The COO Roundtable

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 for approximately 400 c...

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 tackle your never-ending to-...

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 headquartered in Atlanta, GA. The ...

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 management leaders consist...

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 of the firm’s Family Of...

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, Adrian, and Kailee discuss w...

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 before beginning a se...

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 Advisors, headquartered in Los...

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, headquartered in Lake Os...

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 Qualified Professional (FPQP®)...

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 over two decades and ha...

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 Alliance and the host of his ow...

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 were both 21 years old a...

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 Financial Advisors, with ...

The COO Roundtable Episode 55

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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, is the firm’s Operations Manager. Waddell & Associa...

The COO Roundtable Episode 54

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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, located in Kansas City, MO.  Sepio Capital manages approximately $7 ...

The COO Roundtable Episode 53

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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.  Geometric Wealth provides comprehensive financial planning for exec...

The COO Roundtable Episode 52

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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, headquartered in Bellevue, WA.  The firm employs 135 people and manag...

The COO Roundtable Episode 51

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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 York. They are currently a team of 5 and manage roughly $200M in ...