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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Marketing Strategist
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.
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.
If you’re looking for a safer, more reliable, more productive way to invest along with state-of-the-art tools for impact investing, insurance planning, estate planning and charitable giving, let’s have a talk.
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*Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investors should be aware that “Alternative Investments” or hedge funds often engage in leverage, short-selling, arbitrage, hedging, derivatives, and other speculative investment practices that may increase investment loss. This message is not an offer to sell any interests of such funds. The disclosure document of such funds contains a complete description of the principal risk factors and fund expenses. Prior to investment, investors should carefully read the fund’s disclosure document to determine whether such investment is appropriate for them in light of their financial condition. These investments are proprietary and are available for prospective investors only through MCM Wealth LLC. Please see our Disclosure document.
At MCM Wealth, we specialize in planning and creating portfolios designed to perform regardless of the direction of the economy. We do this primarily via well researched alternative investments that are specifically chosen to be both defensive and productive in bull, bear and recessionary markets. We provide clients in the San Francisco Bay area with whole life financial planning services, private wealth management solutions, alternative portfolio management assistance, asset management, estate planning services, charitable giving solutions, impact investing options, and insurance planning services to business owners, ceo’s, dentists, doctors, entrepreneurs, executives, families, individuals, and impact investors in the San Francisco Bay area. We also serve clients in the Corte Madera, Fairfax, Greenbrae, Larkspur, Point Reyes, San Anselmo, Sausalito, and Stinson areas.
We were founded in 1997 and have offices in Novato California, a suburb San Francisco. We are dedicated to understanding our clients and then providing the highest level of research-based financial management, objectivity, performance, planning, service and communication. We select and offer best-of-breed financial managers in those wealth investment niches that we believe will best serve our clients. We are a fee-only practice, which means we act as a fiduciary for our clients. Our financial advice, financial services and financial solutions are designed to withstand the test of time. We look forward to learning more about you and how we may be of help. Below is a full list of services we offer: