Richard A. Yoken, founder and Managing Partner, has provided financial advisory services to individuals and corporations for over 40 years. He is actively involved in the firm’s investment process and works closely with PSG’s clients. He developed and managed financial counseling services for business owners/CEO’s at The Boston Company, Citibank, and Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. At Citibank he was vice president and head of corporate and personal financial advisory services in the Private Banking Division. At Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. he was manager of Investment Banking Services. He also was a general partner of a $66 million venture capital fund, and beginning in 1984 operated Yoken & Company, an investment banking and financial advisory business. Richard has an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston University.

Edward L. Scharf, Managing Director, has over 30 years of experience in the investment advisory business.  Ed joined PSG in 1999 and works closely with PSG clients overseeing their investments and related financial planning issues.  Ed also oversees the firm’s fixed income securities management and is a member of the investment committee.  Prior to joining PSG, Ed was Director of Individual Marketing and Client operations for Glickenhaus & Co.  He also served as Managing Director in charge of operations and fixed income securities for Pennfield Capital.  Prior to joining Pennfield Capital, he was Assistant Vice President in the Worldwide Securities Division of the Financial Institutions Group at Citibank.  Ed received his undergraduate degree from the University of Rochester and his MBA from the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester.

Atiya S. Leary, Esq. is PSG’s Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to joining PSG in 2013, Atiya worked in the legal field as a paralegal. She received her bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton and obtained her Juris Doctorate from Pace University School of Law. Atiya is admitted to practice law in New York State.

Thomas M. Zottner, CFA, Managing Director, has over 20 years of experience in the investment business. Tom joined PSG in 2009 as a financial analyst and is in charge of the firm’s manager research. He also manages the firm’s equity income product and is a member of the investment committee. During his eight year tenure at Alliance Bernstein, Tom was an analyst for a variety of growth portfolios and served on the Regent Investment Strategy Committee. He was also the portfolio manager for municipal bond portfolios totaling $250 million, and an equity portfolio manager for Regent’s private clients. Prior to his time at Alliance Bernstein, Tom worked with high net worth clients at Merrill Lynch in White Plains, NY. Mr. Zottner received his bachelor’s degree from Boston College, and is a CFA Charterholder.

Maritza S. Rivera, Client Services Coordinator, has worked in the investment business for over 30 years. She has been with The Portfolio Strategy Group since inception of the business. Maritza handles client administrative matters for the firm. Prior to joining PSG, she worked at Moody’s Investor Services. Maritza has an associate degree in Computer Sciences from La Guardia Community College.

Lawrence D. Bartimer, CPA, Managing Director, has worked in the investment field for over 30 years. At PSG, Larry oversees the firm’s hedge fund investments and is a member of the investment committee. He began his career as a CPA with KPMG, prior to attending graduate school. He then spent 16 years in fixed income, institutional sales and trading at firms such as Citibank, UBS and First Union. In 2000, Larry was a founding partner and President of an Internet firm, Mployees. Prior to joining PSG in 2006, he was with a Fund of Funds, where he was responsible for their emerging manager development practice, as well as being involved in client development. Larry received an undergraduate degree in 1978 at the State University of New York at Albany in Accounting and Business, and earned an MBA from The Wharton Business School.

Catherine (Bobbie) Nacianceno, Client Services Coordinator, has over 10 years of experience providing organizational and administrative support in the medical services industry. Bobbie joined PSG in 2013 and supports the PSG staff on systems and client administrative matters. She obtained her associate degree in Computer Applications Management from the Westchester Business Institute in 2002.

Jacques E. Boubli, CFP^®, Vice President, has over 10 years of experience in the investment business.  Jacques is involved in client servicing, marketing and new business development and is a member of the investment committee. Prior to joining PSG in 2014, he was a financial advisor to high net worth clients at JP Morgan Private Bank and Bernstein Global Wealth Management where he was also involved in new business development. Jacques began his work with private clients by running violinist Isaac Stern’s family office. He received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, and earned an MBA from the Stern School of Business at NYU and is a Certified Financial Planner™.

Marla Walker, System Administrator, has over 15 years of experience in the investment business. Marla has worked in several positions from middle to back office. Marla joined PSG in 2014 and is in charge of Data Management. She ensures that all data is correct in our Advent Software portfolio management system, and that all client portfolios are in line with our various custodians. Prior to joining The Portfolio Strategy Group, she managed a small group in the Reconciliation Department at Alpine Woods LLC, a Mutual Fund Company in Purchase NY. Marla has a bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Peter S. Yorkes, Managing Director, has worked in the investment business for over 25 years. Peter joined PSG in 1998 to implement and oversee the firm’s use of technology and is a member of the investment committee. He also was in charge of Manager Research for over 10 years, in which he still is involved. Peter has traded commodities, options and futures contracts as a member of the New York Comex. He was also a market maker for a NASDAQ firm specializing in small-cap growth stocks. In addition to his financial background, Peter has a strong computer/systems background and has provided consulting services to several startup software companies. Peter received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University.

Jacqueline O’Toole, Financial Analyst, has over 6 years of experience in the financial services industry. Jackie joined PSG in 2018 and works closely with Tom Zottner on manager research. Prior to joining PSG, she worked at Tokarz Group Advisers, LLC, where she prepared financial models to evaluate equity and debt investment opportunities and performed valuations of portfolio companies. Prior to that, Jackie was a financial planning intern at Financial Decisions.  Jackie earned an MBA from Fordham University and a bachelor’s degree in 2012 at the State University of New York at Albany in Mathematics and Business.