Download the 2010 OC’s Top Wealth Managers list (pdf)
TROY ARMSTRONG
Company: Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Location: Newport Beach
Rank on Barron’s California list: No. 32
Notable: Manages assets of $1.7 billion, average ac-count size of $25 million. Typical client has a net worth of $50 million. Media shy, shuns the spotlight. Reluc-tant entry on Business Journal’s list, Barron’s. Known for guarding clients’ privacy with zeal. In 2002, made headlines when he moved his team to Merrill Lynch from JPMorgan Chase & Co. At the time, he reportedly had $700 million in assets and was part of a large exodus from Chase’s Hambrecht & Quist following the combination of Chase Manhattan Bank and J.P. Morgan & Co.
BOB KLEIN
Company: J.P. Morgan Securities
Location: Newport Beach
Years in Business: 26
Rank on Barron’s California list: 44
Education: economics bachelor’s, Davidson College, North Carolina
Notable: Manages about $350 million in assets with an average account size of $1.5 million. Typical client has a net worth of $5 million. Fascinated with market dynamics since he was a child. Bought his first stock at age 11. Takes short as well as long positions. Seeks to work with business owners and entrepreneurs.
MARK BINDER
Company: Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Location: Newport Beach
Years in Business: 17
Rank on Barron’s California list: 58
Education: finance bachelor’s, University of South-ern California; business mas-ter’s, Columbia University
Notable: Manages about $2.8 billion in assets with an average account size of $30 million. Typical client worth $40 million. Recruited by Goldman Sachs & Co. out of college. Worked for a year in New York before returning to Southern California. Keeps close track of market volatility. Big believer in keeping a global perspective. Works with about 125 wealthy families.
LAILA MARSCHALL-PENCE
Company: Pence Wealth Management
Location: Newport Beach
Years In Business: 30
Rank on Barron’s California list: 63
Education: economics bachelor’s, University of California, Los Angeles
Notable: Manages $540 million in assets with an average account size of $2 million. Typical client has net worth of $3 million to $10 million. Ranked No. 20 of all U.S. women advisers by Barron’s in 2009. Native of Egypt. Husband Eldon Dryden Pence is chief investment officer, economics degree from Harvard University. Served as an Army intelligence officer specializing in psychological warfare.
TOM BLANCHFIELD
Company: Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Location: Newport Beach
Years in Business: 24
Rank on Barron’s California list: 67
Education: finance bachelor’s, University of Delaware
Notable: Started as a Wall Street analyst before moving to Orange County more than 20 years ago. Handles bond allocations. Partner Alex Stimpson focuses on stocks. Pair has $2 billion under management, average account size of $25 million. Typical client has a net worth of $50 million. Clients are largely business owners or retired business owners. Blanchfield, Stimpson use some funds that implement hedging strategies and see commodities as a good source of diversification.
ED LEVIN
Company: UBS Financial Services Inc.
Location: Newport Beach
Years In Business: 23
Rank on Barron’s California list: 70
Education: business administration bachelor’s, California State University, Long Beach
Notable: Started as financial adviser for a bank before moving to Kidder Peabody & Co., which now is part of UBS Financial. Works primarily with business owners and wealthy retired families. Has $830 million in assets under management, average account size of $5 million. Typical client is worth $5 million to $10 million. Considered an expert in bonds. Also works with hedge funds, banks and institutions on debt investing.
TRUDY HAUSSMANN
Company: Haussmann Financial Inc.
Location: Newport Beach
Years in Business: 25
Rank on Barron’s California list: 76
Education: economics bachelor’s, University of California, Los Angeles
Notable: Counts nearly 2,240 clients, more than any other adviser on the list. Advises mostly for em-ployee retirement accounts. Has $415 million under management, average account size of $500,000. Typical client has net worth of $1.5 million. Firm has four other advisers and doesn’t set minimums for account sizes. Started business in 1990.
SID MIRAMONTES
Company: UBS Financial Services
Location: Brea
Years in Business: 14
Rank on Barron’s California list: 79
Notable: Longtime entrepreneur, Miramontes went to an adviser to invest $40,000 in the market. Decided he could come up with better ideas, called the firm’s manager and was hired the next week. He sticks to retirees, mostly former blue collar workers and middle-management types who’ve saved up. Has $240 million under management, average account size of $800,000. Typical client is worth $1.5 million.
DAVID RUNSTROM
Company: Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Location: Newport Beach
Years in Business: 34
Rank on Barron’s California list: 95
Education: finance bachelor’s, California State University, Long Beach
Notable: Manages $660 million in mostly stocks and bonds. Average account of $5 million, typical client net worth of $8 million. Served in Navy, ran a circuit board company. Following global credit crisis, hasn’t been a proponent of investments that use leverage.
MARC FOSTER
Company: UBS Financial Services
Location: Newport Beach
Years in Business: 31
Rank on Barron’s California list: 96
Education: chemistry bachelor’s, California State University, Fullerton
Notable: Advises business owners or retired business owners. Has $615 million under management, average account size of $2 million. Typical client has net worth of $5 million. Takes a cautious approach using stocks, bonds, exchange traded funds. Overweights emerging markets, international stocks. Out of college, told he was too green to serve as an adviser. He went across the street to Paine Webber & Co. and landed his first and only career position. Paine Webber became part of UBS in 1999.
MIKE THOMPSON
Company: UBS Financial Services
Location: Irvine
Years in Business: 28
Rank on Barron’s California list: 98
Education: finance bachelor’s, Miami University of Ohio.
Notable: Oversees about $490 million, average account size of $1 million. Typical client has a net worth of $2 million. Likes to keep it simple. Invests in stocks, bonds. Most clients are small-business owners who look to him for retirement advice, long-term financial planning.
