Top Program Managers, 21-30

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Bank Investment Consultant once again scoured the industry for the most successful managers of investment services programs at banks and credit unions. This is the first installment (No. 21-30) of our Top 30 list.

To compile our list, we used multiple variables and combined them into a weighted average. Specifically, we used six criteria: the number of advisors they oversee, team assets under management, annual team production, percentage growth in AUM, percentage growth in production and production-per-advisor. (We calculate our own estimates for production-per-advisor based on other numbers submitted in our nomination process.)

In doing it this way, we accounted for size, as well as growth and efficiency. We feel this recognizes well-rounded professionals, as opposed to those who excel in one area but fall short in others.

That said, the list is purely quantitative – the bios did not factor into the ranking. We also did not use the number of years on the job as part of the ranking determination. You can see more about the list and the methodology here.

Scroll through to meet this #21 – 30 of this year’s Top Program Managers. Check back later this week for articles and the rest of the list.

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Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during her semiannual report on the economy to the House Financial Services Committee in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, July 15, 2015. Yellen said prospects are good for further improvement in the labor market and the economy, keeping the central bank on track for an interest-rate increase in 2015. Photographer: Drew Angerer/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Janet Yellen
Drew Angerer/Bloomberg
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30. Paul Restante

Bank: Community Bank
Location: Bradenton, Florida
TPM: LPL Financial
Years in wealth management: 35
Years in current job: 10
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/18): 36
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/17): 36
Team AUM (on 12/31/18): $2.80 billion
Team AUM (on 12/31/17): $3.21 billion
Team 2018 production: $10.9 million
Team 2017 production: $11.7 million
Production per advisor: $301,974
% of 2018 production from fee business: 63%

Paul Restante believes in managing change and empowering good people to make good decisions. Delivering exceptional service through professional planning has not changed overall, but “how we recruit and structure the delivery model always needs to be fresh," he said. To be sure, programs have become much more complex, so being able to see it from 30,000 feet can only be accomplished with a strong team. As information becomes more readily available and choices for services increase, traditional and non-traditional competition increases, he says. So attracting high quality advisors and being flexible to craft an offering for them to grow is one of his main focuses.
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29. Karen Benedict

Bank: Northwest Federal Credit Union
Location: Herndon, Virginia
TPM: LPL Financial
Years in wealth management: 11
Years in current job: 5
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/18): 10
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/17): 11
Team AUM (on 12/31/18): $1.31 billion
Team AUM (on 12/31/17): $1.36 billion
Team 2018 production: $12.7 million
Team 2017 production: $11.3 million
Production per advisor: $1.2 million
% of 2018 production from fee business: 89%

Karen Benedict focuses her efforts on the caliber and collaboration of internal teams. She is laser-focused on developing the credit union’s support staff to enhance the level of service provided to advisors and loyal clients. She also believes it’s critical to foster opportunities for career development within the organization: for example, developing client service assistants into associate advisors, and focusing on the development of less experienced advisors and implementing the firm’s succession plan. In addition, she’s an advocate of promoting existing advisors to second-story advisors. Finally, she has stepped up efforts to collaborate with retail staff to increase referral opportunities to branch advisors.
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28. Waylon Peterson

Bank: Teachers Credit Union
Location: South Bend, Indiana
TPM: CUNA Brokerage Services
Years in wealth management: 23
Years in current job: 19
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/18): 11
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/17): 10
Team AUM (on 12/31/18): $795.3 million
Team AUM (on 12/31/17): $753.5 million
Team 2018 production: $4.8 million
Team 2017 production: $3.9 million
Production per advisor: $457,363
% of 2018 production from fee business: 20%

Waylon Peterson wants Teachers Credit Union Wealth Management to focus on deepening relationships with it members. The credit union’s full-time advisors are either CFPs or are in the process of becoming CFPs, and as it grows to serve more members, TCU is hiring more junior advisors and licensing more sales assistants. With the trend of branch traffic continuing to decline, TCU strives to be more proactive while working with data to reach more members, while also continuing to focus on deepening relationships with existing members.
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27. Denise Togger

Bank: Union Investment Services
Location: Glen Allen, Virginia
TPM: Raymond James
Years in wealth management: 31
Years in current job: 16
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/18): 21
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/17): 19
Team AUM (on 12/31/18): $1.23 billion
Team AUM (on 12/31/17): $1.30 billion
Team 2018 production: $8.1 million
Team 2017 production: $6.8 million
Production per advisor: $405,856
% of 2018 production from fee business: 60%

Denise Togger strives to create a support structure of associate advisors, operational and client service associates. With the support of Union Bank & Trust, advisors are given the ability to independently develop their practice as they wish. Advisors collaborate with client associates to provide a client experience that exceeds expectations. Bank management understands that the advisor program is a core part of the bank’s offerings and continuously establishes initiatives to help deepen the advisor-client connection.
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26. Ryan Tingey

