The Team

 BILL CARDWELL, CFP®

President | Financial Planner | Advisor

Bill “Billy” Cardwell, is a Certified Financial Planner that has made his mission to serve and assist clients with their financial needs. A graduate of Manchester University with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and a minor in Economics allowed him the background needed to pursue a financial planning career. Billy works directly with clients to develop, implement, and monitor comprehensive financial plans tailored to each individual’s needs. Billy strives to help members of his community, and those around the world to create the life of their dreams, free from anxiety and stress about money. 

Billy has an extensive background in creating financial plans for financial advisors all across the country while serving in his position as the Director of Financial Planning at a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). Since holding this position, he has moved on to focus primarily on his clients and their needs when creating his own independent firm, Aurora Financial Strategies. At Aurora Financial Strategies, it was important to Billy that he run his business free of sales quotas and product placements to serve clients in the manner that best suits their individual needs. Billy takes great pride in taking the time to learn and understand each of his client’s unique financial needs and goals in order to build a plan that makes it feasible to reach said needs and goals. 

When not in the office, Billy stays active as a member of the Kokomo Y’s Men Club, a board member of Valley of Grace, a close friend to One 17 International, and Bridges Outreach. Billy enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife Alli and his two awesome kids, Rory and Gavyn. When time allows, Billy can be found golfing, grilling out for friends and family on his Big Green Egg, and cheering on his favorite athletic teams- the Colts, Pacers, Cubs, and Boilermakers.

AUSTIN CRITES, CFA

Chief Investment Officer

Austin Crites, is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder (CFA) - one of the highest distinctions in the investment management profession. As a charterholder, Austin has the knowledge and skill to thrive in the competitive investment industry. Austin is a graduate of Marian University in Indianapolis where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics. Austin has a plethora of experience in the financial world as he has served as an advisor, financial planner, and researcher of investments to build high-quality portfolios for clients. At Aurora Financial Strategies, Austin’s primary role is to serve as the builder of our clients’ portfolios. Austin’s attention to detail, research methods, and background in finance allow him to build client portfolios based on the personalized need of each of our clients. 

As an investor, Austin considers his natural curiosity to be among his greatest strengths. He is fascinated with learning and revisiting different types of businesses and industries in order to find what makes them tick. His wide-ranging curiosity allows him to sift through stock reports and build well-diversified portfolios. Austin’s role as Past- President of the CFA Society of Indianapolis along with being an adjunct professor of investments at Marian University allows him to stay up to date on investment trends and news in the market. 

In his spare time, Austin’s natural curiosity leads to exploring new hobbies such as vegetable gardening, making fermented apple cider, and reading non-fiction literature. Austin also enjoys hobbies such as: watching baseball (Go Cubs!), playing soccer, grilling out, and strategy games. Most of all, he enjoys family time with his wife, Kundai, who is an OB-GYN resident at IU Health, and their son Tatenda. They reside in the downtown Indianapolis area.

REED HUBBERT

Financial Planning Associate

Reed Hubbert was welcomed to the team as a Financial Planning Specialist in June of 2022. Previously, Reed was an intern on our team doing various roles from working with client paperwork, assisting with plans, and day to day office responsibilities. Reed is a Kokomo native, 2018 graduate of Western High School and 2021 graduate of Valparaiso University. He is working his way through the Certified Financial Planner program online through the American College of Financial Services, and he also has recently become licensed to sell life insurance in the state of Indiana. Reed says his driving force of learning more about our industry is because he wants to be able to make a difference in others’ lives in a meaningful way. Combining his own interests of growing and saving money while helping others will allow him to share his knowledge with others regarding his passions and what excites him!

In his free time, Reed enjoys spending time with family and friends, working out, playing basketball, and volunteering in the community, especially at his church, Crossroads Community Church. Reed leads a life group at Crossroads called the Young Professionals Group where new college graduates have an opportunity to read the Bible and serve together. He is a volunteer for the Indiana Zeta Chapter of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, the fraternity he was an undergraduate member of during his days as a student at Valparaiso University. Outside of volunteering, Reed is also a football coach at Western Middle School.

 FERGUS WASHINGTON-SMITH

Investment Analyst

Fergus Washington-Smith graduated from Marian University in 2023 earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Analytics and Finance. While at Marian, Fergus gained experience in the financial world as working in corporate finance as well as institutional investments across various internships. Fergus also worked as an intern for Aurora for two and a half years prior to joining the company full-time. Fergus is a level 1 CFA candidate.

Fergus believes that his curiosity has helped fuel his passion creating a better understanding of companies and the world. In 2022 Fergus competed in the CFA research challenge where his team was able to win the Indiana competition with their analysis and presentation of a local publicly traded company. Fergus says that this was the biggest catalyst for his career and was pivotal in his learning and development of investing. 

Fergus comes from and grew up in New Zealand making him a “kiwi”. Fergus came to the US for college after being recruited by the cycling team at Marian University and decided to stay and start his career in Indiana. In his free time, he is a competitive cyclist racing across the Midwest.

While at Marian University he was a member of the cycling team and picked up 4x 2 nd  places at National Championships in Track Cycling. Fergus also likes to run, golf and hike when he gets the chance.

ALLISON NORDENBROCK BROWN

Marketing Director

Allison is Aurora’s Fractional Marketing Director and helps the team with a variety of marketing and sales needs. Outside of helping her clients devise marketing strategies that drive results, she enjoys keeping up with financial news and promoting financial literacy in her community.

Allison is an advocate for the city of Indianapolis and lives downtown with her husband, Bo, and their two dogs.