Our Team

Take advantage of our firm’s long-standing relationships with custodians and vendors, and an experienced team whose key players have an average of 10-15 years in the industry. We’ll help eliminate your fears as you’re guided by a knowledgeable, personalized, experienced staff who oversees your transition process start to finish.

Think of your FocusPoint team as an extension of your own staff, everyone plugged into the same systems, constantly responding to your needs, but fully transparent to your clients. Enjoy a true private label experience, branded just for you, access to the leverage and scope of a larger firm, and the dedicated, personalized attention you desire and deserve.

The entire FocusPoint team is comprised of highly experienced, knowledgeable professionals who are all exceptionally qualified for the roles they play in the advisor support process. Each person has been individually selected because of his or her unique abilities and background in the RIA and financial services world.

As you begin talking and planning with us, you'll get to know each of the following key team members.

Initially, these integral people will serve as your support system as you make a decision about partnering with FocusPoint. They'll also work closely with you to develop and implement your unique transition plan.

Once you decide to work with us, on an ongoing basis, you'll have one central point of contact in our back office - but this core team will always be available to you for assistance and communication.

Strategic Guidance

Brent Hicks Founder and CEO	Chris Hicks President	Kelly Staley LaPalio Director of Business Development	Evan T. Kellenberger Regional Vice President of Sales	Scott Conroy Regional Vice President of Sales	Todd Sakoda Director of Advisor Development

Middle Office

“What is a Middle Office?”  We like to refer to our back office team as your “middle office”.  This is because we really look at our back office team as an extension of each advisor’s staff.  We strive to match up each advisor we support with the ideal dedicated relationship manager (advisor associate).  Each relationship manager oversees 3-4 advisor relationships, which means advisors we support have a very personalized relationship with their FocusPoint staff.  While each advisor associate is part of a larger team who is available when you need them, 95% of the time you’re able to work with one central point of contact.  This is something that advisors we support truly appreciate and find valuable.

Research Team

Advisors we support can either hire FocusPoint to execute their preferred investment strategy, or choose to utilize our investment management process and portfolios, while maintaining their own brand identity and relationship with clients.

In either case, advisors can benefit from our team’s research and investment expertise to assist them (with management of their own model portfolios or ours).

When advisors opt to take full advantage this area of our comprehensive services menu, FocusPoint offers them access to a full-time, 10-person research team. We employ two CFAs with over 30 and 15 years of investments experience, respectively. These individuals lead an investment policy (research) committee, on which our chief operating officer, chief compliance officer, as well as three to four financial advisors serve on a rotating basis. The committee, who meets at minimum monthly, exists to make investment decisions for our firm in accordance with our highly disciplined investment philosophy.

Our unique investment process - which has been in place for over 20 years - allows us to emphasize customization with each and every client you support. We have the ability to deal appropriately with everything from legacy assets to highly appreciated individual stock positions. Our firm has also developed systems which enable us to hold just about all of your clients’ assets; this can greatly simplify those clients’ lives as they receive one consolidated statement from you.

FocusPoint’s research team is led by: