We are joined by Jina Yi of Wealth Architects and Victoria Latham of Parallel Financial and the Fiduciary Alliance for Episode 69. Jina has been with Wealth Architects, headquartered in Mountain View, CA, since 2007 and was appointed the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer in 2021. The firm employes 25 team members, managing close …

Episode 68 could very well be the most impactful episode we have recorded. For five and a half years, The COO Roundtable has highlighted the incredible work COOs perform daily across the RIA industry. As such, we’ve tended to focus on the tactical elements of the job: How do you effect change at your organization? How do you approach technology or …

With Episode 67, we are joined by Meghan Martin of Apella Wealth and Chrissy Lee of Merit Financial Advisors. Meghan is the newly appointed Chief Operating Officer at Apella Wealth, headquartered in Hartford, CT. The firm advises on approximately $4.35 billion and has 93 employees across 16 office locations. Chrissy is the Chief Operating Officer a…

For Episode 66, we break the rules of a “roundtable” and have only one guest, Carolyn Armitage, joining Matt for a deep conversation around our industry’s continuing evolution of turning practices into businesses. It was a real thrill for him to interview one of his most respected RIA leaders for this conversation. As he states in the introduction,…

We are joined by Rebecca Davis of Greenspring Advisors and Joe Klein from The Bahnsen Group for Episode 65. Rebecca is the Director of Operations at Greenspring, headquartered in Townson, MD with additional offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The firm has 41 team members and manages approximately $6.8 billion. Joe has the dual role of Chief Ope…

In this episode, Matt welcomes COO Adrian Chastain of Gratus Capital and Partner and COO Kailee Ostroski from Connecticut Wealth Management. Gratus Capital manages approximately $3 billion of client assets, has 50 team members, and is located in Atlanta, GA. Connecticut Wealth Management, in Hartford, CT, has 65 team members and oversees about $3.3…

In his third ever monologue “rant,” Matt takes a break from our normal interview format to speak directly to RIA owners and COO candidates to discuss the “Do’s and Don’ts of COO Onboarding.” Referencing conversations with COOs, past articles he’s written, and former podcast guests, Matt urges RIA owners to have a clear understanding of what they ne…

We are joined by Megan Hannah of Emerald Advisors and Spencer Rand from Five Oceans Advisors for Ep 62. Megan has the unique position of Chief Operating Officer and Portfolio Manager. Emerald Advisors is located in Bellevue, WA and manages approximately $700 million of client assets. Spencer has the dual role of Director of Operations and Chief Com…

We welcome Janelle Anderson and David Lehman for Ep 61! Janelle is the Operations Manager and Chief Compliance Officer at Grand Wealth Management, located in Grand Rapids, MI. The firm manages approximately $600 million and has 13 employees. Matt and Janelle met at a DFA study group in May 2023. David is a financial advisor and the Chief Operating …

Episode 60 marks our 5-year anniversary, and Matt was feeling nostalgic for this conversation with Amber Salzman of Capstone Financial Advisors and Jean Paul Atallah of RZH Advisors. Amber is Manager of Client Services and a partner of the firm, which is located in Downers Grove, IL, and manages approximately $1.8 billion with 35 employees. She als…

With “The Sabbatical Episode,” Matt welcomed two highly respected RIA professionals to tackle a topic not often discussed in our industry: mental health. Allison Felix, a two-time guest to the podcast, is Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Cassaday & Co. Erika Yelle is Chief Compliance Officer at Coldstream Wealth Management. Both gues…

For this episode, we step away from our normal format of speaking with operations professionals in the trenches, to speaking with an author and entrepreneur about the role of the COO. Cameron Herold has written a fabulous book directed at CEO’s who are contemplating hiring a COO, titled, Second in Command – Unleash the Power of Your COO. He is also…

