First Allied Securities

Business Owner Symposiums

First Allied invites financial advisors serious about growing their business to exclusive monthly symposiums where you can learn how to grow your business from some of the foremost professionals in the financial services field, and discover why First Allied advisors are among some of the top producers in the independent channel.

At these events our financial professionals will show you how First Allied may give advisors an edge with our:

• Exclusive, differentiated products
• Turn-key client acquisition program
• Business development platform uniquely designed to potentially help you grow your business both organically and through acquisition (Ask us about The Advisor Bank)

To schedule your attendance at one of our Business Owner Symposiums, please click here or call us at (800) 336-8842.

Featured presenters include:

• D. Shawn Rogers Executive Vice President/National Sales Director - Advanced Equities, Inc.

  Mr. Rogers joined Advanced Equities, Inc. in February 2006. With nearly a decade of experience in the financial services industry, Mr. Rogers brings extensive knowledge and business savvy to the companies. He was Vice President of Investments in the retail brokerage channel of Citigroup. During this time, he served retail and institutional clients, and was responsible for alternative investments, private placements, and shareholder communications. Mr. Rogers was also Co-Founder of Celeritas Group, where his primary focus was consulting with public and private companies on effective shareholder communication strategies. Prior to Celeritas Group, he led worldwide marketing and investor relations as Vice President of Corporate Communications of CellPoint, Inc.; a publicly traded global telecommunications company based in Sweden. Mr. Rogers graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Finance from the University of Illinois.

• Michael F. Marderosian Managing Director, Independent Brokerage Group

  Mr. Marderosian joined Advanced Equities in April of 2004. As the Managing Director of the Independent Brokerage Group, he heads up all sales. Since Mr. Marderosian dedicated his focus to the independent channel at the firm, gross revenue has increased by 67 percent. Prior to Advanced Equities, Mr. Marderosian worked at CIBC Oppenheimer where he focused on institutional sales in the EMEA region. He brings extensive knowledge of both the private and public markets to the Independent Advisor Channel, and spearheaded the Advanced Equities' Private Equity Certification Program. He earned his B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Indiana University.

• Robert S. Holcomb Chief Executive Officer, Wealth Management

  As CEO of Wealth Management at Advanced Equities, Mr. Holcomb steers the strategic direction of the wealth management division of the firm and oversees management priorities. Mr. Holcomb is responsible for the continued refinement and evolution of Advanced Equities' planning platform. Prior to joining Advanced Equities, Mr. Holcomb founded DataStream, a software development firm that created proprietary applications for the financial services industry. DataStream was acquired in early 2000 by Thomson Financial, a division of the Thomson Corporation. Post-acquisition, Mr. Holcomb served as Chief Operating Officer for Thomson's Wealth Management division where he secured several large contracts for use of the company's wealth management technology. Mr. Holcomb has also served as a lead consultant to prominent investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and JP Morgan on many of the largest IPOs in Wall Street history.

• Craig E. Columbus Chief Market Strategist - Advanced Equities Asset Management

  As Chief Market Strategist and President, Mr. Columbus manages day-to-day operations of Advanced Equities Asset Management (AEAM), Advanced Equities Financial Corporation's captive money management subsidiary. Mr. Columbus is responsible for the portfolio management team efforts including portfolio selection, trading, execution, proprietary money management, and product development. Mr. Columbus is one of Wall Street's most recognizable figures as a regular guest on CNBC, where he discusses market events and trends. His diversified background equips him with a unique perspective on macro-economic issues, combining geo-political knowledge with investment expertise to deliver astute commentary on issues pertinent to investors. Prior to Advanced Equities, Mr. Columbus was the Chief Market Strategist for Thomson Financial, a leading provider of information and technology solutions to the worldwide financial community. Mr. Columbus is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago, holds an M.B.A. from Penn State University, and a law degree from Indiana University. He also was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives.

• Michael A. Nichols Vice President of Marketing, Asset and Wealth Management

  Mr. Nichols serves as Vice President of Marketing for the Asset and Wealth Management divisions at Advanced Equities. He oversees the execution of the companies' integrated marketing strategies, including branding, product positioning and electronic media development. Mr. Nichols is also responsible for the development of First Allied's turn-key lead generation system designed to drive qualified prospects to participating advisors. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Nichols was Director of Product Marketing at Electronics for Imaging, a software company based in Foster City, California. Prior to this role, he served as Director of Technology Marketing at IKON Office Solutions, where he was responsible for all technology and product marketing deliverables, research and development labs, and various company Web sites. Early in his career, Mr. Nichols held a variety of editorial and publishing roles during nine years at VPI, a Phoenix, Arizona-based niche trade magazines publisher.

