
Our Mission
- To start and end every conversation by asking, “What is best for clients?”
- To build and manage the best possible portfolios for long-term investors.
- To support the needs of advisors with a talented, dedicated group of professionals.
Our Purpose
We aspire to create a corner of the world where clients truly do come first. Most investment firms say they care about their clients, but actions speak louder than words. Many seem more focused on themselves than on helping clients reach their goals. We think there’s a better way.
It starts with maintaining a culture of investment excellence. We’ve assembled a highly skilled and experienced team of professionals whose sole focus is supporting financial advisors and managing portfolios tailored to their clients’ needs. The independent members of our investment committee work with our internal investment professionals to bring new perspectives, added objectivity, and additional expertise.
Maintaining our independence and objectivity is important. We don’t use proprietary products in our portfolios or accept payments from the firms whose products we do use. We control our own destiny and are not beholden to anyone whose interests conflict with those of our clients.
Keeping fees low helps clients reach their goals faster. Our industry-first flat-fee pricing is simple and very transparent. Clients know at the beginning of each year what they’re going to pay. We’ve shown that you can find quality investment management, fair pricing, and excellent service together under one roof.
We are united in a common mission—helping the clients of financial advisors reach their long-term goals. Our formula for accomplishing this is investment excellence, objectivity, low fees, and an experienced team. We don’t expect to change the world—just a little corner of it.


Karen L. Garcia
Chief Operating Officer
I feel that we can make a positive difference for clients and their advisors....
Patrick Krulik, CFA
Chief Investment Officer
My role is to oversee the investment process while working closely with both our internal investment team and external i...
Walter Gengarelly
Director of Technology
What I do here: I develop technology solutions that help advisors serve the needs of their clients. Why I love my job: A...
Charles Staples
Senior Trading/Investments Manager
What I do here: I am responsible for generating and executing trades and providing support to the investment team. Why I...
Josh Smith
Trader/Analyst
I work with the investment and trading team on all aspects of the process, from executing trades to assisting on various...
Mac MacKillop
Director of Advisor Consulting
I work directly with financial advisors to help them best use First Ascent’s strategies and services for their clients...
Marisa Viterbo
Advisor Consultant
I work directly with financial advisors to help them best use First Ascent’s strategies and services for their clients...
Travis Nelson
Director of Client Service and Operations
I manage all operational and servicing aspects for client accounts, interfacing with advisors, and custodians and vendor...
Natalie Dilley
Investment Operations Associate
I work on the operations team providing client service and day-to-day account administration....
Alla Aristov
Investment Operations Associate
I assist advisors with their client’s administrative needs. ...
Ben Sullivan
Director of Communications
I create and manage the production of the media and the videos on the Knowledge Center....Independent Members of Our Investment Committee
Mary Kathryn Campion, Ph.D., CFA, AIFA. President and Founder, Champion Capital Research. Dr. Campion has decades of experience as a financial economist and portfolio strategist.
Shane Morrow, CFP®, CIMA, CAIA, CFA Level II candidate. Shane has 15 years of financial services industry experience. He is Managing Partner of IronBridge Wealth Counsel.
Geoff Selzer, CFA. Geoff has over 20 years of financial services industry experience. He served as a Senior Vice President at Envestnet/PMC and as Director of Consulting Services at Prima Capital.
Merrill Stillwell, CFA. Managing Partner, Blue Mountain Investments. Before founding Blue Mountain Investments, Merrill was an analyst at Denver Investments from 2010-2014.