Who We Are

James Dawson is the Director of Life Settlements for our partner, Valmark Financial Group. James is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the life settlement business. This includes establishing and implementing new processes and procedures, directing and facilitating the sale of policies from the initial offering through the formal case submission and acting as an escalation resource for complex and technical life settlement issues. He works to find ways to simplify the life settlement transaction process and improve efficiencies. Above all, Mr. Dawson is passionate about delivering the best possible experience for our clients. Mr. Dawson earned a BBA in Financial Planning from the University of Akron, graduating Summa Cum Laude. He also holds Ohio Life, Health, Accident and Variable licenses, Series 7, 24 and 66 registrations and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM professional.

As Vice President of Advanced Markets for our partner, Valmark Financial Group, Michael Amoia works with our clients and our clients’ advisors to implement advanced wealth transfer and business planning techniques that leverage the use of life insurance. With over 28 years of experience and a deep understanding of complex estate planning techniques, Mr. Amoia works closely with both our back-office life insurance case design and financial planning teams to create client deliverables that help illustrate how these techniques and strategies can maximize the ability for clients to efficiently transfer intergenerational wealth. Mr. Amoia is a frequent national speaker on various estate planning topics and an author of numerous industry articles. He is also a Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®), Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®), Juris Doctor (JD) which he earned from University of Baltimore’s School of Law, and holds a LL.M in Taxation and Certificate in Estate Planning from Georgetown University Law Center.

Michael McClary is the Chief Investment Officer of both Valmark Advisers, Inc. and Valmark Financial Group. His primary responsibility is coordinating all investment management solutions for Valmark Advisers, Valmark Wealth Solutions and Valmark Institutional, including TOPS^®, TOPS^® Strategic Allocation Portfolios, TOPS® Managed Risk ETF Portfolios, Valmark ACCESS™ and ACCESS™ Plus solutions.

He is a nationally recognized expert in institutional portfolio management and RIA companies. He has more than 14 years of senior-level experience in financial management. Mr. McClary was named by EFTReport as one of “10 Rising Stars” in 2012 and one of “10 All Stars” in 2014. He is nationally recognized as one of the first three members of the IMN/Research Magazine “ETF Advisors Hall of Fame” in 2007 and is regularly published on ETF.com. In addition, he has collaborated with the Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger’s, Financial Advisor and Research Magazine on ETF-related topics and has been a featured speaker for organizations such as the S&P and the Financial Planning Association (FPA). Mr. McClary holds Series 7, 24 and 66 registrations, is a member of the Cleveland Society of Chartered Financial Analysts and is a Registered Investment Advisor.

He earned an MBA in Financial Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Financial Services from The University of Akron, graduating Magna Cum Laude.

Zach Hurst is the Director of Financial Planning for our partner, Valmark Financial Group. In his role, he is responsible for aspects of design, marketing and implementation of Valmark’s unique financial planning processes. He oversees a team that assists with accumulation, income distribution and legacy planning through various processes designed to best meet the unique needs of clients.

Mr. Hurst earned a BSBA in Financial Services from The University of Akron, is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP^®) professional and holds Series 7, 24 and 66 registrations. Additionally, he holds Ohio Life, Health, Accident and Variable Life Insurance licenses and is a Chartered Life Underwriter^® (CLU^®).

In 2014, he was recognized for Outstanding Work and Accomplishment in the Field of Financial Planning from The University of Akron’s Finance Advisory Board. Mr. Hurst has also presented on financial planning topics at Valmark’s Member Summit, as well as at various College of Business courses and panels with the University of Akron. He has been quoted in an Investment News article titled, “What Advisors Need to Know About Popular Long-Term-Care Products.”

Chris Finefrock is the Senior Vice President of Financial Planning and Investments for our partner, Valmark Financial Group. In his role, he oversees and is a resource for the team responsible for all aspects of design and implementation of various brokerage, insurance and advisory solutions intended to assist investors with risk management and reaching their accumulation and/or distribution goals. He also oversees the practice management and financial technology area which assesses third-party vendor technology and assists Member Firms in the selection and implementation of processes within their practice. Lastly, he oversees the investment operations division including data processing, books and records retention, principal review and custodial platform relationships.

