KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
BOB VERES
Bob Veres has been a commentator, author and consultant in the financial services industry for more than 20 years. He editor and publisher of Inside Information, an interactive subscription-based information service for financial planning professionals. He is the author of The Cutting Edge in Financial Services (National Underwriter Press), and serves as contributing editor and columnist for Financial Planning magazine.
Over his 20-year career in the financial services world, Mr. Veres has worked as editor of Financial Planning magazine; as a contributing editor to the Journal of Financial Planning; as a columnist and editor-at-large of Dow Jones Investment Advisor magazine; and as editor of Morningstar’s advisor web site: MorningstarAdvimsor.com. In addition, he has delivered speeches and presentations at many of the planning world’s largest professional conferences, including Financial Planning Association National conference, FPA Retreat, the national conference of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, Waterhouse Institutional, FPA Broker-Dealer Conference, First Trust DATAlynx National Conference.
Mr. Veres has been named one of the most influential people in the financial planning profession by Investment Advisor magazine and Financial Planning magazine, was granted the NAPFA Special Achievement Award by the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, and most recently the Heart of Financial Planning Distinguished Service Award from the Denver-based Financial Planning Association.
LISA GRAY
Lisa Gray consults with domestic and international families and their advisors on the direct influence of generational perspectives, family dynamics, and governance on wealth management decisions. She has 19 years' experience in the wealth management industry and is the founder and managing member of graymatter STRATEGIES LLC. From 1988 through 1999, she served as a financial advisor with Union Planters IBG (now Vining Sparks IBG), Morgan Keegan & Company, and PaineWebber, Inc. (now UBS). After becoming an independent financial journalist in 2001, she formed graymatter in 2002 with the purpose of guiding global families of wealth and their advisors in fostering higher level, more effective relationships.
Based on her experience in working with clients of wealth combined with her research and consulting experience through graymatter, she developed the proprietary diagnostic Wealth Optimization Consulting™ model of service presented in her first book, The New Family Office: Innovative Strategies for Consulting to the Affluent in 2004. The concept more accurately guides families and their advisors on the journey toward optimality in their relationships as well as in wealth management.
Her broad-based years of experience offer a singular approach to private family, financial institution, and wealth advisor education and have positioned her also as a sought-after media resource for the wealth management industry on family advisory and family office-related matters. Her engagements include CFA Institute functions, Euromoney Training courses, and DC Gardner Training courses and she is a regular contributor to the Journal of Wealth Management. She is a frequent author on family office and wealth management topics and is hired regularly, both domestically and internationally, as a panelist and speaker as well as a consultant and educator. Her latest book, Generational Wealth Management: A Guide for Fostering Global Family Wealth is expected to be published in late 2007.
JOHN NERSESIAN
John Nersesian is a CFP®, CIMA and CIS. John is also Managing Director of Wealth Management Services at Nuveen Investments where his group provides wealth management and practice development education and consulting support to successful advisors. An experienced financial advisor to corporate executives, affluent families, and non-profit organizations, John was a First Vice President of Merrill Lynch Private Client Group prior to joining Nuveen in 2000.
While at Merrill Lynch he was also a leader of Advanced Training for Financial Consultants, providing training in comprehensive wealth management strategies and business development practices. John is recognized within the financial services industry as an expert in Investment Consulting and Financial Planning issues and is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and CNN.
He received a BS in Business and Economics from Lehigh University and has earned the Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA), and Certified Investment Strategist (CIS) designations. He is a member of the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA) Board of Directors and a faculty member for the IMCA Wealth Management Certificate program. A New Jersey native, John and his family live in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, IL.
SHANNON HARKINS
Ms. Harkins transitioned to her current role as a Senior Portfolio Manager (SPM) for AllianceBernstein Investments in June of 2007. As an SPM, she is a member of the Retail Investors Investment Policy Group which has responsibility for the clearest positioning and communications of AllianceBernstein investing disciplines for Growth, Value, Core Equities and Fixed Income to retail investors and their financial advisors.
Prior to joining the firm, Shannon was Vice President, Partner and Senior Client Portfolio Manager with AIM Investments, based in Houston, Texas. She began her career in 1994 as an international equity analyst at AIM, initiating the dedicated Latin American research effort for the firm, which led to a portfolio manager role on the global and international equity mutual funds. In 2001, she helped initiate AIM Private Asset Management, the separately managed account subsidiary of AIM, by assuming a Client Portfolio Manager role. The role was eventually expanded to represent all product lines for the firm and Shannon dedicated her efforts to representing the core investment complex.
Ms. Harkins has been quoted in such publications as The Wall Street Journal and Investor’s Business Daily. She earned her B.B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin in Finance and Spanish and spent a semester at The University of Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain. She holds NASD Series 7 and 63 licenses and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.