• Charlie Gillespie Product Consultant

  As a Product Consultant in the Marketing Department of First Allied Securities, Inc., Mr. Gillespie facilitates the introduction and usage of research tools such as Argus, Morningstar, S&P Advisor Insight, SunGard, and the Advisor Marketing System for advisors. As a result of Mr. Gillespie's leadership in implementing the Advisor Marketing System (AMS), advisors' creation of a personalized Web site using our trademarked AMS Web Wizard tool more than doubled in recent years. By increasing the Web presence of independent business owners, Mr. Gillespie aims to dramatically enhance their credibility and bottom line. Mr. Gillespie also works to enhance awareness and increase training among advisors on the numerous services and products available through Pershing and Bear Sterns clearing firms. Mr. Gillespie began working at First Allied in the Business Development Department in 2005 where he helped recruit more than $2 million dollars of gross production.

• Mark Dransfield Chief Growth and Productivity Officer

  Mr. Dransfield leads the Business Strategies Group (BSG) at First Allied Securities, Inc. as Chief Growth and Productivity Officer. The BSG is charged with helping advisors implement the business development platform. From 2004 to 2007, he served as President of First Allied. Prior to his Presidency, he was Senior Vice President and National Sales Manager at First Allied with responsibilities for marketing investment advisory products and services. Concurrently, he was Senior Managing Director at Josephthal & Co. Inc., an affiliated company of First Allied, with responsibilities for Josephthal Global Asset Management, national marketing, public relations, packaged products, and investment advisory services sales and marketing. Prior to Josephthal, Mr. Dransfield was Vice President of Marketing at Financial Network Investment Corporation. He also worked at PFG Securities where he developed the industry's first fee-based advisory program for the independent broker/dealer channel. The company was later bought by First Affiliated Securities where Mr. Dransfield continued to develop advisory products as Senior Vice President and National Sales Manager. Mr. Dransfield began his career with Shearson Lehman Brothers as a financial advisor. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University.

• Sarah N. Kolbe Vice President/Strategic Business Consultant

  Ms. Kolbe is Vice President/Strategic Business Consultant in the Business Strategies Group at First Allied Securities, Inc. Her expertise lies in her ability to articulate and train financial advisors on sales processes and methods in efforts to grow their business. Prior to joining First Allied, Ms. Kolbe was Sales Director and Vice President of Sales at TD Waterhouse Investor Services, Inc., where she developed markets and regions across the Western United States for investment sales, and developed consultative sales processes alongside a coaching program for financial advisors. In her preceding roles in management at Wells Fargo Investments, Private Client Services, she led teams of investment practice managers and helped them manage growing their books of business. She specialized in helping advisors transition transaction-based businesses to fee-based businesses and bust through their production plateaus. She also led investment practice managers to leverage investment partners and centers of influence as they strategically built their business as Manager of the Licensed Banker Program. Sarah's business consulting practice is founded in her experiences and successes as a Financial Consultant, and having created, in partnership, a $60 million fee-based book of business. Early in her career Ms. Kolbe worked in investment banking at Volpe Brown Whelan & Co. as a Research Analyst of Wireless Telecom and Broadband Technologies, but quickly refocused her profession on brokerage sales. Ms. Kolbe earned her B.A. in History from Scripps College, of the Claremont Colleges, and was honored with the Scripps Humanities Institute Fellowship. She also has earned numerous coaching and training credentials.

• Lisa Satel Transitions Supervisor

  Ms. Satel joined First Allied Securities, Inc. in 2007 as the Supervisor of the Transitions Department. She is responsible for coordinating new advisors' transitions and training them on all aspects of the company including operations, licensing, products, technology, and compliance. Prior to joining First Allied, she was a Transitions Coordinator at Commonwealth Financial Network. Ms. Satel also was a Client Support Service Manager at LPL Financial Services where she supported eight financial advisors, and coordinated 403(b) and 401(k) plans for a large roster of clients. Prior to that, she supported two financial advisors at American Express Financial Advisors, now known as Ameriprise. Ms. Satel graduated with a B.S. in Geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2000 and was working as a Park Ranger in Santa Barbara, until she steered her career to focus on the financial services industry. She currently holds her Series 7 license.

• Tom Samuelson, CMT, CFA Chief Investment Officer, Advanced Equities Asset Management

  With more than 20 years of experience as a securities analyst and portfolio manager for firms such as Swiss Bank and Invesco Funds Group, Thomas Samuelson acts as Chief Investment Officer at Advanced Equities Asset Management. Mr. Samuelson began his career as a high-yield bond analyst for Duff & Phelps in Chicago and later became a partner of the firm. Mr. Samuelson then received his derivatives and hedge fund experience from Swiss Bank, where he completed the firm’s extensive options training program to manage proprietary funds. Subsequent to Swiss Bank, Mr. Samuelson managed Invesco’s Energy Fund, where he improved the fund’s Lipper peer group ranking from bottom-quartile to upper-quartile, while its assets grew to over $330 million. Mr. Samuelson received a B.S. in Engineering and an M.B.A. from the University of Tulsa, and has earned Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designations. He holds Series 7 and 4 FINRA licenses.