Our Team

with over 125 years of combined industry experience, our team is here to bring you the most effective solutions possible.

CRAIG CMIEL

MANAGING DIRECTOR – Craig brings over 30 years of industry experience. He spent 20 years working at Merrill Lynch and UBS before founding one of the fastest growing RIAs where he raised over $1 billion in assets. Craig was a million-dollar producer at Merrill Lynch, named the UBS Complex Director of the Year and over his career has assisted advisors in transitioning over $10B in assets to new platforms. Craig has extensive experience in building asset management solutions for emerging and boutique money managers and building practice and planning solutions for financial advisors.

ARUN KAUL:

CFA

MANAGING DIRECTOR, CIO – Arun brings over 25 years of industry experience. He was previously Chief Investment Strategist at Chicago based Mainstreet Advisors, a unit of Fifth Third Bank which managed near $4B in assets, President and CIO of a Boca Raton based $2B manager of managers platform as well as a Principal and co-CIO of Hillsdale Investment Management, Arun has extensive experience managing equity, long/short equity and multi strategy portfolios and has been a frequent conference speaker and featured writer in various publications.

CHRIS MCHEFFEY:

MBA

DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL SALES – Chris brings 23 years of experience working in senior management roles based on product and sales management. Chris spent 18 years with the combined PaineWebber and UBS. With a long track record of success selling and leading sales teams, Chris drives a wide spectrum of financial products including Fixed-Income, ETFs, Equities, Mutual Funds, and Alternative Investments.

ERIC TESLER:

CIMA

DIRECTOR OF DISTRIBUTION – Eric brings over 25 years of experience in Financial Services as both an advisor and wholesaler. He worked for firms such as Dreyfus, BlackRock, and John Hancock. In 2014 Eric became an independent wholesaler focused on providing advisors and individuals with advice on alternative investments.

DIEDERIK HOOIJKAAS:

MBA

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT – Diederik recently graduated from the University of Westminster in London with a Masters in Investment Risk and Finance. He provides investment analysis covering security, market and manager research and directly supports the portfolio management team. Diederik brings online marketing and e-commerce expertise to the team.

DAWSON RANSOME:

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT – Mr. Ransome is Founder, Chief Investment Officer and lead Portfolio Manager of Ransome Asset Management, LLC. Mr. Ransome is an accomplished investment professional with 20 years of experience as an investment advisor and owner/manager/partner of investment vehicles with holdings in equities, real property, and private partnerships totaling in excess of $100 million in value. Prior to founding the firm, Mr. Ransome was an independent investment advisor with Raymond James Financial Services Inc.

LAUREN CMIEL:

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING – Lauren is a current student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she is studying advertising/PR and environmental sustainability. She brings skills in website development, online marketing, and content creation to the team. Upon graduation from Chapel Hill, Lauren plans to pursue a Masters in Communications.

ADVISORY BOARD

MICHAEL STIER:

Michael Stier is the founder and former CEO of Adhesion Wealth Advisor Solutions. He is a successful business executive and entrepreneur with a track record of growing companies to scalable and profitable stages. Michael has 35+ years experience spanning lean startups through Fortune 500 companies. Now as Charlotte Metro Area President with Focus CFO, he is still passionate about growing businesses, and ties in his team of CFOs to work with owners of SMBs.

RUSSELL MASON:

Russell Mason founded the Investment Management Institute in 1981. Prior to that, he was Director of Education and Programs with the CFA Institute. In this capacity, he was responsible for the education of senior level investment officers with banks, insurance companies and investment advisory firms. He has lectured extensively and written on such topics as portfolio management, estate planning, personal money management, security analysis and investment strategy. He also serves the International Chambers of Commerce in providing educational forums for developing global finance and trade.

JOSE “PEPE” LOPEZ:

Dr. Jose Lopez holds a Ph.D. in global leadership, with a specialization in corporate and organizational management from Lynn University. With 20+ years of experience, he has presented at conferences and universities around the world. His travels in business and academia have helped him compile substantial knowledge in the field of finance, portfolio management, consumer behavior, multicultural communication, psychology, and negotiations. Dr. Lopez has been running a wholly-owned, successful real estate investment firm with over $120 million in assets with no debt leverage and an average annual growth of 10 percent since 1997. Furthermore, Dr. Lopez has been teaching since 2003 at several universities and is published in the field of negotiations, investments and customer behavior.