Our Team

"Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication.

It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships."
— Stephen Covey

Our goal is to help bring clarity to your vision. Our team of professionals will simplify the complexities of the financial world to meet your personal needs and goals. We consider each situation a unique relationship and not just a portfolio balance. Everyone at Nvest is committed to adhering to the highest standards of ethics and education in our industry so that we may provide you and your family up-to-date, expert, and caring advice.

Nichole D. Raftopoulos, CFP®, CDFA™, AIF®, MPAS℠

President and CEO

Nichole is President/CEO and founder of Nvest Financial Group, LLC. She began her career in the financial services industry in 1995, having previously worked as an advisor with two large brokerage firms before establishing Nvest.

“Nvest was created to be the kind of place where we, ourselves, would want to be clients—an independent firm so we could focus 100 percent of our time and effort on the needs and objectives of our clientele,” explains Nichole as one reason for having founded the firm in 2003. Above all else, Nichole values her clients, their relationships, and working for them and not for a big Wall Street conglomerate.

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner, Accredited Investment Fiduciary^® designee, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™, and Master Planner in Advanced Studies, Nichole takes her fiduciary responsibility seriously when it comes to clients in her care. She and her team work tirelessly and precisely regarding all aspects of a client's financial life, helping to educate along the way so clients feel they are making informed decisions about their personal financial matters.

Nichole is often tapped as a guest speaker at various events, national and local conferences, talk shows, and other groups because of her uncanny ability to take a difficult subject matter and make it easily understandable to her audience. She has been recognized for her achievements by being invited to numerous broker/dealer top-producer club levels over the past 10 years.

RECENT INDUSTRY HONORS:

Forbes: America's Top Women Advisors 2017–2020^*
Forbes: Best-in-State Advisors List – Maine 2017–2020*
Five Star Wealth Advisor: New Hampshire 2017–2020**
NH Business Review: Business Excellence Award for Financial Services 2020***
K, K & A Chamber of Commerce: Inaugural Driven Woman of the Year Award 2019
NH Business Review: Business Excellence Award for Financial Services 2018***
Investment News: Best Practices Award, Top Producer – 2017 Advisor Technology Study

Nichole D. Raftopoulos is proud to have been recognized as a Chairman's Level advisor for 2019—a distinction based on annual production attained by just 3 percent of advisors affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network®.

Each year, Commonwealth, the Registered Investment Adviser–broker/dealer that helps us process investment transactions on your behalf, recognizes Chairman's Level advisors by inviting them to an exclusive gathering of their peers, leading industry experts, and Commonwealth home office staff. Chairman's Level advisors benefit from an intensive learning and networking experience designed to help them hone their expertise, share best practices, and provide ever-higher levels of service, education, and leadership to their clients.

Summary of Advanced Education and Professional Licenses:

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner—CFP^® certification from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™ (CDFA™)
Accredited Investment Fiduciary^® (AIF^®)
Master Planner Advanced Studies (MPAS^℠)
Master's of science degree, financial planning
FINRA Series 7, 24, 63, and 65 securities registrations held through Commonwealth Financial Network
Life and health insurance agent’s license
Maine and New Hampshire licensed Investment Advisor

*The ranking of 2020 Forbes' Top Women Advisors⁽¹⁾ is based on an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative criteria, including a minimum of seven years of experience, a minimum of $1 million in production, and the weighing of factors including revenue trends, AUM, compliance records, industry experience, and best practices (gathered through telephone and in-person due-diligence interviews). Shook Research also employs an opinion-based weighting system that prioritizes its preferred “best practices,” which include business models, activities, processes, and structure. Overall, 9,654 advisors were considered, and 1,000 (10.3% percent of candidates) were recognized. For the full methodology⁽²⁾ that Forbes developed in partnership with SHOOK Research, please visit here.

⁽¹⁾ SHOOK Research recognitions and the due-diligence processes conducted are not indicative of the advisor's future performance. Your experience may vary. As your specific needs and circumstances may vary, you are encouraged to conduct your own due diligence. Portfolio performance is not a criterion due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. SHOOK does not receive a fee in exchange for rankings.

⁽²⁾ Portfolio performance is not a criterion due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. SHOOK does not receive a fee in exchange for rankings

Disclosure

Amanda C. H. Petersen, FPQP™

Associate Financial Consultant

As an Associate Financial Consultant, Amanda is a Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional™ (FPQP™), addressing complex servicing questions and providing planning assistance. In addition, she assists with portfolio reviews, requests, inquiries, and other financial-related matters for each of Nvest's client relationships. As an FPQP™, Amanda has completed the course of study encompassing the financial planning process and assists Nichole with the preparation and monitoring of financial plans while also conducting client reviews.

Amanda joined the Nvest team after years of office management and client service experience in the health care industry. When not devoting her free time to her wonderful family, Amanda can be found in the community volunteering for various causes and organizations.

Summary of Professional Licenses:

Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional™ (FPQP™)
FINRA Series 7 and 66 securities registrations held through Commonwealth Financial Network

Recent Accolades:

K, K & A Chamber of Commerce: Speaker, Annual Driven Women Conference 2018
Commonwealth Financial Network: Staff Member of the Year 2017

Daphne L. Lafazan, AIF®

Associate Financial Consultant

As an Associate Financial Consultant, Daphne fosters the relationships Nvest establishes with all of its clients. She assists Nichole and the team with portfolio research, investment monitoring, and account trading. She conducts client reviews and addresses portfolio and planning related inquiries. In addition, Daphne conducts 401(k) plan review meetings with business clients whose retirement plans Nvest manages.

She graduated from George Washington University with a degree in finance. Soon after graduating, she took a job in New York as an equity trader. After 15 years in NYC, she moved to New England to start something new.

What she loves the most is spending time with her fiancé and daughter exploring the beach near where she lives. She also enjoys a good book and running by the sea.

Summary of Professional Licenses:

Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®)
FINRA Series 7, 63 and 65 securities registrations held through Commonwealth Financial Network®

Justin M. Happ

Research Analyst

As Nvest’s Research Analyst and resident trader, Justin supports the team with research, analysis, monitoring, and helping in the design of our portfolios. He also works to keep the team abreast of the current market and economic environment.

After graduating from the University of New Hampshire, Justin rose through the ranks at Fidelity Investments to become a fixed income trader. He then joined Commonwealth Financial Network’s trading department before coming to join the Nvest team.

Justin is currently enrolled in the Certificate in Investment Performance Management^®(CIPM^®) certificate program through the CFA^® Institute. The program provides advanced studies in globally relevant, practice-based investment performance and risk evaluation skills.

When not in the office, you will find Justin biking and running along the ocean near his home on New Hampshire's seacoast or possibly participating in a half-marathon across the world!

Melanie Holt

Client Relationship Liaison

As Nvest's Client Relationship Liaison, Melanie brings that special personal touch to servicing our relationships.

Melanie's primary focus is working diligently to bring the utmost care and attention in assisting with daily requests and needs clients, or the team, may have. As one of the first friendly voices you hear when calling our offices, Melanie specializes in answering questions and providing services such as fund transfers, new account processing, scheduling appointments as well as many other administrative matters. In addition, she oversees the management of the Portsmouth office to make sure all daily operations are running smoothly and efficiently.

Before joining Nvest, Melanie spent nine years working in the financial industry. She holds the FINRA Series 7 and 66 securities registrations.

In her free time, Melanie enjoys spending time with her son and daughter, reading a good book, and trying out all the local cuisines.

Mina C. Sullivan

Client Administrator and Marketing Coordinator

In Mina's role as a Client Administrator, she is focused on providing first-class service to each of our relationships.

From our Portsmouth office, Mina prepares the team for various meetings, handles our account opening process as well as a number of other important administrative functions. Mina works diligently to keep the Nvest offices functioning smoothly. In addition, Mina coordinates our various marketing endeavors.

Mina graduated from Keene State College and moved to the New Hampshire seacoast shortly thereafter. When not hard at work, Mina enjoys spending time with her husband and two dogs. As a diehard Red Sox fan, she loves watching games at Fenway Park during the baseball season!

Ashley A. White

Client Administrator

Ashley is the Client Administrator for our Kennebunk office, warmly providing the caring service our clients have come to expect.

Ashley is responsible for making sure the team is properly prepared for meetings, handles the process of opening accounts, and assists in coordinating schedules and preparations for our retirement plans. In addition, Ashley works on a multitude of administrative tasks and makes sure the Kennebunk office is running smoothly.

Ashley graduated from Regent University in Virginia then decided to return back home to coastal Maine. Fun fact: Ashley is a published author! She also enjoys bringing her puppy to the beach and spending time with family and friends.