Heritage Wealth Solutions is built around a simple idea: your plan should fit your life. Partners Chris Hilyer and David Ayala built a practice where the planning is personal, the portfolios are hands-on, and the people matter more than the accounts.
Bachelor of Science, Business Management
University of Phoenix
Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®)
Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®)
Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®)
When Chris lost his father in 2006, the financial picture wasn’t very clear. What should have been a time to grieve became a scramble to sort through decisions that could have been settled in advance. That experience ultimately inspired him to become a financial advisor in 2011. He built his career across firms in Phoenix before founding Heritage Wealth Solutions to do the work on his own terms.
Chris also holds a degree in business management from the University of Phoenix and has been in the industry since 2011. He holds three professional designations that directly shape his work with clients. The Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®) credential reflects his focus on building income strategies for people approaching or already in retirement. The Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) designation, one of the rarest in Arizona, allows him to help clients give strategically through tools like donor-advised funds, qualified charitable distributions, and charitable remainder trusts. And the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) designation holds him to a standard that puts clients’ interests first.
Chris is a problem solver at heart. He gravitates toward the work that keeps people up at night: creating retirement income that actually lasts, tax strategy that adapts year to year, estate plans with gaps no one flagged, charitable giving that could be structured smarter, and portfolios that stopped fitting the plan three life changes ago. The more moving pieces, the more he wants to dig in.
Originally from Washington State, Chris moved to Phoenix for the sunshine and hasn’t looked back. Chris sits on the Men’s Board of Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, now in his fourth year, and is also a member of the Central Arizona Estate Planning Council. He’s an Alabama football fan on Fall Saturdays, an outdoorsman who camps, hikes, and a Traeger cook whose brisket may one day have a reputation. He and his wife Marisa have two sons, Liam and Jack.
Bachelor of Science
Gonzaga University
Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®)
Before becoming a financial advisor, David worked in healthcare, helping people manage metabolic diseases. That experience taught him something that shapes how he advises today: health and financial planning are more connected than most people realize. When someone is dealing with aging parents, raising kids, and trying to plan for their own retirement all at once, the stress touches everything.
And David knows this firsthand. As members of the sandwich generation, he and his wife are raising two children while also considering the care of their parents and a great-grandmother. Funding college, planning for potential elder care costs, and saving for their own retirement are all happening at the same time. It’s the same balancing act many of his clients face, and because of that, it gives him a perspective that doesn’t come from a textbook.
David graduated from Gonzaga University in 2000 and has built his career in financial services in Phoenix. He holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) designation, which holds him to a standard that puts clients’ interests first.
Today, he works closely with entrepreneurs, business owners, and professionals managing the kind of financial complexity that comes with a growing career and a growing family.
David is active in his community at Saint Thomas the Apostle and spends his free time outside with his family.
Bachelor of Arts, Communications and Spanish Literature
Loyola University Chicago
Marisa grew up around financial services. She spent summers in high school working at her father’s wealth management firm, so the industry was in the background long before it became her career.
She studied Communications and Spanish Literature at Loyola University Chicago, with two semesters abroad in Argentina and Spain. After graduating, she interned in marketing and found her path.
Her first role in financial services was as Marketing Director for a MassMutual agency, where she led all agency and advisor marketing efforts. She then spent seven years as a Strategic Marketing Manager at Osaic, working across campaign development, social media strategy, and a company rebrand. With over a decade of industry experience, Marisa now leads client relations at Heritage Wealth Solutions, where she’s focused on making sure every client interaction feels as good as the planning behind it.
Marisa is an avid supporter of Phoenix’s Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, having served on its Auxiliary Board for six years. Outside of work, she keeps busy with her two sons, stays active, and is always looking for new ways to use a sourdough starter.
Garry has been in financial services for over 40 years. He started with FSC Securities Corporation in 1982 and later joined Raymond James Financial Services in 1987, where he’s been ever since.
As Branch Principal, Garry brings decades of hands-on experience working with private clients, business owners, and small businesses. His role supports the operational foundation that allows Chris and David to focus on the planning and advisory work they do with clients every day.
Garry holds Series 7, 24, 51, and 63 registrations and is licensed for securities in over 35 states.
When he’s not in the office, Garry enjoys spending time in Mexico and Hawaii with his wife Stella and their three grandchildren. He’s an Arizona sports fan through and through, regularly catching Diamondbacks, Cardinals, and Suns games.
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Timely articles on the blog covering retirement planning, tax strategy, investment management, charitable giving, and estate planning.
Short videos on YouTube from Chris and David, answering the questions clients ask most.
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