KEY PERSONNEL

Milford "Mickey" Stern, Chairman

Mickey is Chairman of M.L. Stern & Co. LLC, a full service broker/dealer that opened in 1980.  He formed Tower Asset Management in 1991 as a wholly owned subsidiary of M.L. Stern & Co. to service the wealth management needs of its clients.

Previously, Mickey was President of Stern Brenner & Co., a broker/dealer from 1966 to 1980.  He has been active in the securities business since 1959.

Jon C. Lam, President

Jon has been with Tower since 1997 and manages the firm's day to day activities.  Before becoming Tower's President, he managed the firm's Marketing and Private Client Services departments.

Prior to joining Tower, Jon spent seven years at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.  This includes a position at Schwab Institutional, where he worked exclusively with the investment advisor marketplace in the Los Angeles region.  Jon obtained a Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from Boston University and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Southern California.

Stuart M. Sneddon, CFA, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer

One of the founders of the firm along with Mr. Stern, Stuart has served as the Chief Investment Officer of Tower Asset Management since 1994 and has been with Tower since its 1991 inception.  Stuart's primary duties include portfolio management and research analysis for Tower’s Dividend Growth, Global Growth, and Select Growth portfolio strategies.  He has over 16 years of experience in the investment management industry.

Prior to joining Tower in 1991, Stuart was a securities analyst for M.L. Stern & Co. LLC for two years.  He began his career at Washington Square Capital, a Minneapolis based institutional money management firm.

Stuart obtained a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and an MBA in Finance and Investments from Texas Christian University.  He is a Chartered Financial Analyst as well as a member of the Los Angeles Society of Financial Analysts.  He has been quoted in numerous financial publications, has been featured on CNBC TV, and has been published in The Journal of International Portfolio Management.

Raymond C. Baker, Jr., Senior Vice President and Chief Market Strategist

Ray brings to Tower over 25 years of senior level experience in the areas of equity/fixed income trading, portfolio management, and research.  Prior to joining Tower, Ray headed ML Stern & Co.'s Equity Trading and Research Department.  He has also served as Senior Vice President at Yaeger Securities and Sutro & Company.  In addition, he spent five years at Morgan Capital Management as the Managing Director.  As Chairman of the Investment Strategy Committee at Bateman Eichler Hill Richards, Ray interfaced with both institutional and retail clients, published the monthly Investment Strategy Letter, and developed the technical forecasting tools that he uses today.  He has been a contributing editor to the Wall Street Transcript and has authored articles for Registered Representative Magazine.  Ray has been quoted in numerous periodicals including Forbes, Investors Business Daily and the Wall Street Journal.

Anthony L. Rapista, Vice President, Private Client Services

Tony joined Tower Asset Management in 2001 and is currently responsible for managing its Private Client Services department.  In addition to Tower, he has worked at the firm's parent company, ML Stern & Co. LLC, since 1993 and still maintains client relationships as an investment advisor specializing in fixed income securities.  He obtained a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of California, Irvine.

Morgan T. Gough, Vice President, Private Client Advisor

Morgan joined Tower Asset Management in 2000 as Director of the firm's Private Client Advisor team.  Throughout his career at Tower, he has worked exclusively with corporate executives and high net worth individuals and creates financial solutions for them through investment consulting, retirement planning, and estate planning.

Morgan began his investment career in 1991 with Merrill Lynch as an Investment Consultant .  He gained experience in positions at Dean Witter, Home Savings of America and Charles Schwab & Co.  He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from California State University Bakersfield.
 

Peter P. Chen, Vice President, Private Client Advisor

Peter joined Tower Asset Management in 2000.  Prior to that, he held positions as Vice President, Portfolio Management at Van Deventer & Hoch, Financial Consultant at Washington Mutual and Investment Specialist with Charles Schwab.   

During his career at Tower, he has developed a clientele consisting exclusively of high net worth individuals and corporate pension plans.  Peter utilizes wealthcare analysis as well as retirement and estate planning to develop financial solutions tailored to his client's specific needs.  He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business from San Diego State University and is fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese.

Wade S. Perry, Vice President, Private Client Advisor

Wade maintains the firm’s client relations primarily in the Orange County, CA area and has clientele nationwide.  He began his career with Putnam Investments as a Retirement Plan Specialist.  Later he moved on to American Express Financial Advisors where he was named a Managing Principal and Branch Manager.

Wade has served in the United States Marine Corps and participated in Operations Desert Shield/Storm.  He obtained a Bachelors Degree from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.  He has been quoted in national periodicals and has appeared on financial media outlets including CNN, CNBC, FOXNEWS and KCAL9.

Adam P. Sarcona, Vice President, Private Client Advisor

Adam serves primarily as a Wealth Manager for Tower’s Private Client Division advising Corporations, Pension Plans, Individual Clients, and Families.  With over 11 years experience in financial services, Adam currently remains committed to consistently exceeding the expectations of our affluent investors.

Upon receiving his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree with an emphasis in Finance and Strategic Marketing from Kent State University in 1996, Adam began his career as a Municipal Bond Specialist.  In 1997, he accepted a position as a Financial Consultant with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc.

In 1999, he was recruited by Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., with which he went on to lead the Santa Monica, Century City, and Palos Verdes branches to regional accolades and national recognition.  Under the title of Vice President and Branch Manager, he worked closely with Tower Asset Management in the Schwab Advisor Network Program.  Thus furthering his relationship, in 2003 Adam joined Tower Asset Management.

His Registrations and Licenses are as follows: The Uniform Securities Agent State Registration (Series 63), The Uniform Investment Advisor Registration (Series 65), The Municipal Securities Representative License (Series 52), The General Securities Representative License (Series 7), The General Securities Sales Supervisor License – Options Module (Series 9), The General Securities Sales Supervisor License – General Module (Series 10) and California Life Insurance License (License # 0C97553).

Anton Pereiaslavtsev, Vice President - Information Technology

Anton has been with Tower Asset Management since 1999.  He started his career at Tower in the Portfolio Management and Trading departments as a research associate and equity trader before taking on Tower's Information Technology challenges.

Currently, Anton oversees the Information Technology department and ensures that Tower utilizes its investment in information technology to best benefit our clients.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Information Systems from California State University, Northridge.  Anton has been a featured speaker at several investment software conferences and his commentary has been published in business technology publications such as Wall Street & Technology, Infoworld and RedHerring.