Graystone Consulting Expands Presence in Southern California and Adds Institutional Consulting Team

Graystone Consulting, a business of Morgan Stanley, announced today that it has hired a team of eight investment professionals to serve institutional and individual clients in Southern California.

Based in both Westlake Village and Beverly Hills, the team includes four Institutional Consulting Directors: J. Larry Mills, Senior Vice President; Christopher G. Venuti, Senior Vice President; Bryan N. Mountain, Senior Vice President and Marc C. Roggenkamp, Senior Vice President. They will be joined by Adam J. Packer, Consulting Group Analyst and Client Service Associates Marley Wong, Cheryl Renee Page and Onica Guzman Calderon. The team oversees more than $5.5 billion in client assets nationwide, including qualified retirement plans such as 401(k), 402(b), Defined Benefit and Taft Hartley. They join from UBS, and report to Brian Krueger, Executive Director and Morgan Stanley’s Woodland Hills Complex Manager.

“We are excited and honored to welcome this successful team to Graystone Consulting,” said Brian Krueger. “They have consistently demonstrated a high level of expertise and commitment to their institutional and individual clients and will now be able to broaden their scope of professional resources and give their clients access to some of the industry’s most sophisticated investment tools and institutional capabilities at Morgan Stanley.”

“This highly regarded and seasoned team is a great fit for Graystone Consulting,” said Marc Brookman, Managing Director and Head of Graystone Consulting. “As we continue to expand our footprint in the U.S., they will undoubtedly be an invaluable asset for us.”

Mr. Mills has 34 years of experience in the financial services industry. He joined UBS in 2005. Prior to that, Mr. Mills served as co-head of Lehman Brothers Retirement Plans Consulting Group, overseeing qualified plans nationwide. He holds an MBA from The University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth.

Mr. Venuti joined UBS in 2005 after many years consulting to plans at Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. Prior to his 22 year career in the financial services industry, Mr. Venuti was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, and was the co-host of the television financial news program, “The Morning Wakeup Call.”

Mr. Mountain joined UBS in 2000. He has extensive experience in retirement planning for high net worth clients and has earned the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC) designation from the College of Financial Planning. In both 2011 and 2012, Mr. Mountain was featured by On Wall Street Magazine as a Top 40 Advisor Under 40.

Mr. Roggenkamp also brings years of industry experience to Graystone Consulting. Prior to his most recent eight-year stint at UBS, he was a member of the Lehman Brothers Retirement Plans Consulting Group. Mr. Roggenkamp also worked as a Certified Public Accountant at Deloitte & Touche, specializing in the financial service industry and qualified retirement plans. He holds an MBA from The University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree from UCLA.

Graystone Consulting provides a comprehensive range of investment consulting services to institutional clients, which include corporations, endowments and foundations, health care organizations, insurance entities, state and local governments, Taft-Hartley funds and family offices. Tailored investment advice is delivered by Institutional Consulting Directors, experienced investment professionals who are backed by a dedicated consulting team and the broad resources of Morgan Stanley. For further information, please visit www.morganstanley.com/graystoneconsulting.

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services.  The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 43 countries.  For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.