On this year’s list of the area’s top financial advisers, you won’t find many names from big banks and brokerages. The reason? Financial advisers at these large institutions tend to get most of their clients from an existing bank relationship, not from outside referrals—so a peer survey can miss them.
We asked banks and brokerages to give us the names of their top wealth advisers, based on the most assets under management. Listed here are those names. (A few banks declined.) Some of these advisers work in “private offices” geared to very wealthy individuals who want to invest large amounts. But other advisers have much lower portfolio minimums.
Some independent advisers will tell you that you get more personal attention from a smaller firm. Meanwhile, size can have advantages: A big bank can offer more services—from checking accounts to mortgages and life insurance.
“What’s most important is the relationship you have with that person,” says financial planner Barry Glassman of Glassman Wealth Services. “You don’t have a relationship with a firm. It’s that person who is going to make the decision on an investment, who asks the right questions. If that person doesn’t pick up the phone to call you about recent tax changes or emerging markets, it doesn’t matter how big or small the firm is. Do they have other clients like you? Are they used to your kinds of challenges? Those are the questions that lead to you understanding that person, and that leads to trust.”
- Enhanced Listing
Edward B. Dobranetski, CFA
Managing Director and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Chevy Chase Trust www.chevychasetrust.com
With more than twenty years of experience as a broker, fixed income trader, analyst and portfolio manager, Edward serves as portfolio manager for both high net worth individuals and institutional clients. Consistent with the investment style at Chevy Chase Trust, Edward takes a global thematic approach to investing. His work with new clients begins with a thorough understanding of the client’s financial situation and priorities. He collaborates with the firm’s financial planners to design a strategy to meet the client’s unique investment and planning needs. Edward is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1500W, Bethesda, MD 20814 | 240-497-5065
- Enhanced Listing
Craig Pernick
Senior Managing Director Chevy Chase Trust www.chevychasetrust.com
Craig manages the fixed income investment strategies for Chevy Chase Trust and provides wealth management advice. Additionally, Craig oversees the trading of equity, tax exempt, and taxable fixed income assets. With more than 33 years of experience in investment management, Craig and his team are uniquely adept at managing portfolios of individual bonds. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Montgomery County, Maryland Public Schools Retirement System Trust and Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Trust and is on the Investment Committees of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, where he also serves as a volunteer emergency medical technician.
7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1500W, Bethesda, MD 20814 | 240-497-5092
- Enhanced Listing
Leslie Smith, JD
Chief Planning Officer Chevy Chase Trust www.chevychasetrust.com
With more than 30 years of experience in financial, trust and estate planning, Leslie Smith provides comprehensive planning for the firm’s high net worth and institutional clients. At Leslie’s direction, all investment relationships at Chevy Chase Trust begin with a thorough review of each client’s financial situation. This ensures a complete understanding of a client’s unique goals and priorities and informs allocation and investment decisions. In addition to leading the financial and estate planning practice at the firm, Leslie serves on the Advisory Board of the Community Foundation for Montgomery County, is Director of the H.O. Peet Foundation and is a member of both the D.C. Estate Planning Council and the Estates, Trusts and Probate Law and Tax Sections of the D.C. Bar Association.
7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1500W, Bethesda, MD 20814 | 240-497-5083
- Enhanced Listing
Spencer Smith
Managing Director Chevy Chase Trust www.chevychasetrust.com
As Senior Portfolio Manager at Chevy Chase Trust, Spencer provides investment and wealth management expertise for high net worth and institutional clients and shares responsibility for the development and oversight of investment strategy and process. He has been an investment professional for more than 18 years including 13 years managing portfolios. Spencer also serves as Director of Research, overseeing and coordinating the work of the equity analysis team.
Spencer earned a Master of Business Administration from the Yale School of Management and a Master of Arts degree from The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs. Awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, Spencer studied at the Budapest University of Economic Sciences. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and cum laude.
7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1500W, Bethesda, MD 20814 | 240-497-5095
- Enhanced Listing
Christine Wallace
Managing Director Chevy Chase Trust www.chevychasetrust.com
For more than twenty years, Christine has been providing wealth and portfolio management for individuals, families and endowments. At Chevy Chase Trust, she shares responsibility for the development and oversight of investment strategy and process. Christine begins each new client relationship with an in depth review of the client’s financial situation. She collaborates with the firm’s financial planners to build an appropriate and integrated investment and financial strategy designed to meet the client’s long term goals.
