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                         Meet your Cogent                                  Strategic Wealth Team

Navigating Your Finances Through Each Phase of Life Requires More Than Just a Plan - It Requires a Partner

Most high-achieving professionals spend their time planning out every aspect of their life, but leave their financial future to chance. Cogent Strategic Wealth provides financial planning and investment management to simplify your financial life and guide you to achieving your financial goals.

At Cogent Strategic Wealth, we know that you are ultimately concerned about your financial goals and how to maintain sustained wealth.

Not having a plan can bring risk, frustration, and not meeting your financial goals. We believe you have worked too hard to get to where you are to not have a plan for your future.

Cogent Strategic Wealth is a Chicago-based Financial Planning and Investment Management company dedicated to helping our clients define what success looks like and tailor a plan to help them achieve their goals.

Here is how to work with us:

Step 1

Schedule a FREE 30-Minute
Discovery Phone Call

Our team would love to hear what success looks like for you and you will get a chance to determine if we are a great fit for you to work with.

Step 2

Receive a Tailored
Financial Plan

Meet with our team, either in our office or virtually, to see the options available to you customized with your specific needs in mind.

Step 3

Work the Plan

Confidently follow a plan that moves you towards your financial goals. Our team is there with you every step of the way to offer advice, planning, and investment management services.


Take the first step towards your goals today and schedule a FREE 30-Minute phone call with the Cogent Strategic Wealth financial planner.


Schedule a Free Call


Don’t leave your financial future to chance. Take control of your future.

The Cogent Strategic Wealth team is with you through every step acting as a trusted confidant and fearless guide - your first phone call when something happens. Let our team help you simplify your financial life, so you can focus on what really matters.


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Michael J. Evans

FIDUCIARY WEALTH ADVISOR AND PERSONAL CFO

Michael J. Evans

FIDUCIARY WEALTH ADVISOR AND PERSONAL CFO



CEO at Cogent Strategic Wealth | Providing financial and investment strategies to high-achieving professionals

As a successful entrepreneur and trader, Michael recognized the mindset and motivation needed to accumulate wealth was (and is) much different from the one necessary to preserve it. This is a lesson he saw many other professionals and entrepreneurs fail to learn. After seeing this pattern over and over, he knew he had to impact change. Michael never wanted to see preventable financial failure happen to anyone, ever again. It is for this reason he made sure that Cogent Strategic Wealth was independent, fee-only, and has just one purpose: addressing the wealth management needs of clients.

Unlike other advisors, decades of peer-reviewed financial research drives his wealth management philosophy. Like Michael, the research is compelling and reliable and this same Nobel Prize-winning research drives the very investment strategy which his family, his team and his clients use.

When you work with Michael you experience first hand his energy and enthusiasm as he gets to know you, your partner, your family, your goals and your most important dreams. Michael’s vast experience gives him a unique position to understand where you’re coming from and share a solution right for you.

SCHEDULE A CALL WITH MICHAEL

In his free time, Michael enjoys cycling, mountain biking, skiing, traveling and spending as much time as possible with his family and friends.






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Kelly Stanley

FIDUCIARY WEALTH ADVISOR AND CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™

Kelly Stanley

FIDUCIARY WEALTH ADVISOR AND CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™



Fiduciary Wealth Advisor at Cogent Strategic Wealth

Most high-achieving women often find themselves with a to-do list a mile long, and keeping tabs on their financial life might not be at the top of their priority list. As a female professional, I know what it’s like to juggle a demanding career, as well as a full personal life.

After years of working in corporate finance, I wanted a change. I wanted to help busy professional women just like me- take control of their financial future and live their best life.

I am proud to be a Wealth Advisor at Cogent Strategic Wealth and be among the small percentage of women who are CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ professionals. As a Fiduciary, I am not only required to act in my client’s best interest; I am vigilant about it. 

I work side-by-side with you to structure a personalized strategy to help you achieve your goals. Life will always be busy, but with a reliable partner that prioritizes your financial life, you’ll discover what’s possible for you and your family. 

As your Personal CFO, my goals are to:

  • Bring order to your financial life and prepare you for the curveballs life may throw your way.
  • Provide objective advice based on peer-reviewed academic research.
  • Be your accountability partner to help you stay on track to reach your goals. 

Life happens, and I want to help you be ready for it. 

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™


SCHEDULE A CALL WITH KELLY

In her free time, Kelly enjoys spinning on her Peloton, taking her dog Rosie on long walks, traveling to new places and spending quality time with her family and friends.








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Liz Winkle

CLIENT RELATIONSHIP SPECIALIST

Liz Winkle

CLIENT RELATIONSHIP SPECIALIST



Client Relationship Specialist

If you work with a professional wealth advisor, you want to be sure someone is looking out for every last detail of your finances, which is where I come in- working with you and the wealth advisors to keep everyone on the same page. At Cogent Strategic Wealth, we don’t just work for you; we work alongside you. We help you create financial strategies to reach your goals.

Previously, I was the Client Relationship Lead on the BAM Advisor Services team, servicing over 81 boutique financial firms. This is where I learned all about client care and evidence-based investing and grew a passion for helping people build the right relationships to reach their financial goals.

I’ve worked with a lot of financial firms and wealth advisors, and I am thrilled to be on the Cogent team working with trusted Wealth Advisors in Chicago. As a Client Relationship Specialist, I work directly with you and the Cogent Wealth Advisors to build relationships and ensure everyone’s needs are met- down to the smallest detail. 

I have dreams and goals of my own, and I am thrilled to be a part of a team that helps people create plans to achieve their goals and live the life they’ve always wanted. 

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Liz moved to Chicago in 2019. She loves exploring the city, running along the lakefront, getting together with her book club, and traveling whenever she gets the chance.