Robo Advisors and the Future of the Wealth Management Business & ”So You Want to Start an RIA?”

Part 8 of 10 in our First Wednesdays: The Wealth Management Excellence Series. This event is a stand-alone event; you do not need to have attended Parts 1-7 of the series to attend this event.

Financial technology, or Fintech, promises to both significantly enhance and creatively destroy the private wealth management business as it operates today. In particular, robo-advisory programs have been both dismissed as a passing fad and highlighted as an existential threat to wealth managers. At this event, we will take a deep dive into the current trends and likely future impact of fintech on wealth management, and examine the growing trend for advisory independence from mainstream Wall Street firms, including tips on how to improve the effectiveness of an RIA.

Peter Andes | Peter Andes serves as Motif Capital’s Senior Director of Investment Strategies and is a member of Investment & Risk Management committee. Peter manages the fundamental research process for the development of unique thematic investment strategies and serves as the key point person for investment strategies for Motif Capital’s institutional partners. Since 2013, Peter has also been responsible for architecting our state-of-the-art portfolio management system that powers the firm’s thematic research, risk analytics and reporting capabilities.

Peter brings in over a decade of experience at top tier firms in both financial services and technology. Prior to Motif, Peter was involved in investment management including managing proprietary options trading strategies for Goldman Sachs and building risk models, analytics for their $2Bln Residential Whole Loan portfolio. Peter was an integral part of the acquisitions team for a multi-billion dollar commercial real estate fund in Los Angeles. Early in his career, Peter applied machine-learning techniques in big data analytics roles at Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Peter earned his Bachelors of Science degree with a major in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia. He holds the Charter Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and the Series 7 and 63 licenses. Back To Top ^^

Geoffrey Clauss | Geoff Clauss is Senior Director at Addepar and responsible for all business growth in the western region and strategic positioning in the Wealth Management and Registered Investment Advisor segments. Geoff is a veteran sales leader with a proven track record of success in sales in the financial sector, having spent over 15 years at Advent where he held senior sales management roles.

Geoff has an eye for identifying complex problems and offering simplified solutions, making him a great asset to the market that he serves. Geoff is well-respected in the industry and among his customers for his deep understanding of the dynamic financial sector and his intense focus on making customers successful. He has built and managed sales teams of various sizes and geographies and brought numerous new products to market.

Geoff studied Business and Economics at Lehigh University and completed the Wharton Executive Education program at the University of Pennsylvania. Back To Top ^^

Marie E. Dzanis, CIMA® | Marie Dzanis is responsible for establishing Northern Trust’s presence in the intermediary market, recruiting and retaining talented sales professionals, as well as developing significant relationships across industry channels.

Recognized with a “Top Women in Asset Management” award by Money Management Executive in May 2015, Marie has more than 25 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2011, she held executive and leadership positions at iShares/Blackrock, JPMorgan Asset Management and Smith Barney. Marie has managed multiple channels and has grown several lines of business in the institutional and intermediary spaces including securities lending and trading, product development, product sales, sales management and branch management. She began her career in the industry as a financial advisor.

Marie is a graduate of The Catholic University of America (bachelor’s degree in political theory), the Stanford University Executive Education Program, and the Chicago Booth School of Business Executive Education Program. She received her Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) certification at University of California, Berkeley and is chairwoman of the Specialty Conference Committees for the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA®). She also is on the ETF committee for Money Management Institute and holds FINRA Series 7, 24 & 66 Licenses. She serves on the women’s board of the University of Chicago Cancer Foundation and is the founder of the Emergency Champagne Women’s Leadership Group. Back To Top ^^

 Matt Sonnen | Matt Sonnen learned the ins and outs of the wirehouse model at Merrill Lynch in the late 1990s prior to founding PFI Advisors . After leaving Merrill in 2005, he was introduced to the RIA marketplace a few years later when he helped build the infrastructure for Luminous Capital prior to its founding in 2008. As COO and CCO at Luminous, he navigated the technology and compliance challenges as the firm grew from $1.7 billion in assets to nearly $6 billion in less than five years. Luminous Capital sold to First Republic Bank for more than $100 million in 2012, after which Matt headed to Focus Financial Partners in New York City. There, he helped breakaway teams and recently-formed RIAs develop strategic initiatives to benefit from best practices, streamline operations, and improve efficiency before heading back to California to launch PFI Advisors with his wife and business partner. Back To Top ^^

 Patrick Beaudan | Dr. Patrick Beaudan is the CEO of Emotomy and Belvedere Advisors. Prior to the launch of Emotomy in 2014 and Belvedere Advisors in 2002, Dr. Beaudan was the Chief Executive Officer of Equity Capital Network, a venture capital firm operating in the US and in Europe. Previously, Dr. Beaudan was a Vice President at Lehman Brothers in charge of the firm's European strategy, product development and corporate mergers and acquisitions.  He joined Lehman Brothers from McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm where he worked primarily with financial institutions and healthcare companies in North America.  Dr. Beaudan is a reserve officer in the French air force and the author of several scientific papers, and he has been a lecturer in finance at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Paris, France.

Dr. Beaudan holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, and an M.S. and B.Sc. Summa Cum Laude in aeronautical engineering from the State University of New York. He is hosted by Stonecrest   Back To Top ^^