Our Team
Meet Our Team
How We Work
Our reasons for becoming financial professionals are deeply personal. We repeatedly saw many friends and family struggling to find the help they needed to map out their financial future. We are confident that with our understanding of personal finance, coupled with our training as financial professionals, we can help people better prepare for the future. After years in the business, we have developed a reputation for educating individuals in an easy-to-understand manner so they can grasp personal finance and use those concepts to pursue their financial objectives. We feel a commitment to our community.
Find a Financial Professional
- Debbie Murphy
- Ken Baize
- Michael Gauss MBA
- Tom M. Smith CFS
Tom M. Smith CFS
President | Wealth Advisor
Tom is a Financial Advisor who started his career with Morgan Stanley in 2001. He spent over a decade in management, recruiting and training Financial Advisors. He has been a featured speaker to financial representatives on how to build an advisor team. Tom now exclusively focuses his practice on working with clients in the areas of investment management, retirement income planning and estate planning strategies. Tom's passion is developing investment strategies to help his clients prepare for and enjoy the retirement they envision. Since Tom established Weatlhline Financial Advisors his achievements have been recognized with inclusion in LPL Financial's Focus Club in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and the Ascent Club Level in 2024 and 2025*.
Tom has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Northwood University and earned the CFS® (Certified Funds Specialist) designation from the Institute of Business & Finance. He was also a co-host of "The Financial Hour", a live call-in radio show. He has previously been a guest on the Mandy Connell radio show on 840 WHAS as well as WHAS 11 TV.
A lifelong resident of Louisville, Tom is married to Tobi and has two children: a daughter Alexa and a son Cade. He is very active in the community and has been fortunate enough to have coached both children's basketball and baseball teams. He enjoys weight lifting and hot yoga when he is not working or attending a sporting event. His mission is to continue to develop lasting relationships with his clients while continuing to positively impact lives in the community.
*Achievement is based on annual production among LPL-affiliated investment programs only.
Michael Gauss MBA
Wealth Advisor
Michael became a Financial Advisor in 1995 after twenty years in the corporate arena, mostly in computers and finance. A graduate of Westport High School, he attended Wittenberg University and graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in economics. Michael picked up his MBA at Bellarmine University in 1990.
Michael and his wife Marilyn have lived in Louisville most of their lives and have two adult sons, Brian and Sam. Coaching some of their numerous youth sports teams taught him that managing children also included managing their parents. Michael has had numerous interests through the years, at one time he was a nationally ranked competitive fencer (sabre).
Ken Baize
Wealth Advisor
Ken has been in the financial services field since 2009. He started his career as a financial advisor with AXA Equitable where he obtained his Series 7 and 66 licenses, now held through LPL Financial. These licenses allow him to assist clients with securities investments including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, 529 plans and various other security instruments. As an LPL Investment Advisor Representative he can assist his clients with fee based advisory programs. He also holds insurance licenses which allow him to help clients in the areas of life insurance, long term care and annuities and estate planning strategies.
Prior to becoming a Financial Advisor, Ken spent almost 30 years in the personnel field focusing on safety, training and human resources. Ken was born in 1958. He attended the University of Louisville. He is a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard where he performed Search & Rescue and Law Enforcement missions. He has been married to Rebecca for 19 years. He has 3 children and 5 grandchildren.
As a Wealth Advisor with WealthLine Financial Advisors, Ken’s focus is helping clients pursue financial freedom and enjoying the retirement they deserve.
Debbie Murphy
Administrative Assistant
Debbie has been working in the financial industry for over 9 years. Prior to transitioning to the financial field, she spent over 25 years in the accounting field. She and her husband love to travel and incorporate their favorite hobbies of hiking, watching wildlife and photography. She also likes to spend time with her beloved American Eskimo dog named Oliie!
Debbie performs many functions for WealthLine Financial Advisors including event coordination, answering phones, greeting clients, appointment scheduling and various other administrative functions.
Debbie is not employed by LPL Financial., but acts as a non-registered associated person of LPL Financial. She is authorized to assist Financial Advisors with approved activities. She is prohibited from soliciting, creating a market or account for any securities, investment advisory or insurance services. These activities are the sole responsibility of the Financial Advisors, in addition she is not authorized to enter into any contractual obligations on behalf of LPL Financial or otherwise bind the firm. 06/18