CERITY PARTNERS - Key Persons
Aaron is a Partner based in the San Francisco office. He provides comprehensive investment and planning advice to individuals. While Aaron works with a wide array of clients, he has expertise in working with multigenerational families, business executives, and entrepreneurs with above average income and estate tax planning needs.
Before joining Cerity Partners, Aaron was a Principal at B|O|S and served on the firm's Board of Managers, strategizing firm-wide initiatives and making critical decisions on the day-to-day functioning of the firm. Prior to B|O|S, he worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as a Manager in the Private Client Services Group.
Aaron placed on the Forbes "Best-In-State Wealth Advisors" list for the San Francisco region in 2019, 2020, and 2021. In 2019 he also ranked on Forbes "Top Next-Gen Best-in-State Wealth Advisors" list for California and on its "Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors" list. Additionally, in 2017, Aaron was the recipient of a "40 Under 40 Award" by the San Francisco Business Times.
Aaron earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance from Santa Clara University. He holds both the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designations as well as a Series 65 license. Aaron is a member of the Stern Grove Festival Association Board of Directors. He previously served on the Board of Directors for the Headlands Center for the Arts, Step One School, and Blind Babies Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate Southeast
Abigail is an Associate, based remotely in Chattanooga, TN. As Cerity Partner's first Centralized Tax Preparer, she played an instrumental role in establishing and implementing the firm's inhouse tax preparation program. Abigail's focus is on the preparation and review of tax returns while maintaining adeptness in everchanging tax laws. She serves all branches of Cerity Partners and the clients of Charles Schwab and Fidelity.
Abigail has seven years of experience in financial services and five years of experience in tax preparation. Prior to joining Cerity Partners, worked as a contract seasonal tax preparer.
Abigail received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate Boston
Abrielle is a Senior Associate in the firm's Boston office. She is a member of the firm's Shared Services team, handling the bookkeeping and bill payment services for clients.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Abrielle was a Senior Operations Associate at Daintree Advisors. She works closely with our Family Office clients, providing payroll, bill pay, bookkeeping, and cash management support. Before joining Daintree in 2010, Abrielle was a Payroll and Accounts Payable Specialist with Central Parking Systems.
Abrielle earned a degree in Business at Eastern Nazarene College. She enjoys photography, weightlifting, and home remodeling projects.
Adam is a Partner in the Pennsylvania office.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Adam served as Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Permit Capital Advisors, LLC where he was responsible for formulating and implementing the firm's investment strategy. Prior to joining Permit, Adam served as Managing Director at McCabe Capital Managers, Ltd., working there from 1997 until 2011. Adam oversaw the integration of McCabe Capital's advisory efforts. This covered a rigorous process focused primarily on the various aspects of investment due diligence. Adam worked to optimize the structure of client portfolios to maximize the expected level of risk adjusted return. He served as one of two portfolio managers on three fund of funds products, including a hedge fund of funds and a socially responsible investment fund of funds, offered to clients of several major insurance carriers.
Prior to joining McCabe, Adam spent four years at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) where he worked with both retail and institutional clients to develop asset allocation plans and construct appropriate equity and fixed income portfolios.
Adam received his MBA in Finance from Saint Joseph's University and a B.A. in Economics from Rutgers University. He holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Philadelphia. Adam serves as Chair of the Board at A Meaningful Purpose, the charitable organization behind Reed's Organic Farm, a farm and animal sanctuary helping underserved and marginalized individuals through workforce development and educational programming. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Bancroft, an organization serving children and adults with developmental disabilities, Women's Way, Philadelphia's leading non-profit dedicated to the advancement of women, girls, and gender and racial equity, and the ESF Dream Camp Foundation. He is on the Advisory Board of the Field Center for Children's Policy, Practice & Research at the University of Pennsylvania, an interdisciplinary effort of Penn's Schools of Social Policy & Practice, Law, Medicine, and Nursing, and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, focused on child welfare reform. He serves on the Corporate Boards of Elevate Eyecare LLC and GOTTA Sports, Inc.