In addition to his Series 7, 24 and 66 registrations and his Ohio Life, Health and Variable licenses, Mr. Finefrock holds a BSBA in Financial Services and an MBA in Finance from the University of Akron. He is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP^®) professional.

As a Senior Financial Planner for our partner, Valmark Financial Group, Carmen Donofrio partners with independent financial advisors to assist in the financial success of their clients. He is responsible for designing plans that provide a clear path towards achieving financial goals, while identifying risks that could be obstacles in reaching those goals and recommending solutions to best address each risk.

Mr. Donofrio earned his BBA in Personal Finance and Corporate Finance from The University of Akron. In addition to the Series 7, 24 and 66 registrations, he holds Ohio Life, Health, Accident and Variable licenses and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP^®) professional.

Frank Lessick is the Senior Director of Investments for our partner, Valmark Financial Group. In his role, he is responsible for investment trading and trade surveillance of broker-dealer and RIA accounts. This involves leading Valmark’s Best Execution Committee, as well as acting as the lead trader on all program rebalances for TOPS^® products.

Mr. Lessick also conducts daily trade review of Valmark’s Variable Insurance Trust assets to ensure compliance with stated guidelines. In addition to trading responsibilities, he is responsible for the creation and dissemination of quarterly performance reports on all Valmark Wealth Solutions accounts.

Mr. Lessick earned his MBA from Ashland University, his BBA in Finance from John Carroll University and is a member of Delta Mu Delta. Additionally, he holds Series 7, 24 and 66 registrations.

Tyler Denholm is the Vice President of Investment Management and Research for our partner, Valmark Financial Group. His primary responsibility includes overseeing the investment management process and conducting research for the various Valmark Wealth Solutions (VWS) Programs, including TOPS^®, TOPS^® Core, VWS Flex, VWS Custom and the TOPS^® Variable Insurance Trusts. Specifically, he is responsible for portfolio design and portfolio management.

Mr. Denholm regularly analyzes the TOPS^® Portfolios and is heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of portfolio management. He also helps analyze our prospective portfolios, and we work directly with Tyler to determine which of the various Wealth Solutions would be the best fit for our clients.

He earned his BSBA in Finance from the University of Akron, graduating Summa Cum Laude. In addition to his Series 7 and 24 registrations, Mr. Denholm is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Market Technician (CMT).

Nicole Rigsby-Cheek is the Director of Retirement Services for our partner, Valmark Financial Group. In her role, she is responsible for the management and support of Valmark’s qualified plan business. Additionally, Nicole is responsible for managing Valmark’s Retirement Turnkey™ program.

She has over 20 years of experience working with qualified plans. In her previous roles, she managed 70 retirement plan accounts with $400M in assets under management, assisting with record keeper and TPA selection, plan design strategies, selection and monitoring of pan investment options and participant education/ communication strategies.

She is a qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA), Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor (CPFA), Non-Qualified Plan Advisor (NQPA), and a Certified Health Savings Advisor (CHSA). She also holds a Series 7 registration and Ohio Life and Health licenses.

As Vice President of Underwriting for our partner, Valmark Financial Group, Michael Noss is responsible for the technical assessment and negotiation of underwriting offers and serves as a contact for any new business or underwriting issues. He also serves as an advocate for Valmark’s Member Firms through every stage of the underwriting process, working to anticipate potential issues, identify the best carrier for that issue and to negotiate the best possible offer.

While Mr. Noss is a national presenter at Valmark’s Member Summit, he also presents at other various industry conferences. He earned his BA in Philosophy and Communication from Saint John’s University. Mr. Noss is also a member of the Association of Home Office Underwriters (AHOU) and a Fellow of the Academy of Life Underwriting (FALU).