Prior to joining Chevy Chase Trust, Christine was a portfolio manager at U.S. Trust in both the New York and Washington, D.C. offices. She attended Holy Cross College and obtained her MBA at George Washington University. Christine was recently named to the list of the Top 100 Women Financial Advisers in the U.S. by the Financial Times.
7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1500W, Bethesda, MD 20814 | 240-497-5004
- Enhanced Listing
Susan Traver
Regional President of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Washington, DC bnymellonwealthmanagement.com
Susan Traver is the regional president for BNY Mellon Wealth Management in its Mid-Atlantic Region. In this role, she manages all portfolio management and new business development activities in the region. She is an active board member for the DC Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and is on the advisory board of American University’s Kogod School of Business.
1250 H Street, NW, Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20005 | 202-624-7962
Ameriprise Financial
John R. Fennig, CFP, CPA, KFA Private Wealth Group, Vienna; 703-462-9481. Minimum portfolio: $500,000. Retirement and tax planning.
Gregg S. Konopaske, CFP, CRPC, KFA Private Wealth Group, Vienna; 703-462-9341. Minimum: $500,000. Specializes in retirement planning, equity compensation, and wealth management.
BB&T
Jan E. Conner, CFP, Fairfax; 703-293-3722. Minimum: $2 million, or net worth of $5 million. Specializes in working with women in transition to create, expand, and protect wealth.
Adam W. Deal, downtown DC; 202-478-4753. Minimum: $5 million. Expertise in investments, trust-and-estate planning, insurance, and business succession.
Douglas French, CFP, Manassas; 703-331-1257. Minimum: $500,000. Estate and financial planning, including life insurance.
Christina H. James, CFP, Herndon; 703-437-2921. Minimum: $750,000. Financial, retirement, and estate planning.
S. Suzanne Kim, CFP, Fairfax; 703-259-2457. Minimum: $2 million, or net worth of $5 million. Special interests include investments, estate and financial planning, risk management, and business succession.
Jason E. Poe, Annandale; 703-813-1295. Works with clients close to or in the early stages of retirement on financial and estate planning.
Dana L. Williams, Columbia; 443-367-5263. Minimum: $1 million. Services include financial planning and life insurance.
BNY Mellon
Bruce Holmquist, downtown DC; 202-624-7947. Minimum: $3 million.
Christopher Ross, downtown DC; 202-624-7955. Minimum: $3 million.
Susan Traver, downtown DC; 202-624-7946. Minimum: $3 million.
Burke & Herbert Bank
Travis H. Clarke, CFP, Springfield; 703-837-3838. Minimum: $50,000. Has ten years’ experience in the investment industry.
William F. Cole, CFP, Annandale; 703-837-3842. Minimum: $50,000. Twenty-five years’ experience in financial planning and wealth management.
Mauricio Perea, CFP, CFA, Alexandria; 703-919-8540. Minimum: $50,000. Eighteen years’ experience in banking and investments.
Christopher Talbert, CFP, McLean; 703-837-3834. Minimum: $50,000. More than a decade of experience in investments and financial planning.
Capital One
Greg S. Pang, McLean; 301-718-6718. Minimum: $25,000. With 25 years of experience, Pang has been Capital One’s top-performing financial adviser in Virginia for nine years.
Charles Schwab
Nikki Arwood, McLean; 703-761-1570. Minimum: $1,000 for a brokerage account, $250,000 for a dedicated adviser. Financial planning and portfolio management.
Grant Joiner, downtown DC; 202-530-1870. Minimum: $1,000 for a brokerage account, $250,000 for a dedicated adviser. Financial planning and portfolio management.
Dennis Oparaugo, Bowie; 240-334-4366. Minimum: $1,000 for a brokerage account, $250,000 for a dedicated adviser. Financial planning and portfolio management.
Chevy Chase Trust
Edward Dobranetski, CFA, Bethesda; 240-497-5065. Minimum: $3 million. Specializes in thematic investing and financial planning for high-net-worth families, endowments, and foundations.
Craig Pernick, Bethesda; 240-497-5092. Minimum: $3 million. Specializes in fixed-income investing for high-net-worth individuals, foundations, and endowments.
Leslie Smith, JD, Bethesda; 240-497-5083. Minimum: $3 million. Financial and estate planning for high-net-worth families, endowments, and foundations.
Spencer Smith, Bethesda; 240-497-5095. Minimum: $3 million. Specializes in thematic investing and financial planning for high-net-worth families, endowments, and foundations.
Christine Wallace, Bethesda; 240-497-5004. Minimum: $3 million. Portfolio management for high-net-worth individuals, endowments, and foundations.
Citi
Kathleen Y. Feeney, CFP, AIF, and Peter A. Darke, AIF, Chevy Chase; 202-243-1541. Minimum: $250,000. Work as a team on retirement and estate planning and institutional/nonprofit portfolio management.
Dariana Gordon,CFP, CLU, AIF, Potomac; 301-365-6155. Minimum: $250,000. Specializes in estate and retirement planning and in wealth-transfer strategies.
J.P. Morgan
George F. Albright Jr., JD, downtown DC; 202-533-2136. Minimum: $5 million. Specialties include pre- and post-event transaction planning and endowments and foundations.
Robin L. Burton, downtown DC; 202-533-2430. Minimum: $5 million. Specializes in working with law firms and law-firm partners.
Rose H. Cohen, downtown DC; 202-533-2130. Minimum: $5 million. Clients include high-net-worth families, entrepreneurs, real-estate principals, endowments, and foundations.
Donald Irwin, downtown DC; 202-533-2111. Minimum: $5 million. Specialties include pre- and post-transaction planning for government contracting and technology clients; also works with endowments and foundations.
Bruce S. Tanous, downtown DC; 202-533-2121. Minimum: $5 million. Clients include those who work in closely held businesses, technology firms, and nonprofits; pre-transaction-planning expertise.
Merrill Lynch
Gregory Baker, CIMA, Bethesda; 301-215-4424. Minimum: $1 million. Wealth management and retirement and estate planning.
Ronya Corey, CFP, ChFC, CRPC, downtown DC; 202-659-6081. Minimum: $2 million. Financial planning, corporate benefits, and concentrated stock.
Jeffrey W. Eveland, CFP, CRPC, Leesburg; 703-779-2130. Minimum: $500,000. Retirement planning and investment management.
Neil J. Goetzman, Alexandria; 703-838-6816. Minimum: $500,000. Portfolio management.
Paul F. (Skip) Goree III, CFP, CRPC, downtown DC; 202-659-7494. Minimum: $1 million. Wealth and portfolio management.
Patricia Flowers Jacobina, CFP, CRPC, Vienna; 703-734-8022. Minimum: $500,000. Specializes in family- and generational-wealth planning, small-business retirement planning with a 401(k) focus, and retirement income strategies.
Steve Lvovsky, CIMA, Rockville; 301-230-6634. Minimum: $1 million. Retirement and estate planning.
Robert Moon, downtown DC; 202-659-3068. Minimum: $10 million. In Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking & Investment Group; specialties include individuals who suddenly come into money.
William F. Orr, CIMA, Frederick; 301-698-4710. Minimum: $10 million. In Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking & Investment Group; specializes in family and multigenerational wealth and private foundations.
Greg Popera, Vienna; 703-734-8194. Minimum: $10 million. In Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking & Investment Group; expertise in liquidity event planning.
Thomas Rietano, downtown DC; 202-659-7421. Minimum: $2.5 million. Particular expertise in corporate executive compensation.
David Ruben, Bethesda; 301-215-4410. Minimum: $2.5 million. Family wealth management.
William Slater, downtown DC; 202-659-7387. Minimum: $10 million. In Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking & Investment Group; family wealth planning and customized wealth-management strategies.
Rob Testwuide, CFP, Reston; 703-464-8809. Minimum: $1 million. Specializes in retirement income planning.
Morgan Stanley
Brett W. Anthony, downtown DC; 202-862-9082. Minimum: $1 million. Expertise in wealth management.
Lynn Alexis Lee Corey, CIMA, Alexandria; 703-535-8375. Minimum: $250,000. Trust-and-estate work for wealthy families; retirement income management.
Jonathan R. Legg, downtown DC; 202-862-9003. Minimum: $10 million. Also offers family office and executive services.
Marvin McIntyre, downtown DC; 202-778-1381. Minimum: $1 million. Liquidity event planning, estate and tax strategies, and lifestyle preservation.
Hugh L. (Trip) McLaughlin III, CIMA, downtown DC; 202-862-9152. Minimum: $1 million. Specialty in nonprofit institutional cash-reserve management and 401(k) and retirement planning.
Kress Monarch, Bethesda; 301-657-6341. Minimum: $1 million. Specialties include asset allocation, risk management, wealth transition, and retirement and estate plans.
Matthew J. Offen, downtown DC; 202-862-9035. Minimum: $1 million. Expertise in 401(k) and 403(b) accounts, defined benefits, and deferred compensation.
