Westfair Communications recognizes Westchester and Fairfield’s top wealth advisers

[vsw id=”P_LcPBrybXg” source=”youtube” width=”650″ height=”440″ autoplay=”no”]Some of the top wealth advisers in Westchester and Fairfield counties were honored May 17 in an event presented by Westfair Communications, the publisher of the Westchester County Business Journal and Fairfield County Business Journal and WAG magazine.

About 120 people gathered Thursday night in a $13 million mansion for Westfair”™s first “Top Wealth Advisors,” which recognized more than 40 advisers who either work or reside within the two counties. The event was hosted at a model home for Greystone on Hudson, a collection of 21 multimillion-dollar estates under development in Tarrytown by The Greystone Mansion Group, an affiliate of R3 Investment Partners.

The event opened with a presentation from Andrew Maloney, a senior vice president at Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO). Maloney promised to summarize a 60-page deck on the state of the economy within a two-minute speech and managed to stay within that time frame.

First, he noted that the U.S. economy is now in its 10th year of economic expansion following one of the worst financial crises in its history.

“Nine years later, here we are, growing,” Maloney said, citing an employment rate below 4 percent.

“All this quantitative easing, this expansion of the balance sheet the government undertook has worked,” Maloney said. “It”™s allowed people, and forced people, to do what they should be doing, which is investing in the economy. Buying stocks, buying bonds, buying real estate, getting back to work.”

But Maloney noted there are signs of financial conditions tightening up.

“I think we all agree in the room that they”™re tighter today than they were 18 or 24 months ago,” he said. “The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates, we”™re removing some of that quantitative easing, we”™re getting a little tighter.”

Maloney described this as late cycle, with a flattening yield curve, increasing energy prices and inflation starting to come back.

“We”™re just talking about an environment where you want to offer caution to your clients, it”™s not time to be a hero,” Maloney said. “Bond prices are going down, stock prices are finally volatile again.”

While the economy continues to “chug along,” Maloney told advisers in the room they should be cautious for 18 to 24 months from now, when “we expect to see a little bit of a softening in the economy.”

And in a time like that, Maloney said, “your clients will need your advice more than ever.”

“You guys and you gals in the room are the ones that will continue to keep people invested and do what you do very well,” he said, “which is to manage that client and help that client to get to where they need to be to achieve their long-term financial goals.”

The 42 honored wealth advisers gave brief speeches, each mostly focusing on how they entered the field, their joy in working with clients and excitement at seeing their colleagues gathered in one place.

Sharon M. Cunningham, senior vice president with The Cunningham Group within Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, used her acceptance speech to encourage more women to enter the field.

“This financial services is an amazing industry, but it”™s especially amazing for women who want a career outside the home and be able to have flexibility with their time and still make a contribution to our clients,” Cunningham said. “So for those of us in the room, and there”™s still not enough of us in the room who are women, I would just say to you all, if you have college students, talk to them about the work that we do.”

Frank Rogers, who accepted the award on behalf of his Merrill Lynch Wealth Management colleague Michael Moskowitz, noted how much the industry had changed over two decades.

“Twenty years ago you were a stock broker, you knew stocks and maybe a few bonds,” said Rogers. “Now, we”™re managing entire balance sheets, from the kids”™ education, to the mortgage, estate planning, insurance, all of these things. It”™s been such a tough, tough road. Compliance, regulation all these different things we have up against every single day.”

“It”™s one of the greatest businesses to be in, it”™s one of the toughest businesses to succeed in,” he said.

The event was sponsored by Shreve, Crump & Low, Vitesse Worldwide, Dr. George C. Shapiro and Gilda Bonanno LLC.

Here is the full list of honorees:

Julia Peloso-Barnes
First Vice President & Portfolio Management Director, Wealth Advisor
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Barry Butlien
Financial Planner
Westchester Financial Advisors

George Bianco
Managing Director &  Wealth Management Advisor
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

Wenton Camporin
Senior Vice President, Wealth Advisor
The Peters Group
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Jay Canell
Managing Director & Portfolio Manager
The Canell Group
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.

Neil Canell
Managing Director & Portfolio Manager
The Canell Group
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.

Maria Colucci
Managing Director  and Senior Financial Advisor
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

Peter Chieco
Senior Portfolio Management Director
The Sound Shore Wealth  Management Group
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Robert Clarfeld
Founder & President
Clarfeld Financial Advisors

Elizabeth Lefebvre Cleary
Financial Services Executive
Lefebvre Financial Services

Sharon M. Cunningham
Senior Vice President & Senior Portfolio Management Director
The Cunningham Group
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Lawrence DeNoia
CPA & CFP & President
ITI Strategies Inc.

Dennis Devane
First Vice President, Investment Officer,
PIM Portfolio Manager
Wells Fargo Advisors

Vincent Fioretino
Senior Vice President, Wealth Management
The Fiorentino Group
UBS Financial Services Inc

Angela Lupo FitzGibbon
Financial Advisor
Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.

Jeffrey Gerson
Managing Director
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Russell E. Glickstern
Founder & Principal
Westchester Financial Planning

Bill Grous
Managing Director & Client Advisor
Alex Brown a Division  of Raymond James

Thomas Huvane
Senior Vice President- Wealth Management
UBS Financial Services

James Iannazzo
Managing Director, Wealth Management Advisor, Portfolio Manager
Merrill Lynch, Pierce,
Fenner & Smith Inc.

Vincent Iannucci
Financial Advisor
Wells Fargo Advisors

Allan Jay
Senior Vice President
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Marcia Kaplan
Financial Advisor
Ameriprise Financial Services Inc.

Christopher Kim
Financial Advisor
Barnum Financial Group

Peter Lang
Managing Director, Partner
HighTower Advisors

Lawrence C. Liebers
Managing Director and Wealth Management Advisor
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

Sarah V. Man
First Vice President and Portfolio Management Director
The Voyage Group at Morgan  Stanley Wealth Management

Barry Mitchell Jr.
Managing Director – Wealth Management
Senior Portfolio Manager, PMP
Retirement Consultant
UBS Financial Services Inc.

Travis O”™Brien
Senior Vice President
Senior Financial Advisor
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

Ron A. Pac
Financial Planner
Financial Services Executive
Investment Advisor Representative
Barnum Financial Group

Michael F. Poppo
Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager, Institutional Consultant
UBS Financial Services Inc.

Robert J. Rosenberg
Senior Vice President  & Senior Portfolio Manager
Morgan Stanley  Wealth Management

John C. Ross
Financial Planner
Strategies for Wealth

Lisa M. Rossi
CEO and President
Stratos Wealth Advisory Group

Emily Kramer Rubin
Senior Partner of Kramer Financial Group
UBS Financial Services Inc.

Stefano Safaei
Managing Director, Investments
SkyArch Capital Group an Independent Advisory Branch  of Wedbush Securities

Alan J. Schantz
Investment Advisor
Westchester Financial Advisors

Hiral Shah
Senior Vice President-Investments
J.P.Morgan Chase Bank

Steven Sherman
Vice President & Portfolio Manager
Morgan Stanley  Wealth Management

Thomas E. Sherman
Wealth Manager
Strategies for Wealth

Wenton Camporin
Senior Vice President, Wealth Advisor
The Peters Group
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Michael Moskowitz
Senior Vice President & Wealth Management Advisor
The WM Group
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

Sean Dowling
President
The Dowling Group