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"My team and I look to provide our clients with sound financial advice in an ever-changing world.”

Jim has over 35 years of experience in financial services. He brings a vast knowledge of investments and strategic decision-making to the team’s central mission: providing holistic and comprehensive wealth management to their clients. Jim takes the lead in investment research, focusing on the team’s proprietary large-cap portfolio, as well as helping to create custom portfolios for clients. He also guides and advises his teammates when it comes to critical business decisions. Jim is proud to lead a team that excels in providing highly personalized advice and white glove service to clients and their families.

Jim started his career in the world of municipal and corporate bonds, later shifting his focus to equity markets. He worked at McDonald Investments for several decades, rising to the level of Managing Director and Senior Branch Manager before moving to UBS in 2007, when the firm was acquired. His background as a classical musician has instilled in him a drive for excellence and constant improvement, qualities that he and his tight-knit team strive for every day.

Life

• Jim and his wife keep busy with their three children and two grandchildren.
• He enjoys staying physically fit by skiing and mountain biking.
• As an ex-professional classical musician, he keeps his skills sharp by playing classical guitar.

• State University of New York, B.A., music
• University of Akron School of Music, M.A.
• Wharton SIA Leadership Institute
• Stanford executive program

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"I love learning what our clients are trying to achieve with their wealth—and then building out creative and innovative solutions that exceed their expectations.”

As a principal at Ridgetop Wealth Management, Brian is focused on helping successful individuals and families meet challenges—and capitalize on opportunities—created by their wealth. His keen interest and background in investments and markets allow him to offer prudent, thoughtful strategies and solutions to his clients. He has a passion for delivering creative and innovative solutions that exceed expectations. For Brian, his clients are like family. In his words, “taking care of clients isn’t a job, it’s a passion.”

Brian has worked alongside teammates Jim Stroud and Loran Ansberry for over a decade. As a team, they are dedicated to fostering client relationships that go beyond investment advice to deliver a holistic and highly tailored approach to wealth. Brian is committed to ensuring that every client relationship is grounded in trust and transparency.

Life

• Brian is very community-minded and has taken leadership roles at organizations including Akron, OH-based Heart to Heart Leadership, his high school alma mater Walsh Jesuit and the Boy Scouts of America.
• When not serving his clients or the community, Brian enjoys doing anything and everything outdoors with his wife and his two young sons, Levi and Benny.

• Forbes America’s Top Next-Gen (Generation) Wealth Advisors, 2017The Forbes rating is compiled by Shook Research and awarded annually between June and September based on information from a 12 month period ending in March of the award year.
• Forbes America’s Top Next-Gen (Generation) Wealth Advisors Best-in-State, 2018, 2019The Forbes rating is compiled by Shook Research and awarded annually between June and September based on information from a 12 month period ending in March of the award year.
• Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams, 2023The Forbes rating is compiled by Shook Research and awarded annually in January, based on information from a 12 month period ending March of the prior year.

• Kent State University, B.A.

• Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠
• Series 7 and 66 securities licenses

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“My hope is that every client feels comfortable enough in our abilities that they can come to our team with any and every substantial decision, financial or not, that impacts their lives or their families.”

Loran, as one of Ridgetop Wealth Management's principals, provides innovative and thoughtful financial solutions to a select group of successful individuals, families and business owners. She has spent her entire career at UBS and feels fortunate to have worked alongside teammates Jim Stroud and Brian Pollak for well over a decade. Loran is dedicated to building close relationships with the team’s roster of clients with advice that goes beyond investments to impact all aspects of their financial—and often personal—lives. Loran prides herself on being part of a client’s important life decisions and draws on her experience, and that of her entire team and the firm at large, to provide tailored advice and strategies that will move them towards their goals.

The relationships Loran has fostered with her clients are built on trust, mutual respect and a genuine connection. As part of a particularly close-knit team, Loran finds her work both positive and fulfilling. In her words, “it’s easy to love what you do when you surround yourself with good people, good intentions and positive energy.”

Life

• Loran and her husband have three small children under the age of eight—Urban, Luke and Emmy—who keep them busy. Loran and her family live next door to her mother (Mimi), who also has spent her entire career at UBS.
• In her spare time, she enjoys traveling with her husband.

• Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams, 2023The Forbes rating is compiled by Shook Research and awarded annually in January, based on information from a 12 month period ending March of the prior year.

• Miami University, B.A.

• Accredited Wealth Management Advisor℠
• Series 7 and 66 securities licenses

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"As cliché as it sounds, the client always comes first. We can’t control the market, but we can control getting the things we have control over done right the first time.”

Megan is an integral part of Ridgetop Wealth Management, working closely with successful clients and families on a daily basis and assisting them with often complex operational issues. She takes the lead on executing trades for client portfolios, as well as handling each client’s initial investments. Megan works hard to provide excellent and highly responsive client service. Her positive, can-do attitude reflects the ethos of the entire tight-knit team and their shared desire to foster open and trusted working relationships with every client.

Megan started her career at McDonald Investments in 2006 and joined UBS when it acquired McDonald in 2007. She developed an early interest in finance and the stock markets in college, leading her to pursue a degree in business administration with a concentration in finance.

Life

• Megan enjoys spending time with her husband and two young daughters—especially on nearby Lake Erie—and with extended family who, luckily, live nearby.
• She volunteers at her daughters’ school.

• Baldwin Wallace University, Ohio, B.A., business administration with a concentration in finance

• Series 7 and 66 securities licenses

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“I strive to provide the very best client service, by providing a unique experience that they cannot find with any another team of advisors.” 

Prior to joining the team and the world of wealth management in 2018, Randi worked for many years in corporate retail, gaining a wealth of experience in different industries and honing her communication and people skills. This wide-ranging experience is put to good use with Ridgetop Wealth Management's diverse set of clients: business owners, entrepreneurs, retirees and sometimes individuals who are new to investing. Randi strives to provide each relationship with holistic support and guidance, forging close ties with the team’s clients.

Randi works with all generations of a client’s family and particularly enjoys getting the next generation involved in financial goals and priorities, and helping educate them to become good stewards of the family wealth.

Life

• Randi volunteers at the Akron Canton Regional Food Bank.
• She enjoys spending her spare time with family and friends and stays fit by working out at the local Pure Barre studio.

• The Ohio State University, B.S.

• Series 7 and 66 securities licenses