Our Team

Ryan N. Shanks
Founder & CEO - Massachusetts
Direct: 413.754.3254
ryan@finetoothconsulting.com

Ryan is the firms Founder and CEO.  He started Finetooth Consulting in November 2006 as he recognized a need for advisors to have someone represent their interests in the market. He has spent the past 10 years consulting with Financial Advisors, Registered Investment Advisors and Broker-Dealers. Before Finetooth, he was VP of Business Development for Associated Securities Corp., an independent Broker-Dealer located in Los Angeles, CA. At Associated, he also served on the firm’s executive team to help drive additional revenue. Prior to Associated, Ryan was Director of Recruiting for First Financial Planners, an independent Broker-Dealer located in Chesterfield, MO. During his tenure, Ryan has worked hard to earn a reputation in the industry for his ethical approach to the business as well as his unique ability to provide win-win solutions for all parties. Ryan and his wife Lauren live in Longmeadow, MA, where Lauren grew up as a child. They are proud parents of two sons.

Ned Van Riper
Managing Director - Ohio
Direct: 614.210.0237
nvanriper@finetoothconsulting.com

Ned brings over eleven years of industry experience to Finetooth.  Previously he was Regional Director of Branch Development with LPL Financial and was directly responsible for transitioning dozens of advisors to their new firm.  Prior to that, he was a Financial Advisor with both Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley where he serviced the assets and relationships of private clients; he worked with high net worth families and business owners for 8 years.  Ned has gained tremendous industry perspective from working at the wirehouse and independent models and prides himself on using a consultative approach with his clients.  Ned is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and holds the series 7, 31, 63 and 65 securities licenses.  Ned, his wife Pam and four children live in Columbus, Ohio where they have resided for the past fifteen years.

Aaron D. Hasler
Managing Director - Minnesota
Direct: 612.208.0653
ahasler@finetoothconsulting.com

Aaron brings ten years of industry experience to Finetooth, most recently as a Regional Director of Branch Development with LPL Financial.  Prior to LPL, he was the Regional Vice President of USAdvisors Network, a professional supervisory marketing and practice development firm. A background in compliance and business process management, as well as developing small to mid-sized businesses allows him to understand the advisor experience.  Aaron and his wife Melissa live in Minneapolis, MN where they are enjoying parenthood with their 13 month-old son. 

Saliq J. Khan
Director of Research - Indiana
Direct: 614.975.6312
skhan@finetoothconsulting.com

Saliq provides analytical research to Finetooth, where one of his principal responsibilities entail working with Broker Dealer firms in obtaining information required to better serve our clients, Financial Advisors. The data is strategically analyzed to confirm suitability and to provide feedback to B/D and RIA partners. Prior to joining Finetooth Consulting, he was a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor with Merrill Lynch where he worked with high net worth clients to better position their investment portfolios. Saliq is also the Editor-in-Chief of InvestmentHead.com and is FINRA Series 7, 66, Life & Health Insurance licensed.  Saliq is a Level 1 Candidate in the CFA® Program and a Candidate for CFP® certification.  Saliq began his financial services career at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (formerly Citigroup Smith Barney) in Chicago as a Wealth Management Intern. Saliq graduated from Indiana University’s highly regarded Kelley School of Business with a BS in Finance. Saliq lives in Indianapolis, Indiana and also holds a residence in Columbus, Ohio.

John J. Van Ermen
Managing Director - Illinois
Direct: 708.383.0469
jvanermen@finetoothconsulting.com

John brings over 20 years of experience in financial services and working with individual investors. Prior to joining Finetooth, John was the Vice President of Practice Management for National Retirement Partners, the country’s premier Advisory Firm for Retirement Planners. Before NRP, John was the Eastern Region Sales Manager for ING Advisors Network. There he assisted Registered Investment Advisors in the Eastern half of the US with incorporating fee based investment solutions for their clients, and was instrumental in almost tripling their assets under management in 3 years. Prior to ING, he was the Director of Advisory Services for Envestnet, the largest independent investment advisory platform with over $45 billion in assets under management and administration. He also worked with Optimum Investment Advisors, a $3 billion dollar money management firm catering to high net worth individuals and families. Previously, Mr. Van Ermen has worked with high net worth investors at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and Strong Funds. John holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the Marquette University and is fully licensed with FINRA. John lives in Chicago, Illinois with his wife Carrie and their three children.

Ryan N. Nofziger
Managing Director - Florida
Direct: 407.920.2855
rnofziger@finetoothconsulting.com

Ryan brings over ten years of financial services experience with a consultative approach to business and strategic planning. For the past two years, he was Director of Retirement Plan Services with an NFP member firm where his focus included improving the quality of compliance and fiduciary accountability within the corporate retirement plan marketplace. Prior to that, Ryan gained invaluable experience within the Wealth Management Division of John Hancock Life Insurance Company where he crafted an expert knowledge of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and was awarded for consistent performance in the areas of new business development and client management and retention. Ryan graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BS in Finance and holds FINRA 6, 7 and 63 along with the Florida Life, Health and Variable Annuity licenses. Ryan, and his wife Susan, reside in College Park, a subdivision of Orlando, Florida.

Daryl M Holzberg
Managing Director - California
Direct: 714.457.5358
dholzberg@finetoothconsulting.com

Daryl brings over sixteen years of financial services experience to the firm. Prior to Finetooth, Daryl was an Executive with Private Asset Group, Inc. His experience in the financial services industry is very broad, working as both a registered representative and in senior management positions with national broker/dealers. He has held the position of President of both a FINRA member firm and a Registered Investment Advisory firm. Mr. Holzberg graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in Political Science. He has achieved his FINRA securities principal license, Series 24, as well as his NYSE securities principal licenses, Series 9 and 10, and holds his Series 7, 53, 63, and 65 securities registrations and California Insurance license. He lives with his wife and daughter in Orange County, CA.

Advisory Board Members

Sam Englebardt - California
Sam is Managing Director of Lambert Media Group (LMG), an investment and management company focused on strategic growth opportunities in entertainment, media and technology. At LMG, Sam is responsible for management and strategic oversight of current investments and development of new business opportunities. Before joining LMG, he was Vice President at Alliance Bernstein, one of the world's premiere investment research and asset management companies. Prior to Bernstein, Sam was Executive Vice President at Artfire Films and 7ate9 Entertainment, and a founding partner of Arrival Cinema, where he produced and financed several acclaimed independent films, including GEORGE A. ROMERO'S DIARY OF THE DEAD; PARIS, JE T'AIME and David Mamet's EDMOND. Sam is a licensed attorney in the state of California, having earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School. Before HLS, he studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University and the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Sam is a trustee of the Becker Family Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors of Variety - The Children's Charity of Southern California.

Craig Katz - New Jersey
Craig has been working in the financial industry for twelve years, with the majority of his career focused on helping firms service the financial intermediary channels utilize information to maximize their distribution, marketing and recruiting efforts.  Craig is SVP, Institutional Sales for Meridian-IQ, a provider of the most up-to-date database of Registered Investment Advisors on the market.  Prior to Meridian-IQ, Craig spent over seven years with Discovery Database.  As their second employee, Craig was instrumental in growing the firm into the industry leading database provider.  Prior to joining Discovery Database, Craig spent four years as a national accounts manager and relationship manager for Farley Business Magazine Specialists.  He was responsible for national advertising sales for several publications, including the Journal of Financial Planning, the flagship publication of the Financial Planning Association (FPA). Within two years, he successfully expanded the advertising revenues of the Journal for Financial Planning over 450%. Craig's career began as an account manager with Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. Craig holds a B.S. degree in Communications from Boston College.

Paul T. Lally III - Pennsylvania
Paul Lally is President of Gladstone Associates, LLC, an Investment Bank focused on transaction advisory services.  Paul has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to forming Gladstone, Paul was a Principal with Arthur Andersen's Private Client Services Practice. A 1990 graduate of Widener University, Paul's industry experience began with The Mid-Atlantic Companies in Moorestown, NJ, which was acquired by First Union (now Wachovia Corporation) in December 1998. During his tenure at Wachovia, Paul served as the senior business advisor to closely-held businesses with values between five million to five hundred million dollars on comprehensive business planning matters, including: Strategic Business Planning, Family Succession Planning, Merger and Acquisitions Consulting, and Inter-Company Transfers and/or Buy-out Planning. Since 1998, Paul has acted as the senior consultant or team member on 33 mid-market deals. Under Paul's guidance, Gladstone provides buy-side advisory, sell-side advisory, lift-outs, business transition planning, and strategic advisory services exclusively to fee-based advisors, RIA firms and Broker Dealers.

Maureen Maloney - California
Maureen has more than 15 years experience in regulatory and compliance matters.  Currently, she is Chief Compliance Officer-Retail for Grubb & Ellis Securities, Inc.  Prior to joining Grubb & Ellis Securities, Inc., she was the President and Founder of Compliance Concierge where she provided consulting services to financial services firms.  Previously, she has served as Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel for several independent broker-dealer firms, as well as serving a five year term as a regulator in the Los Angeles branch of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).  Maureen earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and a Juris Doctor degree from Whittier College School of Law.  She is a Series 7, 24 and 63 and is a member in good standing with the State Bar of California. Additionally, Maureen serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Independent Broker Dealers (NAIBD).  She believes in a collaborative partnership with the regulators and seeks to build a strong rapport for the benefit of the financial services industry.

Greg Milam - Georgia
Greg has spent the past 10 years with Manheim, the world’s largest provider of vehicle remarketing services. In his current role as Senior Project Manager, he has been responsible for installing the companies remarketing concept within the rapidly growing People’s Republic of China. Greg manages the construction, business development and operations in Beijing. Prior to Manheim, he was a Senior Associate with Porter Keadle Moore, LLP (PKM), a leading Atlanta accounting firm offering services in audit, tax, risk advisory, information technology infrastructure and management consulting. At PKM, he performed annual audits for clients in banking, financial services and residential construction. Before PKM, Greg was an Associate with Reznick Group, ranked among the top 20 public accounting firms in the United States. At Reznick Group, he performed the annual audit process to include preliminary tax work for clients from various industries. He also managed a team project for a large real estate investment portfolio. Greg received his BSBA from Auburn University. He served as President and Vice President of Beta Alpha Psi.

Mark Penske - New York
Mark is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and founder of United Advisors. Mark began his investment career at Merrill Lynch in San Diego, working for a corporate client team. He was responsible for directing the team's marketing and business development efforts in both Private Client and Corporate Markets. He then moved to Columbus, Ohio and continued working with various financial consultants to develop their business and service their clients. His career path led him to New York City and Citigroup's Smith Barney. Over a three-year period, Mark built the Penske & Peter Team with his partner Damian Peter, a childhood friend for 25 years. The Penske & Peter Team was recognized among their peers as one of the top teams in the Northeast region. Eventually the draw to independence won out and Mark left Smith Barney to form in 2002 what is now known as United Advisors, LLC. Outside of the office, Mark is an avid skier who spends his free time in his favorite state, Utah, along with his four siblings, their children and his more than 25 cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents who reside in Salt Lake City. Mark is a graduate of Denison University and holds a 7, 63, 65, 24, and Life/Health Insurance licenses. Mark resides in New York City and is involved in a number of charitable pursuits in the Tri-State area.