Michael J. O’Neill, downtown DC; 202-862-9140. Minimum: $10 million. Investment planning and management for very high-net-worth clients.
John Reim, downtown DC; 202-862-9111. Minimum: $10 million. Portfolio design and management of taxable trust assets.
Robert S. Scherer (Graystone Consulting, a business of Morgan Stanley), Potomac; 202-279-6403. Minimum: $5 million for individuals. Specializes in foundations and endowments and in employee retirement plans.
John M. Williams, downtown DC; 202-862-2870. Minimum: $2 million. Works with high-net-worth individuals, foundations, and endowments.
James Whelan Wohlgemuth, downtown DC; 202-862-9006. Minimum: $10 million, Works with very high net worths.
PNC
Ilyssa Clay, McLean; 703-506-2831. Minimum: $1 million. Specializes in credit and liquidity solutions.
Celandra Deane-Bess, CFP, downtown DC; 202-835-6314. Minimum: $1 million. Specializes in retirement and estate planning.
William Gonzalez, CFA, CIMA, downtown DC; 202-973-6709. Minimum: $1 million. Specializes in investment strategy, including alternative investments.
Ann Nickel, JD, CFP, Bethesda; 301-347-3208. Minimum: $1 million. Specializes in trust administration.
RBC
Christopher Detmer, CFP, ChFC, CLU, Chevy Chase; 301-907-2717. Minimum: $1 million. Specializes in investment management.
Ann Marie Etergino, CIMA, AIF, Chevy Chase; 301-907-2772. Minimum: $2 million. Wealth planning and asset management.
John Gerold, AIF, Chevy Chase; 301-907-2727. Minimum: $1 million. Specializes in corporate and family wealth planning.
Sally Kirkpatrick, AIF, JD, Chevy Chase; 301-907-2758. Minimum: $1 million. Also an attorney; one specialty is law firms.
Gail Winslow, Downtown DC; 202-661-9505. Minimum: $500,000. Has been a financial adviser for 59 years.
SunTrust
Thomas J. Gletner Jr., downtown DC; 202-879-7077. Minimum: $1 million.
Michael J. Leasure, CFP, Rockville; 301-517-5376. Minimum: $1 million.
Lisa Leonard, Fairfax; 703-691-4487. Focuses on medical practices and physicians.
Mark F. Leonard, CFP, Vienna; 703-442-1664. Minimum: $1 million.
Jim McCormack, CRPC, Vienna; 703-442-1713. Minimum: $1 million.
Annette Nicolay, Rockville; 301-517-5416. Minimum: $1 million.
Sunil K. Setia, downtown DC; 202-879-6391. Focuses on law firms and their associates and partners.
Tony Wykes, downtown DC; 202-879-6282. Minimum: $1 million.
U.S. Trust
Jennifer Carey Bak, Chevy Chase; 240-380-1731. Minimum: $10 million. Specializes in entrepreneurs, complex structured credit needs, and generational planning.
Lis Driscoll, Chevy Chase; 240-380-1722. Minimum: $5 million. Expertise in working with nonprofits, business owners, and women.
Thomas T. Firth, Chevy Chase; 240-380-1757. With a minimum portfolio of $5 million—and clients with net worths of $1 billion or more—Firth works with very high-net-worth families.
Christopher Johnston, Chevy Chase; 240-380-1751. Minimum: $5 million. Expertise in multigenerational planning and customized credit solutions.
Anneke Niemira, downtown DC; 202-442-7479. Minimum: $5 million. Specializes in family estate planning.
Mary K. Northrop, McLean; 703-761-8112. Minimum: $5 million. Specializes in government contractors, philanthropy, and real-estate families.
Geoffrey Sipes, Chevy Chase; 703-761-8380. Minimum: $5 million. Specializes in family offices, closely held businesses, and philanthropy.
Connie A. Torabian, downtown DC; 240-380-1742. Minimum: $5 million. Fiduciary specialist with an emphasis on estate planning.
Erica L. Webber, McLean; 703-761-9228. Minimum: $3 million. Specializes in closely held businesses, real-estate families, family offices, and philanthropy.
Charles York, CFA, downtown DC; 202-442-7548. Minimum: $10 million. Expertise in integrated wealth planning and investment management.
Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986 as an editorial intern, and worked her way to the top of the masthead when she was named editor-in-chief in 2022. She oversees the magazine’s editorial staff, and guides the magazine’s stories and direction. She lives in DC.