Alan is a Partner in the Virginia office with over seventeen years of experience providing comprehensive wealth management solutions to successful individuals and families.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Alan was a Senior Financial Advisor at FJY Financial, serving as chair of the Financial Planning Committee and as a member of the Investment Committee. Early in his career, Alan was a consultant at Deloitte focusing on business process improvement and re-engineering.
Alan was named as one of Washingtonian magazine's list of "Top Financial Advisors" in 2020. In addition, he was named by Northern Virginia Magazine in its "Top Financial Professionals" edition under the categories of Financial Planning and Investment Management from 2018 through 2021.
Alan earned his Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Financial Management from Virginia Tech. He holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) and Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) designations.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate New York
- Senior Associate on the Finance Team
Aleem is a Senior Associate on the finance team in the New York office. He is responsible for all month, quarter and year-end analysis of the company's financial statement. In addition he assists the controller with ad hoc projects and the staff accountant with the monthly accounting functions.
Aleem has over twenty years of experience in the industry. He began his career working for PKF, Barcellos, Narine & Co., an audit & accounting firm representing Arthur Andersen Worldwide in Guyana. He then moved to Toronto, Canada to pursue higher education. After graduating and earning his degree in Finance & Accounting, he held a position as a Senior Accountant for AEGON Dealer Services Inc., one of the largest broker-dealer firms in Canada. Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Aleem held Senior Accountant roles within Barnes & Noble Inc, National Financial Partners, Columbia University, MoMa, and Bliss World.
Alex is a Partner in the Orange County office and has over sixteen years of experience providing financial planning, tax planning, and estate planning to affluent individuals, corporate executives of fortune 1000 companies, senior partners at law firms and closely-held small business owners. His clients have included CEOs of private companies and corporate executives of publicly traded companies, such as Northrop Grumman, Tesoro Petroleum Corporation, Life Technologies, Inc., Prudential Financial, and Allergan.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Alex was a Vice President in the Private Wealth group of MullinTBG Advisors, a subsidiary of Prudential Financial, in the Newport Beach office. Alex specialized in sophisticated estate planning, philanthropic, investment, income tax, and retirement planning. Alex was responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with clients, assisting in the development of training programs, and supervising financial planners.
Alex earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Quinnipiac School of Law and his LL.M. in Taxation from the University of San Diego School of Law. He is admitted to the Bars of New York and Connecticut. Alex has served on the Board of Directors of HNSC, an organization that coordinates funding relationships for start-up companies.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate Chicago
Alexa is an Associate in the Chicago office. She is responsible for providing support to the sales team across various platforms. Alexa also helps facilitate the client onboarding process for the team.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Alexa worked at a Chicago-based bridal start up as a Digital Sales Stylist and was responsible for client outreach, managing a sales pipeline, and coordinated with the operations team to ensure logistical aspects were appropriately handled. Prior to that, she worked as an IT Recruiter at a staffing agency, where she sourced, screened, and interviewed candidates.
Alexa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Alex is a Partner in the Boston Office. As a member of the firm's Wealth Management practice, Alex provides comprehensive financial planning to clients in the context of their investment management, estate and income tax planning, philanthropy, insurance, and cash flow management.
Alexis is a Principal in the Virginia office.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Alexis served as a Senior Financial Advisor at FJY Financial. Over 17 years of experience cultivating client relationships has taught her the foundation of effective financial partnerships is identifying what matters most to clients. Strong communication skills and humble listening are her guideposts to serving existing clients, growing new relationships, and helping shape the future of the firm. Alexis brings her love of learning to the mentorship of up-and-coming financial planners within Cerity Partners.
Most of her clients are strong, resilient women who work hard, play hard, and have saved substantial wealth. They are planners by nature and strive to have it all. Life is about growth and gratitude for them. Alexis focuses her energy and efforts on creating a welcoming environment for these women where the shared goal is to engage, educate, and empower them to live a life fulfilled.
