Rick Ahnger

Operations Manager

When I decided to join MCM Wealth in 2011, one of the main things that attracted me was its unique focus on alternative investments. I am proud to be part of a firm that values the protection of clients’ assets as our primary goal. Because this is our specialty, we gain exposure to a wide variety of investment ideas that are out of the mainstream, which is continuously intriguing. As the Operations Manager responsible for implementing these strategies in our client portfolios, I enjoy knowing when their nest egg has achieved the balance of growth, stability and safety.

Experience

Rick received his first exposure to alternative investments leading a trading desk on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade. He used that experience to become a global trader for a Commodity Trading Advisor in Santa Rosa, CA named Hawksbill Capital Management. From there, he moved on to SPO Partners, where he served as Trade Accountant until accepting his current position at MCM Wealth in 2011. Rick sits on the firm’s Investment Committee and plays an integral role collaborating on initial allocations for new clients, implements the agreed upon strategies for all client portfolios, maintaining the portfolio database and interacting in a plethora of ways to ensure MCM Wealth and their clients’ needs are met. He is also the primary point of contact for compliance issues and manages the cash flow of the firm on an ongoing basis.

Education and Certifications

• B.A. in Finance from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Awarded full four-year Evans Scholarship

Highlights

• Achieving a strong understanding of market dynamics through past experiences in global crises
• Providing stable, reliable foundation for MCM Wealth’s daily operations
• Working closely with clients to manage their income requirements and growth objectives
• Monitoring portfolios to maintain balance and keep appropriate risk levels, in line with clients’ goals

What I Love

• I am actively involved in raising our two kids and love being outdoors – camping, hiking, biking – and playing sports – baseball, golf, hockey with friends.
• I am an avid reader of a wide range of subjects – fiction and non-fiction – as well as playing guitar and learning all I can about music.

Deborah Fujiwara

Estate Planning Attorney and Mediator

Deborah’s estate planning practice focuses on families with minor children, who may require a little more care and detail than is found in many estate plans. A hallmark of her practice is the incorporation of legacy planning, which includes the passing of intangible assets along with monetary assets. Her mediation practice focuses on interpersonal dispute resolution, typically involving families. She loves blending the two practice areas together during the estate planning process to proactively address potential areas of post-death conflict while all parties are still alive. This can be a valuable process for blended families, as well as high net worth families who may wish to ensure that heirs are properly prepared for the responsibilities of inheriting significant wealth.

Experience

After college, Deborah began her career in financial services within Merrill Lynch’s Operations Department. During law school, she clerked for the Internal Revenue Service’s Office of District Counsel. After graduation, Deborah had a brief foray in estate planning before practicing insurance defense with Bolling, Walter & Gawthrop and Hardy, Erich, Brown & Wilson, before ultimately returning to her estate planning roots with the opening of her own practice, Fujiwara Law and Mediation, PC.
 
Deborah is a member of the State Bar of California and the Marin County Bar Association. She belongs to Wealth Counsel and volunteers her time as a mediator with Recourse Mediation Services in Sonoma County.

Education and Certifications

• Admitted to the California Bar in 1999
• J.D. from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
• B.A. in Government from St. Lawrence University
• Completed over 150 hours of specialized training in mediation

Highlights

• Offering differentiated services that fill in the gaps found in many estate plans
• Blending estate planning and mediation by helping clients identify potential post-death conflicts upfront and proactively address them during their lifetime

What I Love

• My kids always come first
• I love the outdoors – be that in the form of camping, hiking, walking my dog or just sitting outside by the fire pit.

Chris Gilmor CFP^®

Senior Advisor

It is easy to identify what drew me to MCM in 2014. Having worked in the industry since 1989, I was raised on the typical asset allocation strategy of investments in stocks, bonds and cash with a splash of non-correlated assets. The problem with that model is that universally clients would get hurt when the broader markets turned down. MCM’s approach was different. I was intrigued at the prospect of working with dynamic investments that can perform well across varied market cycles (including a bear market!). As the primary point of contact with our client base, I believe that this solution helps to reduce long term risk to the client’s wealth and helps us to earn client confidence and build their trust.

Experience

Chris started his career at Prudential Bache in New York before going to business school. While in business school, he focused on international finance and, as part of his studies, worked in Budapest as Hungary emerged from a centrally planned economy to more of a free market structure. When he came to California, Chris worked with Fisher Investments and Silicon Valley Bank with both individual and institutional clients. Since joining MCM Wealth, Chris continues to work directly with clients to better understand their personal circumstances and goals across all stages of their lives whether they be in the process of wealth accumulation, retirement, buying a house or getting married… Chris’s top priority is to always help a client make the decisions that will maximize the likelihood of achieving their longer-term goals.

Education and Certifications

• M.B.A. Tulane University: AB Freeman School of Business
• B.A. in Psychology; Hobart College
• Certified Financial Planner^™

Highlights

• Working as member of the MCM Investment Committee identifying and approving managers with which to collaborate. These managers have bold new ideas that will help our clients achieve their stated long-term goals.
• Worked with wealth management firm helping clients achieve their goals as that firm grew from 4bln to 50bln in AUM
• Consulted with Central Clearing House in Budapest, Hungary and US SEC, to gain eligibility to house US Equities.

What I Love

• I actively embrace time with my family and have an 11-year-old daughter who is the apple of my eye.
• I have lived in California since 1997 largely because of the beautiful outdoors – enjoying triathlons, running, tennis, sailing and hiking with my family.

