WEST BRANCH CAPITAL - Key Persons
Anne is a Managing Director and Financial Planner with over twenty years of experience in the financial services industry. After holding corporate management positions in finance and strategic planning in New York City, she moved to Boston to become the Product Manager for the IRA business at Fidelity Investments. Following that, she was Vice President, Retirement Investments, at Fleet Financial Services. A native of Cape Cod, she returned to the Cape in 2001 and made the transition to personal financial planning with Secure Future Financial Services in Dennis and Davis Financial Services in Orleans before joining West Branch Capital. Anne holds a B.A. in music and economics from Wellesley College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Ayaz brings almost thirty years of investment management experience to West Branch Capital. He serves as the firm's Chief Executive Officer. Ayaz founded West Branch Capital in 2004 after spending over twenty years as a top wealth advisor at premier global investment banks: Kidder Peabody, Smith Barney and Lehman Brothers. At Lehman Brothers, he helped build the Wealth Management Group in Boston and co-managed the Equity and Fixed Income Middle Market Institutional Trading Desks. Ayaz has managed client portfolios throughout his career. Ayaz holds an M.A/M.B.A and a B.A/B.S from Syracuse University.
Cheryl Slattery is the Director of Operations for West Branch Capital in Amherst, MA. She has 28 years of experience in the financial industry having worked as a Senior Personal Banker for Bank of America in the Springfield, MA area providing exceptional client support and service, specializing in high-net-worth clients. Cheryl is responsible for client service, back office support, compliance, and administrative operations of the firm.
David brings over thirty years of investment advisory experience to his role as a Managing Director of West Branch Capital. He held various labor and management positions for 11 years with a division of General Motors. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1979 and an MBA from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1982. In 1992 he co-founded Summit Financial Strategies, a registered investment advisor. David was granted the CFP® certification by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. in 1992.
Georgann is Director of Operations for the West Branch Capital office in Hyannis, MA. She has spent her career in the financial services and private banking industry, first in a large mid-Atlantic bank in the Washington, DC area, in individual client management, then in the Private Banking Division, leading a team of Private Banking professionals providing financial services, including trust and investment management.
Job Titles:
- Investment Portfolio Analyst
Howard is a Investment Portfolio Analyst. He began his career in the 1980s, and co-founded Singer Potito Associates in 1990. Howard holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado and an M.F.A. from Columbia University, New York. He was granted the CFP® certification by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. in 1993.
Ian is a Principal at West Branch Capital, bringing 10 years of experience in the financial services industry to the firm. Ian started his career at Barclays in Investment Banking focused on Equity Capital Markets. He then joined the Research Department, as an equity analyst on a three-person Institutional Investor Top 5 ranked team in the country, covering the Medical Technology Sector. He covered the Healthcare Sector as a Coverage Investment Banker at Credit Suisse and most recently was a Mergers & Acquisitions Investment Banker at Centerview Partners in New York. After graduating from Milton Academy, Ian earned a B.A. in Economics (Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Recipient of the College Key) from Bates College. At Bates, he was the President of the Debate Team, ranked 9 th in the world. Ian holds an M.B.A. with a Finance Track Certification from MIT Sloan School of Management. He enjoys golf, tennis and skiing.
Jim has over thirty years of investment management experience. He is a Managing Director and Principal of the firm.
Prior to West Branch Capital, Jim was a fixed income Portfolio Manager at John Hancock Advisors. Previously, he managed the John Hancock Tax Exempt Income Trust. Prior to joining John Hancock Advisors, Jim was a Senior Investment Officer at The New England (MetLife), where he managed multiple bond portfolios, including taxable and tax exempt mutual funds and separate accounts.
Jim holds an M.B.A. from Columbia University, New York, as well as an M.S. in Applied Math and B.S. in Applied Math and Economics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the Boston Society of Security Analysts.
As Business Manager, Joan's focus is on bookkeeping, quarterly newsletters, and client database maintenance, providing office assistance and supporting the firm's principals. She has a BA in English. Joan spends her free time as a volunteer coach for Girls on the Run Western Massachusetts.
Lori began her working life as an English teacher at Brookline High School. She joined West Branch Capital in 2004 as an Operations Manager. She currently plays the role of Operating Officer for the firm.
Lori holds a B.A. in English Literature and a B.S. from the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Masters Degree in Education from Northeastern University.
Mike is a Managing Director and Personal Risk Management Specialist. Mike brings forty years of insurance industry experience to West Branch Capital. He will focus on advising clients on annuities, life insurance, retirement products, disability income, long-term care insurance and other insurance products. He will evaluate the quality of the options available to clients and make independent and objective recommendations as part of the firm's holistic advisory approach to clients' wealth and risk management needs. In keeping with the firm's tradition, he will not "sell" any insurance products or policies.
Prior to his retirement as an actuary from MassMutual in 2019, he was a regular speaker at actuarial conferences, served as an advisor on studies by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and participated in the education and examination committees of the SOA. Mike is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Fellow in the SOA (FSA) and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA)..