Matt welcomes two long-time RIA operations professionals for Episode 57. Trevor Hodges is the relatively new Director of Operations at Sax Wealth Advisors, headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey with a few offices in the New York and New Jersey area. While he has spent his entire career within the RIA space, Trevor joined Sax Wealth a few months a…

The COO Roundtable Episode 56 Powered by Coldstream Wealth Management For Episode 56, Matt invited two operations professionals that he met at a DFA Operations Strategy session earlier this year. Rachel Rant is a partner and Director of Operations at Aspen Capital Management, located in Boise, ID. Scott Swanson is a partner, Chief Operating Officer…

The COO Roundtable Episode 55 Powered by Coldstream Wealth Management Matt was joined by two thoughtful and experienced Operations professionals for Episode 55. Tee Meeks is the Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Waddell & Associates, headquartered in Memphis, TN. Cory Jackmuff, from BLB&B Advisors in Montgomeryville, PA, …

The COO Roundtable Episode 54 Powered by Coldstream Wealth Management In Episode 54, Matt is joined by two operations professionals he has worked with in the past. Bryce Wisan is the Managing Director, CFO, and CCO with Sepio Capital, headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT. Angie Tower is Managing Director and COO at Prairie Capital Management, locate…

The COO Roundtable Episode 53 Powered by Coldstream Wealth Management With episode 53, Matt welcomes two guests that both take a very measured approach to Operations at their firms: Julie Higgins, Chief Operating Officer at Geometric Wealth Advisors and Kevin Galvin, Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor with Hopwood Financial Services. Geome…

The COO Roundtable Episode 52 Powered by Coldstream Wealth Management In episode 52, Matt assures our listeners that no major changes will occur with the podcast moving forward, despite its new sponsor (and Matt’s new employer), Coldstream Wealth Management. As of May 1, 2023, Matt has taken the role of Chief Operating Officer at Coldstream, headqu…

The COO Roundtable Episode 51 By PFI Advisors For our 51st episode, Matt welcomed two operations professionals who run relatively new firms, Vince Crane, COO, CCO and Partner of Flower City Capital and Zach Morris, Managing Partner and Founder of Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors. Flower City Capital was founded in 2016 and is located in Rochester, New Y…

The COO Roundtable Episode 50 By PFI Advisors For our milestone 50th episode, Matt is joined by two guests who are equally committed to highlighting the importance of professional management across the RIA industry: Allison Felix, Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Cassaday & Co. and Scott Brown, President of Pinnacle Associates. Celeb…

The COO Roundtable Episode 49 By PFI Advisors Our latest episode of The COO Roundtable features two guests who challenge our audience to think of the COO role in different ways - Edgar Collado of Tobias Financial Advisors and Alex Satterfield of Byron Financial. Tobias Financial Advisors is based in Florida and has a strong foundation in tax planni…

The COO Roundtable Episode 48 By PFI Advisors For our first podcast of the new year (and our fourth year running!), Matt is welcomed by two exciting guests – Daryl Seaton, President at Sowell Management and Barrett Karvis, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Edge Capital Group. Sowell Management is headquartered in North Little Rock, A…

The COO Roundtable Episode 47 By PFI Advisors For our final episode of 2022, we were joined by two incredible members of our COO Society community: Julie Allen, Vice President of Business Operations at FirstWave Financial, and Chris Pelch, Chief Operating Office of Vance Wealth. FirstWave Financial began as a CPA firm in 1995 with a strong family f…

The COO Roundtable Episode 46 By PFI Advisors Our latest episode of The COO Roundtable features a rare single-guest format. Stacey McKinnon of Morton Wealth recently wrote an important paper titled, “Your Career is Up to You” which features Philip Palaveev of the Ensemble Practice. Matt and Stacey discuss the paper by turning the spotlight inward a…

The COO Roundtable Episode 45 By PFI Advisors Our latest episode of The COO Roundtable features two leaders of relatively young and evolving RIAs. We are joined by Michael Wagner, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Omnia Family Wealth and Ben Gurley, Director of Heartwood Wealth Advisors. Omnia Family Wealth was launched in 2015 and started …

