The COO Roundtable

With Episode 88, Matt welcomes Bryant Hicks, Partner and Director of Operations at JFG Family Office, and Tim Feeney, FPQP^®, Operations Manager at Bridgewater Advisors. JFG Family Office is headquartered in Denver, CO, with additional offices in Washington, DC, and Dallas, TX. The firm manages approximately $5 billion in client assets and has 62 employees, 22 of whom have joined in the past 18 months. Bridgewater Advisor...

In this episode, Matt welcomes two dynamic operations leaders: Grace Balestrieri, Senior Director of Client Experience Operations at Brighton Jones, and Vince Nauheimer, Chief Operating Officer of OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners. Brighton Jones, headquartered in Seattle, WA, was founded in 1999 and recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Today, the firm manages approximately $30 billion in client assets across 22 offices nationwide....

In this episode, Matt is joined by Dawn Claussen, Chief Operating Officer at Mutual Group, and Michael Young, President and Managing Partner at Integrated Advisors Network. Mutual Group specializes in providing operational, strategic, and advisory support to financial service firms. Their goal is to help organizations optimize their processes, scale efficiently, and focus on what they do best―serving clients. Integrated Advisors Ne...

Matt welcomes Josh Brier, Chief Operating Officer of Connecticut Wealth Management, and Aldo Tarantini, Managing Director and former Director of Operations at Family Management Corporation. Connecticut Wealth Management, founded in 2010 out of an accounting business, recently celebrated its 15^th anniversary. Today, the firm manages approximately $5 billion of client assets with a team of 70 employees. Family Management C...

With Episode 84, Matt welcomes Ben Littman, Founding Member and Head of Corporate Development at Pure Financial Advisors, and Henry Lao, Vice President of Investments at Mercer Advisors. Pure Financial Advisors manages approximately $11 billion of client assets with a team of nearly 200 dedicated professionals. Mercer Advisors operates from over 100 offices nationwide, employing nearly 1,500 people, and oversees around $90 billion ...

In this episode, Matt is joined by Alli Jordan, President at LibertyFi, and Emily Wilcox, COO at Practifi, for a discussion on how leading RIAs are using innovative technology, operational excellence, and smart leadership to drive scalable growth. LibertyFi empowers growth-oriented RIAs to drive revenue and scale with the Envestnet platform, enabling seamless outsourcing of reporting, billing, and trading. Using technology and defi...

In Episode 82, Matt sits down with two well-accomplished RIA operators: Hannah Koch, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Chicago-based Altair Advisers, and Joe Walker, COO of Bradley, Foster & Sargent (BFS), headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, with nine total office locations. Altair Advisers serves individuals, families, foundations, and endowments, offering investment management, financial planning, and client education....

Matt is joined by industry veterans Jason Mirabella and Randy Lambert for Episode 81. Jason returns for his second appearance, having first joined Episode 37 nearly four years ago. Randy, the former COO of Orion, brings decades of experience after spending 30 years building and scaling one of the industry's leading organizations. Now, Jason and Randy have teamed up at Intention.ly to launch a new operational consulting arm, sp...

In this episode, Matt sits down with Linda Bready, a renowned operations consultant to RIAs and author of the new book, The Exit Equation – M&A Strategies, Tools, and Insights for Financial Advisors.  What started as a guide for sellers preparing for mergers or acquisitions, Linda’s book reveals itself as a comprehensive blueprint for operational readiness. It’s packed with practical strategies that empow...

In Episode 79, Matt welcomes two long-time friends and industry experts: Lisa Crafford and Morgan Bell of Constellation Wealth Capital (“CWC”). CWC is a Chicago-based private equity firm founded in 2023 that specializes in making minority investments in growth-oriented wealth management firms across the United States. Lisa and Morgan first met at BNY Mellon Pershing, while consulting for RIAs. Today, Lisa serves as Mana...

Episode 78 dives deep into a challenge many COOs contend with on a daily basis: mastering M&A integration. Matt hosts a dynamic discussion with two former COOs who have recently stepped into groundbreaking roles focused exclusively on business integration: Eric Stephenson and Shelly Kapoor. 

Eric is Managing Director of Integration and Optimization at Pathstone, a firm spanning 22 office locations, 800 employees, and manag...

Episode 77 finds Matt interviewing two seasoned RIA operators: Brad Cox and Michael Walliser, for an insightful conversation on growth, technology, and collaboration in the wealth management industry. Brad is COO, CCO, and Partner at Diversified Portfolios, Inc., based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.  The firm was founded in 1993 and has grown to approximately $1.8 billion of client assets, with a team of 19 employees. Michael ...

We are excited to return to our traditional interview format for Episode 76, but this time with a twist! For the first time, we are interviewing an RIA who is actively searching for a Chief Operating Officer. In this episode, we delve into the responsibilities they envision for their new COO, once hired.

Sage Mountain Advisors, founded in 2018 out of Goldman Sachs, has experienced remarkable growth. Starting with just six...

In the midst of volatile markets and a bustling tax season, Matt faced a unique challenge for Episode 75: he was unable to secure guests for the show. Rather than skipping an episode, he opted for a second monologue in a row, a format he typically reserves for special occasions. While he prefers to spotlight those leading operations at their firms, he chose a topic that resonates deeply with our listeners: leveraging technology to ...

In Episode 74, Matt steps away from our usual interview format to share a vital message that could reshape how you approach your business.  Drawing insights from his recent article in RIABiz, titled, How Fiduciary Duty Is Causing Confused Advisors to Run Bad Businesses, he dives deep into the crucial themes of firm capacity and RIA scalability.  The primary function of a COO is to strategically allocate resources -- both ...

With Episode 73, Matt welcomes two thoughtful RIA operators to the podcast: Carrie King and Jay Tarno, CFP^®.  Carrie is Partner, Chief Compliance Officer, Director of Trading, and a Wealth Advisor at Ullmann Wealth Partners, located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.  Ullmann Wealth Partners was founded in 2002 and has grown from approximately $400 million in 2018 when Carrie joined, to about $1.1 billion today.&n...

We welcome Brittany Manning and Brian Habas for Episode 72!  Brittany is the Chief Operating Officer at MCF Advisors, with offices in Covington, Lexington, and Louisville, Kentucky.  The firm manages approximately $3.2 billion for both private clients and institutional clients and has 34 employees. Brian joined AlphaCore Wealth Advisory about six months ago as Chief Operating Officer. Alphacore is headquartered in La Joll...

Matt was joined by Amy Flourry, Director of Operations of Rehmann Wealth, and Maria Millner, Partner and Head of Operations of Transcend Capital Advisors. Rehmann Wealth is headquartered in Lansing, MI, with additional offices in Ohio and Florida, and advises on approximately $4 billion across private client and retirement plan assets. Transcend Capital Advisors is headquartered in Madison, NJ, with additional office locations...

Matt was joined by Jeremy Massullo of Concurrent and Dr. Jordan Hutchison of RFG Advisory for Episode 70.  Jeremy was Concurrent’s very first employee seven years ago, and currently serves as VP of Operations. The firm is headquartered in Tampa, FL, started as an OSJ on Raymond James’ platform, and currently has approximately $9.5 billion of client assets. Jordan serves as RFG’s Vice President of Technology a...