She was named as one of Washingtonian magazine's list of "Top Financial Advisors" in 2022. In addition, she was named by Northern Virginia Magazine in its "Top Financial Professionals" edition under the categories of Financial Planning and Investment Management in both 2019 and 2021.
Alexis earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Tech. She holds the Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designations. Alexis is a member of the Financial Planning Association and attends seminars and continuing education events annually. She is serving on her local chapter's board in 2022 and has enjoyed participating the past two years on the board for the Society of Financial Service Professionals National Capital chapter.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate Chicago
Alicia is an Associate in the Chicago office. She supports Practice Management which is the intersection of human capital, data management, and marketing.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Alicia worked in development and fundraising for social service organizations.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate Cleveland
Alketa is a Senior Associate in the Cleveland office. She has ten years of tax experience working in a variety of industries.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Alketa worked in Tax for public corporations that specialized in insurance and manufacturing. She was a Sr. tax analyst with AmTrust Financial Services for four years, working on federal income tax returns, quarterly tax provisions, tax estimates and state income tax returns. Previously, Alketa worked as a tax analyst for Cliffs Natural Resources and GrafTech International.
Alketa earned her Bachelor of Science in Finance from Oakland University in Michigan.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal Fort Worth
Allen is a Principal in the Fort Worth office with over a decade of wealth management experience. He specializes in executive financial counseling and wealth management services for high-net-worth individuals, families and business owners.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Allen served as a Wealth Manager at independent firms in Plano and Houston. He provided comprehensive wealth management services including retirement and estate planning, asset protection, and investment management to private equity professionals, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, as well as oil and gas professionals. Allen enjoys building long-lasting relationships with clients while helping them achieve their goals.
Allen earned his Bachelor of Science from Texas Tech University with a degree in Personal Financial Planning. He is CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal Chicago
Amanda is a Principal in the Chicago Office and is member of the Executive Financial Counseling practice.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Amanda was the Managing Director of Attorney Recruitment at Vedder Price P.C. and DLA Piper LLP in Chicago. At the start of her legal career she practiced as an attorney at Eversheds Sutherland (formerly, Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan LLP) in Atlanta, Georgia where she focused on private equity, start up financing and general corporate matters.
Amanda earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan.
Amy is a Principal in the Los Angeles office. She is responsible for managing the operations and client service department for the Retirement Plan Services practice at Cerity Partners.
Amy joined Pension Architects in 1999, a retirement advisory business dedicated to helping retirement plan participants reduce financial stress and achieve a financially successful future. With more than twenty-five years in the financial services industry, Amy specializes in the implementation and conversion of services to the Retirement Plan Services practice. She also manages ongoing client services which encompass plan design, compliance, and regulatory oversight. Amy cultivates relationships with various recordkeepers, third-party administrators, corporate trustees, custodians and other providers to meet client objectives. Her responsibilities also include integration of participant support services and oversight of daily operations. Pension Architects merged with Cerity Partners in January 2013.
Amy is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®).
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate New York
Amy Lin is a Senior Associate in the New York office and a member of the firm's operations team. She has more than ten years of experience managing trade settlements, accounts reconciliation, reporting and data maintenance.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Amy was a report analyst with EMM Wealth, where she was responsible for accounts reconciliation and client reporting. Earlier in her career, she was a consultant with Barclay.
Amy earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate Chicago
Ana is a Senior Associate in the Chicago office. She supports Cerity Partners' President and Partner, Kurt Miscinski and manages daily operational aspects of the office.
Ana started her career at Montgomery Ward Corporate Offices. During her 20 years there, she held positions in the Relocation Department, Marketing, and Human Resources. In 2000, Montgomery Ward closed its doors, and Ana joined Legg Mason.