In the “Reggie Jackson episode” of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes two thoughtful leaders of their organizations, Principal and Chief Compliance Officer of SYM Financial Advisors, Crystal Creekmore, and returning guest Gary Bonner, COO of Southwestern Investment Group. SYM Financial Advisors is headquartered in Winona Lake Indiana and has 5 offic…

In our latest episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes two impressive guests: Amanda Barrale, Chief Platform Officer of Moneta and Eric Sontag, President and Chief Operating Officer of Wealthspire. Moneta is headquartered in St Louis and has offices in Kansas City, Denver, and Boston and currently manages $32.8B in AUM with 440 employees. Wealt…

In our latest episode, Matt welcomes two incredible guests: Kristie Clayton, Integrator at iMatter and the Visionary Forum, and Melissa Bushman, VP of Operations at AltruVista. Kristie’s experience in banking and credit unions led her to wealth management where she found her true passion – leading teams and developing people to their full potential…

For the 41st episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes three special guests from Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors – CEO and Co-founder, Lauren Oschman, Co-founder and board member, Tommy Martin, and Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Brad Quick. Vestia has offices in Fort Wayne, IN, Indianapolis, IN, Los Angeles, CA, and Omaha, NE. They current…

In the 40th episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes two extremely thoughtful and strategic guests, Yonhee Gordon, Principal, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer of JMG Financial Group, and Christine DeMao, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner of Gibson Capital. JMG Financial Group is headquartered in Downers Grove, IL …

This month’s episode features two incredible guests: Rob Ziliak, Chief Operating Officer at Buckingham Wealth Partners and Ryan Armock, Head of Operations at Thrivent Advisor Network. Founded in 2019, Thrivent currently has 450 employees, and manages $6.5B in AUM. Buckingham Wealth Partners, a well-known RIA founded in 1994, currently manages $65B …

For our latest episode, Matt welcomes two fantastic guests: Jennifer Wagoner Kirksey, Managing Director of Wealth Operations at Tolleson Wealth Management, and Trevor Phillippi, Chief Operating Officer of 6 Meridian. Originally founded as a single family office, Tolleson Wealth Management currently has $10B in assets under oversight and is headquar…

For our first episode of the new year, Matt welcomes two highly accomplished guests: Jason Mirabella, Chief Platform Officer of Wealthsource Partners, and Tom Preston, Director of Client Service of Brighton Jones. Founded in 2009, Wealthsource Partners is headquartered in San Luis Obispo, California, has 35 employees and manages $1.8B in AUM. Brigh…

For our special three-year anniversary episode, we put a twist to our regular format and Matt was joined by Karl Heckenberg, CEO and President of Emigrant Partners for a compelling conversation on the RIA industry. Known for their strategic partnership with RIAs, Emigrant Partners is currently invested in 19 firms and has close to $90B in cumulativ…

In the 35th episode of The COO Roundtable, Amanda Green of Matrix Private Capital Group and Gary Davis Jr. of Satovsky Asset Management join Matt to discuss all things RIA operations and change management. Matrix Private Capital Group manages nearly $600 million of AUM, is headquartered in New York City, and has offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New…

In the 34th episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes two amazing guests: Jenn Papadopolo, COO of RegentAtlantic, and Matt Wiles, COO of Crestone Capital. RegentAtlantic is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey and has a satellite office in New York City. They have 70 employees and manage $6B in AUM. With 50 employees and approximately $3.5 bi…

In the 33rd episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes two highly respected operations professionals: Jandy Rowe, Principal and Chief Operating Officer of Wipfli Financial Advisors, and Brad Hixson, Director, Mergers and Acquisitions of Lido Advisors. Wipfli Financial Advisors has 90 employees, is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with 19 off…

