RPG FAMILY WEALTH ADVISORY - Key Persons


Ben Zimmer

Job Titles:
  • Research Analyst, Portfolio Management Administrator
Ben joined RPg Family Wealth Advisory in July 2016 as a Research Analyst, Portfolio Management Administrator. As a Research Analyst, Ben is responsible for supporting the firm's Investment Strategists with top-down and bottom-up research using both quantitative and technical research techniques. He also assists the firm's Head Portfolio Trader by trading all portfolios. Prior to joining RPg Family Wealth Advisory, Ben worked at Tactical Allocation Group as Analyst/Junior Trader. Ben is a Level I Candidate in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) program. Ben earned a B.S. in Communications from the University of Michigan while also serving for three seasons on the school's football staff. Ben has also earned dual Master's degrees in Business Administration (MBA) and Science in Finance (MSF) from Walsh College. He currently resides in Austin, TX.

Brandon Lamb - Chief Compliance Officer

Job Titles:
  • Chief Compliance Officer
  • in 2015 As Chief Compliance Officer
Brandon joined RPg Family Wealth Advisory in 2015 as Chief Compliance Officer. Brandon has more than 15 years of experience in Investment Advisor and Broker-Dealer compliance, operations and financial services. As Chief Compliance Officer, his responsibilities include managing regulatory compliance initiatives, working with industry regulators during routine exams, monitoring and administrating compliance policies and procedures. Prior to joining RPg Family Wealth Advisory, Brandon worked for Wellington Management as a regulatory analyst monitoring regulatory changes and their impact on the firm. Earlier, he was a Compliance Manager at Morgan Stanley. Brandon also served as a financial services registered representative at JPMorgan, Charles Schwab and The Vanguard Group. Brandon earned a B.S. in Kinesiology from Arizona State University. He resides in Boston with his wife and two children.

David M. Gatti - CEO, Chief Investment Officer

Job Titles:
  • Chief Executive Officer
  • Chief Investment Officer
  • Founding Partner
  • Member of the Investment Committee
  • CEO / Risk Paradigm Group
With more than 25 years of investment, portfolio and wealth management experience, David joined RPg Family Wealth Advisory in 2011. Prior to joining the firm, David was the Managing Director of the Twin Lights Group of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, which specialized in the creation, implementation and management of standard and customized hedge fund portfolios. Throughout his career, David has built a reputation and track record based upon principles, expertise and client values. For the past 14 years, David has been customizing tactical strategies for his clients' portfolios. He was an early adopter of Alternative Investments as a means to smooth volatility and enhance portfolio performance and served as a regional specialist for Alternative Investments at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Earlier, David earned the distinction of the Private Wealth Associate designation within Citi Family Office, an internal honor that was shared by fewer than 2% of the advisors at MSSB. David earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Born and raised in New York City, David resides in Winchester, Massachusetts with his wife and three children.

Deborah (Darby) B. Friend

Job Titles:
  • Director - Wealth Management
Darby brings more than 30 years of experience to RPg Family Wealth Advisory, which she joined in 2015 as Director - Wealth Management. Before joining RPg Family Wealth, Darby served as Vice President -Wealth Management at Detwiler Fenton Investment Management. She started her career in wealth management more than 15 years ago when she joined Bill Eaton at Paine Webber (later UBS Financial Services) as an Investment Associate. While at UBS, colleagues Mitch Goldfeld and John Donabedian joined Bill and Darby to form The Eaton Group (TEG). While at UBS, Darby earned certification in UBS' Wealth Management Certification Program. Darby attended Barnard College, Columbia University in New York. She currently resides in Newton, New Hampshire with her wife and their two rescue dogs.

James F. Peters

Job Titles:
  • Managing Director, Co - Chair Investment Committee
Jim joined Risk Paradigm Group in July 2016 as Senior Portfolio Manager, Co-Chair Investment Committee. Jim has over 40 years of experience providing financial advice to corporations, non-profit organizations and individuals. As Managing Director and Co-Chair Investment Committee, Jim is responsible for macroeconomic policy, which drives portfolio asset allocation decisions and is a member of RPg's investment committee. Prior to joining RPg, Jim founded TAG, an independent Registered Investment Advisor. Prior to being an independent RIA, TAG was a boutique money manager within UBS Financial Services where Jim also served as a member of the firm's national investment consulting services Advisory Council. Prior to that, he also worked at Kidder Peabody's Detroit office as Director of 401(k) plans. Jim served as partner in charge of taxation, employee benefits and personal financial planning for the Detroit office of Pannel Kerr Forster, an international accounting firm, where he authored the firm's national policy on investment strategy for client financial planning. Jim earned a B.S. in Accounting with Minors in Economics and Philosophy from St. Louis University and earned his a Master of Science in Taxation (MST) from Walsh College. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American and Michigan Association of CPAs. Jim is also a published author, and was previously a frequent speaker and panelist at financial industry conferences and interview guest for television and print. He currently resides in Birmingham, MI.

John X. Donabedian

Job Titles:
  • Director - Portfolio Management
With more than 29 years of experience, John joined RPg Family Wealth Advisory in 2015 as Director - Portfolio Management after a successful six years at Detwiler Fenton Investment Management. He started his career in public accounting with Herman & Herman CPAs and later worked at Arthur Anderson & Co. where he obtained the position of Senior Accountant. After eight years in public accounting, John went on to establish and manage a business-to-business services company. Upon the sale of his business in 2002, John pursued his passion for wealth management when he accepted a position with UBS Financial Services as a Financial Advisor. John joined TEG Partners while at UBS and then moved with the group to Detwiler Fenton Investment Management in 2009. Fluent in Spanish and proficient in French, John earned a B.S. in Accountancy from Bentley University. He resides in Burlington, Massachusetts with his wife.

Mariann C. Dube

Job Titles:
  • Chief Administrative Officer
  • Chief Administrative Officer of RPg
Mariann is the Chief Administrative Officer of RPg. She is responsible for the implementation of all administrative and operational activities for the RPg Asset Management. Prior to joining the firm in 2011, Mariann worked for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney as a coordinator for Alternative Investments and administrator for 16 years. She lives in Maynard, MA with her husband and their son.

Mitchell A. Goldfeld

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Investment Committee
Mitch joined RPg Family Wealth Advisory in June 2015 as Director - Wealth Management and Director - Portfolio Management. Mitch has more than 20 years of investment and wealth management experience. Before joining RPg Family Wealth Advisory, Mitch spent six years as a Managing Director and Senior Vice-President at Detwiler Fenton Investment Management. Prior to that, he was a Vice President of Investments at UBS Financial Services Inc. In 2008, Mitch earned his Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) designation through the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA) and, in 2014, his IMCA Advanced Investment Strategist Certificate in Portfolio Risk Management. He also was designated as a portfolio manager in UBS' Portfolio Management Program and earned a certification in the firm's Wealth Management Program. Mitch began his career as an Analyst at Goldman Sachs and later as a Research Analyst at Wellington Management. He is a supporter of several area music organizations and is an accomplished pianist. Mitch earned a B.S. in Economics (High Honors) from State University of New York at Binghamton, and earned his MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in Hamilton, Massachusetts with his wife and their three boys.

Robert D. McCauley - CFO, Chief Compliance Officer

Job Titles:
  • Chief Compliance Officer
  • Chief Financial Officer
Robert joined RPg Family Wealth Advisory in February 2012 as Director of Accounting and Technology. Robert has more than 25 years of technology, accounting and operations experience. In his current role as Chief Financial Officer, his responsibilities include managing operations and fund accounting as well as overseeing technology implementation and utilization. Robert launched his own consulting firm in 1997 to serve clients such as Kemper Financial, Zurich Investments and Abbott Laboratories, among others. Earlier, he worked in information technology consulting for Decision Consultants Inc. as Director of Field Services for the firm's Chicago practice. He began his career at Arthur Andersen's Professional Education and Development office in St. Charles, Illinois. Robert resides in the Chicago suburb of Geneva, Illinois with his wife and the youngest of their five children.

William T. Eaton, II

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Investment Committee
  • in 2015 As Senior Director - Portfolio Management and Director - Wealth Management
Bill joined RPg Family Wealth Advisory in 2015 as Senior Director - Portfolio Management and Director - Wealth Management. Bill has more than 30 years of investment, portfolio and wealth management experience. Prior to joining RPg Family Wealth Advisory, Bill spent six years at Detwiler Fenton Investment Management as a Senior Managing Director and Senior Vice President and more than 25 years with UBS Financial Services (and predecessor firms Kidder Peabody and PaineWebber.) While at PaineWebber, Bill was the youngest Portfolio Manager in New England to be awarded PaineWebber's title of Senior Portfolio Manager. Bill is active in a number of community and charitable organizations, including the North Shore Hockey Club, Hamilton Wenham Youth Soccer Association, United Way of Mass Bay and North Shore United Way where he currently serves as Co-Chairman. Bill earned a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Denison University. He resides in Hamilton, Massachusetts with his wife and two daughters.