The COO Roundtable
Join host Matt Sonnen and a panel of COOs, as they share an open discussion about operational and technology best practices for the RIA industry, and shed a light on the tremendously important work COOs perform on a day-to-day basis.
Episodes
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 ...
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 strate...
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 joi...
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. Al...
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 Madis...
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 Pre...
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 to $2 billion in assets under management...
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 process implementations? How do you tack...
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 at Merit Financial Advisors headquarte...
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, his Mount Rushmore of RIA practice ma...
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 Operating Officer and Executive Director...
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 billion of client assets. Matt, Adri...
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 need from their next Operations hire b...
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 Compliance officer at Five Oceans Adviso...
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 Officer with Wealthbridge Advisors, ...
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 also has her Financial Paraplanner Qualif...
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 guests have been with their firms for...
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 the founder of the COO Allianc...
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 ago. Sean Chen has known Matt since they ...
The COO Roundtable Episode 56
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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, and financial advisor with Quantum F...
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