Andrea is an Associate and a member of the firm's Shared Services team. She is responsible for preparing account opening applications, processing money movements, and account maintenance requests.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Andrea was an Operations Associate at Daintree Advisors. Her responsibilities included supporting Daintree's staff with client onboarding and money movement processes. Prior to joining Daintree, Andrea was an Accounting and Reporting Senior Specialist in the Hedge Fund and Private Equity department at the Bank of New York Mellon.
She earned a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in International Business from Salem State University where she was Delta Mu Delta. She is currently pursuing a graduate certificate in Topics in Human Behavior and a Masters in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Behavioral Psychology at Harvard University.
Andrea grew up in Guatemala. She is fluent in English and Spanish. She enjoys practicing yoga, weight training, hiking, knitting, reading, snowboarding, and cooking.
Andres a Senior Associate in the Chicago office and has twelve years of experience in wealth management, serving as a support specialist as well as a Financial Advisor to high net worth clients. His specialties include working with clients on building portfolios, retirement planning, charitable giving, and leaving a lasting legacy. Andres is a Financial Wellness Coach helping employees with their retirement planning and other aspects of their financial lives. In addition, he works with the team to research external company retirement plans.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Andres worked in various wealth management roles at Merrill Lynch, Northern Trust, and JP Morgan.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Masters of Business Administration from Northern Illinois University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate San Francisco
Andrew is a Senior Associate in the San Francisco office. He is responsible for the completion of various special projects within the Marketing team.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Andrew worked as the Marketing Project Manager at B|O|S where he was responsible for managing firm events, the firm's print and digital publications, as well as executing on digital strategy. Prior to joining the firm, he spent three years as the Marketing & Events Coordinator for the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business' part-time MBA programs where he planned events and performed email marketing. Andrew has also served as an Associate Account Executive at an advertising agency in San Francisco and interned in the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services.
Andrew earned his Bachelor of Arts in Communications from California Lutheran University.
Andrew is a Partner in the New York office with more than fifteen years of experience managing client relationships and providing comprehensive wealth management to high-net-worth individuals and families.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Andrew was a Partner and Co-Head of the Wealth Advisory Group at EMM Wealth. He was also a member of the firm's investment and financial planning committees. In this role, Andrew designed and implemented personalized investment and financial planning solutions tailored to the objectives and needs of each of his clients. Earlier in his career, he was an analyst with Neuberger Berman LLC.
Andrew earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting from Ithaca College and his Master of Business Administration from New York University Stern School of Business. He is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) and a member of the Estate Planning Council of New York City.
Andrew is a Partner in the San Francisco office. He serves as a senior client advisor, assisting successful families on a variety of financial planning and wealth management issues. He focuses on optimizing wealth through efficient investing, risk management and tax strategy. With his broad base of finance and investing experience, Andrew enjoys helping his clients find creative solutions to complex financial problems.
Andrew is widely regarded as a leading advisor to international and cross-border families, who often face more complex wealth management and tax issues resulting from their multinational lives, particularly when an individual is a citizen or tax resident of the United States. He frequently writes and speaks to the unique financial complexities faced by international families. He is also the author of The Cross-Border Family Wealth Guide, a personal financial planning book for internationally oriented families.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Andrew served for 15 years as President and Chief Investment Officer of Worldview Wealth Advisors. He previously worked in international equity research following the global banking and telecommunications sectors at Montgomery Asset Management, HSBC Securities, and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (now Credit Suisse). He began his career with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Los Angeles.
Andrew graduated Cum Laude from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, with a degree in Finance and a minor in Spanish. He holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designations. Andrew is a past president of the CFA Society of Portland.
Andrew is a Partner in the New York office with ten years of experience advising ultra-high-net- worth individuals and families on their investment portfolios and financial matters.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Andrew was a vice president with EMM Wealth, a fifty-year-old multi-family office, where he advised high-net-worth families. He began his career at the firm as an analyst. In this role, he quickly gained the trust of his clients and colleagues and became a fundamental member of EMM Wealth.
