In The Media

Exciting news for the disability community! The Oak Wealth Advisors book, It’s Okay to Laugh, has been published and we just received the first copies. The book is a collection of humorous stories from the disability community that were shared with us by many of you. Our book is now officially available for purchase here. We hope these heartwarming and hilarious stories puts a smile on your face!

We are excited to welcome Jonathan Chavez Montenegro as our new intern in the Madison, WI office! Read more about Jonathan.

Plant-A Insights Group and Newsweek’s America’s Top Financial Advisory Firms 2025 was awarded in December 2024 and is based off of publicly available data covering 2019-2024. No compensation was paid, directly or indirectly, by Oak Wealth Advisors in connection with obtaining or using this award.

We are proud to be acknowledged by NEWSWEEK as one of the Top 5% of the advisory firms they evaluated.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers appoints Ryan McGuire to State Advisory Boards
Ryan McGuire, Senior Consultant for Oak Wealth Advisors, was recently appointed by Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers to serve on two state advisory boards: the Wisconsin Board for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (BPDD) and the Wisconsin College Savings Program Board. These appointments reflect his ongoing efforts to advocate for individuals with disabilities and promote the field of special needs financial planning.

Senior Consultant Ryan McGuire was recently honored as a recipient of the Arc-Dane County Community Award for 2024. Ryan was one of seven individuals recognized for their exceptional support of the intellectual and developmental disability community. The agency summarized Ryan’s contributions at the awards presentation…

We are very excited to introduce Mickey Cohen, our new summer intern at our Northbrook office! Mickey has a great passion for supporting families with loved ones with special needs, and we are thrilled to have him on board.

(Posted on the AbleVoices Facebook Page May 8, 2024) Congratulations to AbleVoices photographer, Alyssa Ray! Her photograph was selected by Oak Wealth Advisors for their 2024 holiday card. Alyssa loves…

Financial Planning For Children With Special Needs my529 met Neil Mahoney of Oak Wealth Advisors at a recent event where he presented on the topic of financial considerations for families…

Ryan McGuire was recently featured as a guest on the Healthy Love and Money podcast. In this insightful episode, Ryan provides a unique perspective on the intricacies of Special Needs Financial Planning, highlighting the tremendous benefits he has witnessed in the field.

Personal Finance alum Ryan McGuire on his passion for special needs financial planning. During his studies as a Personal Finance major at the UW–Madison School of Human Ecology, Ryan McGuire ’14 was convinced he found a good fit for a career as a certified financial planner. He wasn’t prepared for his perspective to expand tenfold once guest lecturer Mike Walther, founder and president of Oak Wealth Advisors, paid a visit to one of Ryan’s classes. Call it fate or good timing, the chance meeting permanently set a course for Ryan’s career.

Oak Wealth is proud to announce that its founder and president, Mike Walther, was chosen by Investment News for their inaugural Hot 100 list (see methodology below). The list includes “All-Star wealth professionals” who are “redefining success in the industry.” Alongside Mike on the list are Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler, Certified Financial Planning (CFP®) Board Chairman Dan Moisand, and the CEO’s of JP Morgan Chase, Vanguard, Fidelity, PIMCO and many of the country’s other most respected investment management firms.

As a NAPFA DEI Committee Member, Mike Walther has shared his article this April for Autism Awareness month.

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is the country’s leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors—highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.

Oak Wealth Advisors was named the 2023 NAPFA Excellence in DEI Award Winner this month by the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. NAPFA is the leading organization of fiduciary financial advisors….

Oak Wealth Advisors own Mike Walther made a special visit to the Crumbl cookie store in Northbrook. He made certain that Maddy Gillespie, daughter of Randi Gillespie, was working the morning he arrived. Although she was working in the back tediously folding pink Crumbl cookie boxes, Mike informed the front staff that he was only going to place his order with Maddy. Until that time, Maddy had never worked in the front of the store, nor had she ever “presented” the famous Crumbl cookie to any customer. That did not matter to Mike. He wanted to create an additional vocational experience for Maddy and of course, his request was granted!

Effective Use of ABLE Accounts – Key Points… There are two types of special needs trusts: first-party and third-party. Neither can be used to pay for certain basic expenses covered…

Below is link to a recent CNBC article summarizing the importance of special needs trusts. Oak Wealth Advisors was honored to be a major contributor to the article. Please share the article with your friends who have loved ones with special needs to reinforce the importance of the trusts in their family’s planning.

The following is my reflection on the journey we have been on at Oak Wealth Advisors since our inception ten years ago.  Thank you for helping us get where we…

‘SET HIGH GOALS’ About 11 years ago, financial planner Mike Walther enjoyed a good lifestyle, working for an advisory firm with a $5 million minimum. His wife asked him what…

We were honored to be asked by Make It Better Magazine to provide advice about special needs financial planning. As nice as the opportunity was to share our knowledge, we were even more grateful to read about how our clients, who are featured in the article, feel we have improved their lives

The North Shore Weekend article about Oak Wealth Advisors …Walther compares himself to a pilot for the families. “Ninety percent of flights are not on course but over 99 percent…