It is a hallmark of Symphonic to have highly qualified professionals. Our financial-advisory and investment professionals are appropriately experienced and educated. They typically have achieved one or more professional designations, such as Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), or Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®).

Our corporate culture promotes shared knowledge to ensure Symphonic advisors and CPAs remain at the forefront of industry best practices to serve our clients' evolving wealth management needs. To learn more about our professionals, click on their names below.

Executives
Carl Acebes - Chairman, Chief Investment Officer & Founder
Garrett R. D’Alessandro, CFA, AIF® - Chief Executive Officer & President
Kurt Hawkesworth - Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel
Dean T. Russell, CFP®, AIF® - Executive Vice President, Advisors Practice Development
Patrick J. Vignone, CPA - Vice President – CPA Business Development

Finance
Edmund L. Towers, CPA - Chief Financial Officer

Marketing
Shelly Hall-Peterson, AIF® - Business Development Coordinator

Operations
Gregg Giaquinto - Executive Vice President – Operations & Compliance &
Chief Compliance Officer, Symphonic Securities LLC

Client Services
Russ Launer - Assistant Vice President – Client Service

Compliance
Barbara Matin Hawkesworth - Deputy General Counsel

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Carl Acebes

Chairman, Chief Investment Officer & Founder

Mr. Acebes’ investment career encompasses some of the financial industry’s first attempts, beginning in 1969, to apply computerization to the analysis and management of institutional portfolios through the application of Modern Portfolio Theory. In the early 1970s, Mr. Acebes developed the foundation for the investment disciplines which today are central to Symphonic Financial Advisor’s capabilities.

Mr. Acebes has successfully managed money since 1974. As Chief Investment Officer and majority shareholder of Symphonic Financial Advisors, Mr. Acebes continues to head the team of investment professionals at Symphonic and is intricately involved in the firm’s day-to-day investment management and research work.

In addition to Mr. Acebes’ investment success, he is the founder of several companies, including Rochdale Investment Management, Rochdale Securities, and Rochdale Corporation; and serves as Chairman and Trustee of Rochdale Investment Trust. Mr. Acebes studied engineering at Cornell University and economics at Columbia University.

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Garrett R. D’Alessandro, CFA, AIF®
Chief Executive Officer & President

Mr. D’Alessandro is Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director of Research of Symphonic Financial Advisors. In addition to daily management of the firm, he directs the portfolio management strategies and investment research efforts in determining those companies that satisfy the firm’s investment criteria for inclusion in client portfolios. Prior to joining Symphonic, Mr. D’Alessandro was a Certified Public Accountant and an Audit Manager with KPMG Peat Marwick.

Mr. D’Alessandro received his M.B.A. in finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Accredited Investment Fiduciary designations and is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and the CFA Institute. Mr. D’Alessandro makes presentations on current investment issues to financial professionals throughout the country and has been featured in various media including CNBC, The Financial Network, Practical Accountant, and New Jersey CPA. Mr. D’Alessandro is an Ironman tri-athlete and supporter of numerous charitable and civic organizations.

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Dean T. Russell, CFP®, AIF®
Executive Vice President, Advisors Practice Development

Mr. Russell is responsible for ensuring that Symphonic’s Advisors maintain the highest standards of investment fiduciary practices.Additionally, as a member of Symphonic’s Investment Committee, he develops the criteria used to identify appropriate investments for client portfolios.

Mr. Russell has 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, including 18 years in financial advisor practice development. He joins Symphonic following a successful career at Waddell & Reed, where he held progressively senior positions from financial advisor to division manager and also served as President of the Leadership Council.

Mr. Russell earned his B.S. in education from Illinois College and his M.S. in education fromthe University of Kansas. He is a Certified Financial Planner, an Accredited Investment Fiduciary, and a member of the Financial Planning Association.

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Patrick J. Vignone, CPA
Vice President – CPA Business Development

Mr. Vignone is responsible for business development and relationship management with CPA practices involved in financial advisory roles. Mr. Vignone has twenty years of experience in business development in various industries. Prior to joining Symphonic Financial Advisors in 2007, Mr. Vignone was Managing Partner at The Alex Paige Group. Previously held positions include Vice President - Assistant Treasurer at BBDO, Inc., fixed income sales for institutional and high net worth investors with High Yield Management, and Senior Auditor with the "Big 5" accounting firm Arthur Andersen & Co.

Mr. Vignone received a B.A. in economics and an M.B.A. in accounting from Rutgers University. He earned his CPA license from the State of New Jersey.

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Edmund L. Towers, CPA
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Towers is Chief Financial Officer for Symphonic Financial Advisors and its affiliated broker/dealer, Symphonic Securities LLC. He is responsible for oversight and administration of the accounting and financial functions throughout the organization. Prior to joining Symphonic, Mr. Towers was Chief Financial Officer of Daiwa Securities America Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Japan’s second largest brokerdealer. Additionally, Mr. Towers was an Audit Manager in the commercial client practice of Pannell Kerr Forster, Certified Public Accountants, the international accounting firm.