Andrew earned his Master of Business Administration from the New York University Stern School of Business, specializing in finance, quantitative finance and management. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Financial Analysis from the University at Albany. Andrew is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®).
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate San Francisco
André is an Associate based in the San Francisco office. She manages client administrative and operational activities for private and institutional clients. Providing support in all client-related activities and account administration, André helps streamline the client experience.
Before joining Cerity Partners, André worked as a Client Associate at B|O|S where she assisted Wealth Managers and Principals by maintaining client accounts, preparing investment portfolio reviews, and processing client asset transfers. Prior to joining B|O|S, she served as a Client Service Specialist at Whelan Financial and served in a similar role at Private Ocean.
André earned her Bachelor of Arts in English and her Master of Arts in Reading from California State University, Fresno. She holds the Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional (FPQP) designation.
Andy is an Associate based in the San Francisco office. Andy provides support in all client-related activities and account administration to ensure a successful client experience. He assists with asset transfers, prepares investment portfolio reviews, and interfaces with custodians for ongoing account maintenance for clients.
Before joining Cerity Partners, Andy worked as a Client Associate at B|O|S where he managed operational transactions and activities for private and institutional clients. Prior to joining B|O|S, he worked as an Operations and Technology Associate at Rand & Associates.
Andy earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management from San Francisco State University. He has completed the Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning from UC Berkeley Extension. Andy is also a Series 65 license holder.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate New York
Angella is an Associate in the New York office, providing administrative support for the daily operations of the tax compliance team.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Angella held a similar role with EMM Wealth. She also worked as an administrative assistant for a nonprofit organization, where she was responsible for managing daily office operations and other administrative duties. Earlier in her career, she was the office manager for a law firm in her homeland of Jamaica.
Angella earned her diploma/degree in Secretarial Studies from Duff's Business College, Kingston, Jamaica West Indies. She is a Certified Professional Secretary (CPS).
Ann Marie is an Associate in the Virginia office.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Ann Marie served as an Associate Financial Advisor at FJY Financial. She has many years of diverse financial planning experience. Ann Marie spent the first 12 years of her career in corporate finance within two global manufacturing and services corporations. She helped these organizations navigate short-and long-term financial performance goal achievement through detail-oriented planning, critical thinking, collaboration, and adaptability.
Working at a corporate headquarters level, division level and at an individual plant, Ann Marie had the chance to see the business from different perspectives. She also had opportunities to work in locations throughout Europe on team projects like Acquisition Integration and Treasury Operations.
She continued to build on these skills and further broaden her finance experience as a financial planner for individuals and families in Colorado Springs. During this time, she honed her skills of problem solving and communicating complex financial concepts to non-financial stakeholders. Ann Marie enjoys getting to know her clients, learning about their lives and helping them achieve their personal financial goals.
Ann Marie earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from Dickinson College and her Master of Business Administration from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER
- Partner North Bay
Anne is a Partner in the Mill Valley office. She helps clients simplify their financial lives and maintain peace of mind even as they make complex financial decisions. She guides clients through retirement income, real estate, tax, and estate planning strategies and validates their decisions so they can feel confident about their financial path. Anne believes that clients usually know what they want, but often need help in understanding what steps need to be taken next. She believes in giving clients a complete map, so that they understand why and how their chosen path will get them to their goals.
Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Anne was a Vice President and Wealth Advisor for Brouwer & Janachowski. She served as a member of the Investment Committee and has over two decades of experience in financial services. She was previously a Senior Portfolio Analyst with Stanley F. Green, Manager at the financial planning firm Homrich & Berg, and a Client Consultant and Technical Support Team Leader for Advent Software.
Anne is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and earned a B.S. in economics from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Ben Pace - Chief Investment Officer
Chief Investment Officer Ben Pace, Chief Equity Strategist Jim Lebenthal, and Deputy Chief Investment Officer Tom Cohn discuss the risk of recession, opportunities in the...