With more than 30 years of providing solutions, Puzzle employees continue with an overall mission to never forget who we work for: OUR CLIENTS.  

In the 1990s, John Klaas and Karoline O’Connor started the team to pioneer and develop a modern structure of stock option compensation for Fortune 100 company executives.  By reinventing an antiquated process to improve efficiency, the solution helped foster a mindset to always be searching for a better client experience.

In the 2000s, David Millington and Steve Connolly joined the team to expand our Financial Planning and Investment Solution offerings.  The world was transitioning from individual stock trades to a more holistic experience of seamlessly integrating financial planning and portfolio construction.  In addition, there was a transformation to a tailored client experience of quarterly reviews and annual updates to financial plans. 

The last 15 years saw our team continuing expansion with the addition of Kathy Miller, Alex Klaas, Bob Davit, Chris Sagan, Nick Shealy, Mark Gorman and Allison Tregoning.  Bob brought over 20 years of experience to the team to bolster our investment solutions.  Alex and Chris helped lead the charge to improve our financial planning software, team integration, and client service experience.  Kathy brought stability and leadership to our operations solutions.  Mark took charge of our trading desk.  Nick and Allie are the team’s day-to-day backbone when it comes to delivering best-in-class execution of operational needs, which starts with onboarding new clients to Puzzle. In 2022, Mike Gregory thankfully landed at Puzzle to help our team stay on top of the latest compliance trends and business administration needs. Most recently, in 2023, Lisa Millington joined Puzzle to help the team grow our client base from a business development perspective.  

Over 30 years, Puzzle has evolved from a transactional based team to a fast growing Independent Financial Services business.  An advisory practice tailored to Corporate Executives evolved into catering to Business Owners, Retirees and Physicians.  The journey has led to the additions of Alternative Investments, Trust* & Estate Planning, Liability Management, Charitable Giving Solutions, 529 plans, and Insurance Solutions.  

Our momentum will now lead Puzzle to be a desired landing spot for some of the brightest emerging advisors in the financial world.  A financial services solution that advisors can now focus more on their clients and less on the administrative side of their practice. 

Our vision and our mission are to deliver a solution where a secure retirement and financial freedom can be experienced by clients that decide to engage and rely on the expertise of Puzzle Wealth Solutions.   

*LPL Financial Representatives offer access to Trust Services through The Private Trust Company N.A., an affiliate of LPL Financial.

Why did we choose the name Puzzle? 

The story goes that David Millington and his family were finishing up a 1000-piece puzzle of Yellowstone National Park during the Covid shutdown.  Just a grueling test in patience as they sorted through hundreds of obscure brown and green pieces.  Upon completion, David turned to his wife, Lisa, and mentioned that it’s amazing that you take all the random pieces to ultimately form a beautiful, completed image.  He went on to note that this is basically what we do for our clients…we advise them on several different aspects of their financial life, but at the end of the day, we put together their financial pieces for them like a puzzle.  At that moment, David suggested that the name “Puzzle” would be a great brand for a financial services company someday…it’s not quite Silicon Valley but far from the traditional, stodgy financial services company names that litter our industry. Thankfully, the brand was still available when we launched our independence.  Fast forward to today -- when we showcase our seven pieces to The Puzzle Checklist, the modern name is a perfect description of what we do for our clients. 

On June 11, 2021, Puzzle was launched thus leaving behind the antiquated models of wirehouses and banks.  Our transition to an independent practice allows us to further honor our commitment to providing sound advice within our advisory relationships with our clients. We are no longer bound to the out-of-date model where solutions come from one bank or one wirehouse firm.  As Puzzle, we are now able to offer more solutions with a level of transparency that only independent advisors can provide.  It took us nearly three decades, but we can truly call ourselves FIDUCIARIES** which was not the case at previous firms.

**advisory accounts only