Elizabeth B. Hakim

HR/Administrative Director

When I took a break from teaching first grade to have our son, Geoff recruited me to assist him with bookkeeping. As our firm grew and we added members to our team, I slowly took over HR, in addition to managing the office and organizing events. I am now applying my leadership skills to creating and tracking internal structures to enhance harmony and health within our firm. Geoff and I have been working together since 2000 and I love being a part of the team.

Experience

While growing up on Guam, Elizabeth traveled extensively all over the world with her family. She experienced many ways to live and was exposed to many different points of view. Elizabeth participated in an applied psychology program in HR at the University of Oregon. After graduating with a B.A. in Psychology, she moved to SF and worked in advertising, becoming a teacher in 1987. Now she has found her way back to HR.

Education and Certifications

• B.A. Psychology from University of Oregon, emphasis in HR, 1983
• Teaching Credential, SF State University, 1990

Highlights

• Started working with Geoff at MCM Wealth in 2000
• Teaching first and second grades for San Rafael and Mill Valley school districts
• Working at McCann Erickson Advertising Agency, SF

What I Love

• Yoga and hiking
• Having great conversations over coffee
• Spending time with family and friends (doing just about anything)
• Being a mom

Geoff Hakim, CFP^®

CEO, Wealth Manager and Founder

I entered wealth management, and ultimately started our firm, because of the potential and importance to better lives. I had a hunger for this body of knowledge and I hoped I had the aptitude to put it to good-use. Over time, as my education and experience deepened, my thinking about how best to invest for my clients evolved both unexpectedly and unconventionally because of the lessons learned during the recessions of 2000 and 2008. While protecting and growing client portfolios during good times was not so hard, doing so during recessions required an entirely different approach. We made it a priority to take the time to step back to learn. As a result, we evolved our practice into a safer, more productive way to invest. This was counter to the way I learned investing through schools, conferences and exchanges with colleagues. The addition of diverse hedged investments has re-shaped our practice profoundly. Most importantly, we’ve had the satisfaction of seeing this approach give our clients happier, fuller and less stressful lives.

Experience

Geoff is the founding member of MCM Wealth with over 40 years of experience in investments, finance and real estate. The first 14 years were spent in Boston’s downtown real-estate market where Geoff owned both commercial brokerage and development firms. Geoff moved to San Francisco in 1990, changed careers to broaden his investment knowledge and began working with Merrill Lynch. This was followed by work with a Marin County boutique wealth manager providing the experience to found MCM Wealth in 1997. Geoff completed his CFP credential in 2001 after completing coursework through the University of California at Berkeley.

Education and Certifications

• Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Berkeley 2001
• Series 7 – 1991
• University of MA
• Wentworth Institute
• Boston Architectural Center

Highlights

• Founding MCM Wealth in 1997
• First exposure in 2001 to the hedging world and ultimate decision to specialize
• 10%+ performance of our collective 10 hedged investments during the 2008 recession
• Succession completion of varied real estate development projects in Boston, MA.

What I Love

• Being a dad and husband
• Experiencing nature
• Hiking, biking and skiing
• New England sports teams

Soren H. Peterson

Analyst

I joined MCM Wealth as an intern in the summer of 2018. After spending months researching wealth management internships, I was attracted to MCM Wealth because of the uniqueness of their offerings and the scope of their experience. It was truly rare to find a firm that specializes in hedged investments, holistic financial planning, estate planning, and more and I was excited to apply my schooling to these disciplines and learn even more along the way. I have enjoyed being a part of this incredible team as we have grown and evolved, even within the short time I have been here. My highlights have been bringing our first socially responsible investment offerings to MCM Wealth and getting to know our wonderful clients and exceptional managers.

Experience

Soren’s primary roles within MCM Wealth are in marketing and investment research. He works closely with Geoff to expand our marketing efforts (including the development of this website). He assists Chris, Rick and Geoff in maintaining and improving our investment systems as well as researching new investments focused in the realms of ESG, impact, and socially responsible investing.

Education and Certifications

• Bard College Berlin.

What I Love

• Outside of school and work, I love swimming, traveling and spending time with my amazing partner and the many dogs we have in our life.

Jalissa Tello

Director of Marketing

I joined MCM Wealth as the Director of Marketing in October 2018. What attracted me most about MCM Wealth was how much value the firm has to offer across such a broad range of people. MCM is at a vital turning point in its life cycle and I wanted to be an asset as it transforms. So far, I have enjoyed being part of this incredible team that is so rich in knowledge; no two days are the same. My highlights have been successfully rebranding all social media platforms, yielding a growth in audience engagement and following. I look forward to continuing to express MCM’s values to clients and prospects across many channels.

Experience

Jalissa has an extensive background in marketing with a focus on social media strategy. She held leadership marketing positions in multiple organizations through her tenure at Sonoma State University. Jalissa has experience managing all aspects of the marketing function, building robust marketing plans from the ground up. She is an expert at analyzing data and creating solutions to a wide variety of marketing problems.

Education and Certifications

• B.S. in Marketing from Sonoma State University
• Awarded four-year Buick Scholarship
• Awarded four-year Marcus Foster Educational Fund Scholarship

What I Love

• I am an avid dog lover; I have three of my own.
• I enjoy traveling, hiking, and reading.
• Volunteer work in the community is vital for me and therefore I participate in many community-involved organizations.