Bank: American First Credit Union
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
TPM: CUSO Financial
Years in wealth management: 12
Years in current job: 4
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/18): 16
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/17): 11
Team AUM (on 12/31/18): $573.3 million
Team AUM (on 12/31/17): $468.9 million
Team 2018 production: $4.3 million
Team 2017 production: $3.4 million
Production per advisor: $314,887
% of 2018 production from fee business: 15%

Ryan Tingey is interested in having reps who want to be entrepreneurs. They should have a strong desire to excel and be open to feedback. The trend that his team is most focused on is diminishing branch traffic, so they have been exploring new ways to get in front of enough people to hit their targets. He says they are committed to leveraging technology to connect with clients and prospects. They are also educating branch employees about the technology they use and how it benefits clients.
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25. Christopher Nardone

Bank: United Bank
Location: South Windsor, Connecticut
TPM: Infinex Investments
Years in wealth management: 15
Years in current job: 4
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/18): 19
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/17): 16
Team AUM (on 12/31/18): $606.6 million
Team AUM (on 12/31/17): $471.2 million
Team 2018 production: $5.9 million
Team 2017 production: $5.1 million
Production per advisor: $334,809
% of 2018 production from fee business: 8.5%

Christopher Nardone has worked to make himself an integral part of the bank's senior management team. He has met the referral challenges in today’s banking environment by putting registered bankers in every office and leveraging them for onsite support and teamwork with the dedicated advisor staff.
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12 May, 2017- Jeremy Siragusa photographed at First National Bank for FNB.
Bill Sitzmann

24. Jeremy Siragusa

Bank: First National Bank of Omaha
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
TPM: Raymond James
Years in wealth management: 21
Years in current job: 8
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/18): 29
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/17): 25
Team AUM (on 12/31/18): $1 billion
Team AUM (on 12/31/17): $1 billion
Team 2018 production: $6.7 million
Team 2017 production: $5.7 million
Production per advisor: $249,673
% of 2018 production from fee business: 59%

Jeremy Siragusa describes himself as a great listener and collaborator. He focuses his efforts on helping to put his advisors in the best position to be successful. He also works with the bank and business partners to constantly raise awareness for the investments program. He works with senior leadership across the division and the organization to grow the program and develop new talent.
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23. Mark Ganung

Bank: First Commonwealth Bank
Location: Wexford, Pennsylvania
TPM: Infinex Financial
Years in wealth management: 34
Years in current job: 8
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/18): 20
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/17): 19
Team AUM (on 12/31/18): $869.8 million
Team AUM (on 12/31/17): $839 million
Team 2018 production: $6.9 million
Team 2017 production: $5.7 million
Production per advisor: $353,227
% of 2018 production from fee business: 7%

Over the last few years, Mark Ganung’s program revenue growth has been pushing 20%. He has also managed to grow the number of advisors while also increasing fee-based revenue as well as life insurance sales, two areas where the broader bank channel has been behind the curve. Mark has also worked on recruitment and advisor retention. Many banks lose top producers because someone else is offering them a big check so he is creating an environment where mature advisors can move to a second story operation and create equity in their practice. Currently, he is modeling a career path for advisors to wind down their career and hand off their branch network to other advisors. This will create more sustainability for the program and decrease the chances of losing top talent.
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22. David Jabczenski

Bank: Wescom Credit Union
Location: Anaheim, California
TPM: CUSO Financial Services
Years in wealth management: 25
Years in current job: 3
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/18): 18
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/17): 18
Team AUM (on 12/31/18): $973.3 million
Team AUM (on 12/31/17): $967.3 million
Team 2018 production: $7.5 million
Team 2017 production: $5.7 million
Production per advisor: $418,056
% of 2018 production from fee business: 42%

David Jabczenski is passionate about this business and the teams he manages. He is a big proponent in providing his advisors with the best possible support and personal commitment to bring out the best in each of them. His management style has entailed assisting many advisors in achieving professional success, which David consider to be the million-dollar revenue mark.
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21. Steve Kruchten

Bank: Bremer Bank
Location: St. Louis Park, Minnesota
TPM: Raymond James
Years in wealth management: 31
Years in current job: 9
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/18): 25
Number of advisors you personally oversee (as of 12/31/17): 26
Team AUM (on 12/31/18): $2.19 billion
Team AUM (on 12/31/17): $2.24 billion
Team 2018 production: $18.7 million
Team 2017 production: $16.6 million
Production per advisor: $750,000
% of 2018 production from fee business: 55%

Steve Kruchten: The main initiative every year for Bremer Investment Services is to evolve and 2018 was no different. Specifically, the goal was to evolve the client experience. Steve believes the industry is in a period that offers “commodities” that can be purchased online or from any competitor down the street. So the goal at Bremer is to separate itself from the competition. And what’s needed for the client experience are asset management, financial planning, risk management (insurance), longevity planning and estate planning along with executing consistently. This experience should be needs to be as consistent as when a person visits McDonalds, he says, which requires a team because it’s impossible for one FA to be an expert in all five areas and find the time to execute. So he brought together managers from various areas to collaborate and design the tools necessary.
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