For the 32nd episode of The COO Roundtable, we wanted to pause from our regular interview format and answer some questions we have been receiving about our new digital consulting platform, The COO Society. PFI Advisors offers one-on-one consulting services on a project or retainer basis, but we also wanted to create a DIY consulting platform for RI…

In the 31st episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes two operations professionals who have had a huge impact on their respective organizations, Natalie Wheeler, Chief Operating Officer at Berkshire Money Management and Eric Stephenson, Director of Client Advisory and Operations at Align Impact. Celebrating 20 years in business this year, Berksh…

In the 30th episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes Michael Paley, Chief Operating Officer at Klingman & Associates and Kevin Hrdlicka, Chief Operating Officer at Savant Wealth Management. Klingman & Associates is located in New York City, has 18 employees and manages $2.7B in client assets. Savant Wealth Management is headquartered in Rockfor…

In the 29th episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes two highly accomplished RIA professionals, Gina Bradley, COO & General Counsel of Colony Group and Susan Korin, COO & CCO of Balasa Dinverno Foltz (“BDF”). Colony Group is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and is headquartered in Boston, MA. With 15 offices nationwide and 260 employe…

In the 28th episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes two extremely experienced consultants from Charles Schwab Advisor Services’ Business Consulting & Education division, Tony Parkin and Nikolee Turner. Matt, Tony, and Nikolee discuss how professional management drives “lasting and significant changes” at organizations, the importance of clear …

For this special edition of The COO Roundtable, Matt recorded live from Mercer Capital’s inaugural RIA Practice Management Insight’s conference. This virtual conference “focused on back of the house (operational) issues that are as vital to success as they are easy to ignore.” Joining Matt as guests were Kara Armstrong, Chief Operating Officer of C…

In the 26th episode of The COO Roundtable, our host, Matt Sonnen, welcomes Matt Ran, Chief Operating Officer and Partner of Telemus Financial Life Management, and Kelly Downs, Chief Operating Officer of Berman Capital Advisors. Telemus has two offices in Michigan, another in Chicago, and manages $3.5B in AUM. Berman Capital Advisors also manages $3…

In the 25th episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes Lisa Cook, the newly-appointed COO at Pacific Portfolio Consulting in Seattle, WA and Erica Farber, Partner at Balentine in Atlanta, GA. Balentine’s 39 employees manage $3.5B in assets under advisement and Pacific Portfolio Consulting manages $3.8B in client assets with 17 employees. Lisa and…

In the 24th episode of The COO Roundtable, which marks our podcast’s 2nd anniversary, Matt welcomes two prominent guests from Segall Bryant & Hamill: Chief Executive Officer Phil Hildebrandt and Chief Operating Officer & Chief Compliance Officer Paul Lythberg. Segall Bryant & Hamill is headquartered in Chicago, IL, has been in business for over 26 …

In the 23rd episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes Aiki Altmets, COO and CCO of the newly-formed Regimen Wealth and Lynne Born, President of Wealth Architects. Regimen Wealth is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and manages $200 million in client assets with 6 employees. Located in Mountain View, California, Wealth Architects has over $1 bil…

In this special episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt recorded live for Bob Veres’ Insider’s Forum. For those unfamiliar with Insider’s Forum, it “is designed to provide essential information for running and growing prosperous businesses and better serving clients, advanced technical content, as well as valuable opportunities for networking with indu…

In the 21st episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes Chris Keller, Executive Vice President and Director of Business Services at Benjamin F. Edwards & Company and Doug Johnson, newly appointed Chief Operating Officer at Parcion Private Wealth. The Benjamin F. Edwards & Company brand dates back 130 years, and the company is headquartered in St. …

In the 20th episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes Diane Gabianelli, Co-President and Chief Financial Officer of Parallel Advisors and Cecilia Williams, Director of Investment Operations and Chief Compliance Officer of Halbert Hargrove. Parallel Advisors manages over $3 billion of client assets and is headquartered in San Francisco, with offi…