, having served in several positions, including CCO for both broker-dealers and Registered Investment Advisors. He was responsible for overseeing all aspects of compliance for over 500 associated persons, including providing guidance on complex broker-dealer and investment advisor issues; FINRA, SEC, MSRB and state securities rules and regulations; and developing and implementing compliance policies and procedures. He has guided firms through several FINRA, SEC and state regulatory audits and implements practical solutions to meet regulatory requirements.

Matt started in the financial services industry as a bank-affiliated registered financial specialist and has held multiple FINRA licenses, including the Series 6, 7, 24, 53, 63, 66, 79, 87 and 99. He received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Maryland.

Alex Bobin

Director of Portfolio Strategy & Structured Solutions

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Alex Bobin

Director of Portfolio Strategy & Structured Solutions

Alex Bobin, CFA®, is the Director of Portfolio Strategy & Structured Solutions at Brookstone Capital Management, where he serves as Lead Portfolio Manager of the Booster Income Opportunities Fund (BAMIX) — a first-of-its-kind interval fund focused on structured notes.

He leverages deep experience in portfolio construction, structured-note strategy and product innovation to design income-oriented investment solutions for advisors and their clients. Since joining Brookstone in 2019, Alex has been instrumental in developing the firm’s structured solutions platform and expanding access to institutional-style investments within the independent advisory channel. He lives in Chicago with his family.

Alex received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) and a member of the CFA® Institute and the CFA® Institute of Chicago.

Your Path to Financial Clarity
Starts With a Simple Connection

Ready to work with a team committed to caring for you and guiding you toward your brightest financial future? Contact us today to get started.

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