David Millington, CFP®, CIMA® CEPA® , SE-AWMA®
President
As the President of Puzzle Wealth Solutions, LLC, and with over 22 years of experience as a Financial Advisor, David Millington is dedicated to simplifying the complex world of finance for his clients. His goal is to reduce financial stress and provide clarity, allowing clients to focus on what matters most—spending time with loved ones, growing their businesses, and pursuing their passions.
David’s approach is both strategic and practical. Acting as a project manager, he ensures every financial decision aligns with his clients' unique goals. His expertise spans investments, financial planning, cash flow modeling, estate planning, executive compensation, liability management, business exit strategies, gifting, and philanthropy.
A lifelong passion for investing began when David built his first stock portfolio in 7th grade. His strong work ethic took root even earlier—his first paycheck at age 8, earned as a newspaper delivery boy, still hangs on his wall as a reminder of his entrepreneurial spirit.
David’s methodology includes a disciplined approach to sustainable portfolio withdrawal rates, targeting 4% at age 60, 5% at age 70, and 7% at age 80. Through Puzzle Wealth’s 7-step Puzzle Checklist, he ensures efficiency across investments, cash flow, estate planning, taxes, liabilities, and gifting—leaving no detail overlooked.
David Millington & Puzzle Wealth have been awarded the 2026 Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams.*** David was also previously recognized as a FORBES Best-in-State Wealth Advisor for North Texas (2025, 2024) and Illinois (2021)**. He is also honored to be recognized as 2025 AdvisorHub’s #124 Advisor to Watch in the USA (OVER $1B) and 2024 AdvisorHub's #56 Advisor to Watch in the USA (under $1B)*. (See LINK: Professional Financial Advisors | Puzzle Wealth)
Since joining the team in 2003, David has led the Business Development committee and served as a Senior Portfolio Manager on the Investment Committee. He earned his B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1999.
David resides in Southlake, TX , with his family. Outside of work, he enjoys watching his sons compete in sports, cheering on both Chicago and Dallas teams, and (unsuccessfully) working on lowering his golf handicap.
*Nominees are required to have a minimum of seven years experience, $100m minimum AUM, and a clean regulatory record. Using data on assets, households, and production, advisors are ranked on three categories: scale, growth, and professionalism. The list is broken into several sublists: RIAs (fee-only), Over $1b, Under $1b, Next Gen, Women, Solo, and Fast-Growing. Please note that participation in this ranking is free, and AdvisorHub receives no compensation from the participating advisors.
** The Forbes Best-in-State wealth advisor ranking, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on in-person telephone due diligence meetings, and a ranking algorithm that includes: Client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, including: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Portfolio performance is not a criterion due to varying client objections and lack of audited data. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receives a fee in exchange for rankings.
***Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person, virtual and telephone due diligence meetings and a ranking algorithm that includes: a measure of each team’s best practices, client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, including: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. SHOOK’s research and rankings provide opinions intended to help investors choose the right financial advisor and team, and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receive compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. For more information, please see www.SHOOKresearch.com. SHOOK is a registered trademark of SHOOK Research, LLC.
Securities offered through, LPL Financial, Member FINRA / SIPC. Investment advice offered through Gladstone Institutional Advisory, LLC, a registered investment advisor. Gladstone Wealth Partners is a separate entity from LPL Financial. Gladstone Institutional Advisory, LLC and Puzzle Wealth Solutions are separate entities from LPL Financial.