Mr. Towers earned his B.S. in accounting from St. Francis College in New York. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York. Mr. Towers is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, where he serves on several industry committees.

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Shelly Hall-Peterson, AIF®
Business Development Coordinator

Ms. Hall-Peterson is a Financial Advisor and the Business Development Coordinator for new and existing advisors affiliated with Symphonic. In addition to developing and implementing training programs for the company, she leverages her experience in financial planning and investment management with the team of dedicated professionals at Symphonic in order to bring sophisticated services to her select client base.

Prior to joining Symphonic, Ms. Hall-Peterson gained experience in financial services, small business management and charitable foundation directorship. She earned her B.S. in Business Administration with a minor in Political Science from Rockhurst University, graduating summa cum laude. She is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary, an active member of Rotary International, and member of the southern gospel trio, “All Thee Above”.

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Gregg Giaquinto
Executive Vice President - Operations & Compliance Chief Compliance Officer - Symphonic Securities, LLC

Mr. Giaquinto is Executive Vice President of Operations & Compliance for Symphonic Financial Advisors. He also serves as the Chief Compliance Officer of Symphonic Securities LLC. In these roles, Mr. Giaquinto is responsible for supervising Symphonic’s operations, as well as compliance matters related to Symphonic Securities LLC. Mr. Giaquinto works directly with senior management of the entities to ensure efficiency and compliance.

Prior to joining Symphonic, Mr. Giaquinto owned and operated an Allstate insurance and financial planning agency in Raleigh, North Carolina. Prior to that, Mr. Giaquinto was Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel with Electronic Trading Group, LLC, and its affiliates, Hedge Fund Capital Partners, LLC, and ETG Proprietary Trading, LLC, registered broker/dealers.

Mr. Giaquinto received his B.S. in business management from the State University of New York at Old Westbury and his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. He is a member of the New York State Bar.

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Russ Launer
Vice President – Client Service

Mr. Launer is Vice President of the Client Service department of Symphonic Financial Advisors and its affiliated broker/dealer, Symphonic Securities LLC. Mr. Launer is responsible for the oversight and administration of a variety of back office, client service, and logistical functions within the organization. Prior to joining Symphonic, Mr. Launer was a Proprietary Trader Services Manager for Electronic Trading Group, LLC, and its affiliates, Hedge Fund Capital Partners, LLC, and ETG Proprietary Trading, LLC. Mr. Launer also was a Professional Field Consultant for Davis Vision, a leading national vision care provider.

Mr. Launer earned his B.A. in communications from the University of Maryland at College Park and is currently enrolled at the college for financial planning.

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Kurt Hawkesworth
Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel

Mr. Hawkesworth joined Rochdale in 2003. He is responsible for oversight and administration of the operations, trading, client service, compliance, legal, accounting, technical support, systems development, and administrative departments within the organization. Mr. Hawkesworth serves as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for Rochdale Investment Management and its affiliated broker/dealer, RIM Securities LLC, and is Chief Compliance Officer of Rochdale Investment Trust, Rochdale's family of mutual funds, Rochdale Core Alternative Strategies Fund, Rochdale International Trade Fixed Income Fund and Rochdale Structured Claims Fixed Income Fund, Rochdale's SEC registered closed-end funds. Previously, Mr. Hawkesworth also served as Chief Compliance Officer of Rochdale Investment Management and RIM Securities LLC. Prior to joining Rochdale, Mr. Hawkesworth was Director of Compliance and Assistant General Counsel for Electronic Trading Group, LLC, and its affiliates, ETG Proprietary Trading, LLC, and Hedge Fund Capital Partners, LLC, registered broker/dealers.

Mr. Hawkesworth earned his B.A. from New York State University at Stony Brook and his J.D. from Hofstra School of Law. He is a member of the New York State Bar.

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Barbara Matin Hawkesworth
Deputy General Counsel

Ms. Hawkesworth is the Deputy General Counsel for Symphonic Financial Advisors and its affiliated broker/dealer, Symphonic Securities LLC, and the Chief Compliance Officer of Symphonic Financial Advisors. She works directly with the Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel of the firms and is responsible for overseeing the enforcement of all applicable legal, compliance, and ethical rules and procedures of Symphonic and the various regulatory agencies. Ms. Hawkesworth comes to Symphonic from Mellon Financial Corporation, where she was employed in the Legal and Compliance department for Investor Solutions and Mellon Securities LLC, Mellon's registered broker dealer. Ms. Hawkesworth also worked as a Manager and Attorney of Investor Solutions and Mellon Human Resources.

Ms. Hawkesworth earned her B.A. at Ramapo College of New Jersey and her J.D. from New York Law School. She is a member of the New York State Bar and the New Jersey State Bar.
 

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