Advisors
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Marc Amateis |  |
Bob Landaas |
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Paul Coldagelli |  |
Jeffrey Peterson |
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Christine Crawley |  |
Arthur Rothschild |
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Steven Giles |  |
Kristina Schnuckel |
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Ronald Hansen |  |
Nelson Weine |
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Brian Kilb |
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Marc Amateis – Vice Presidentgeneral securities representative; master’s degree in business; specializing in investments and retirement planning |
Marc Amateis began following his passion for investing while still in college, studying financial markets and making his first venture into stocks.
He received a bachelor’s degree with high honors at North Carolina State University and a master’s in business from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 20 years of running and then co-owning a business, Marc continued to handle his own investments as well as the investments of his company.
When he sold his business, Marc entrusted the proceeds to Bob Landaas. Marc had followed Bob on “Dollar Signs” – the public television show Bob had co-hosted in the 1990s – and he felt his life savings would be in good hands at Landaas & Company.
During their initial meeting, Bob welcomed Marc’s confidence, but he also questioned Marc about what he planned to do next. Their discussion led to an opportunity for Marc to further pursue his passion. He studied for and attained the regulatory licensing to be a securities representative and has been a vice president at Landaas & Company since 2007.
“It’s extremely gratifying to work at a firm that takes an academic approach to investing,” Marc says. “We believe in and practice the concepts of Modern Portfolio Theory that I studied in graduate school.”
Modern Portfolio Theory is a mathematically based approach to investment portfolio construction. Although it doesn’t assure a profit or guarantee against a loss, it seeks to optimize expected returns for a given amount of risk through the proper allocation of a diverse mix of financial assets.
Putting the theory in practice lets Marc see how people can benefit from it.
“I love talking to clients,” Marc says. “I get real satisfaction, whether it’s stopping them from doing something foolish or helping them achieve their goals.”
Marc grew up in Milwaukee. He and his wife, Judy, have two daughters, a dog and a parakeet. Marc’s interests include history, listening to music of all kinds, running and biking.
It took Paul Coldagelli six months to help his wife’s grandmother recover her life savings, which an insurance agent lost through an inappropriate investment in junk bonds. The tribulation helped convince Paul that the financial industry needed people of integrity.
“I saw the bad side of this business – guys who were in it just for themselves, looking only at commissions,” Paul says. “I knew I wanted to help people invest – but I wanted to do it the right way.”
At the time, Paul was developing and marketing investment products for a bank in Florida, a position he pursued after deciding against an academic career.
Paul was an economics standout at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and taught as a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania.
He had been drawn to economics as a discipline that balanced his interests in mathematics and social science. But as he got closer to his doctoral dissertation, Paul felt the numbers taking greater priority over the personal aspect.
Wanting to move his family from Florida closer to his parents in the Milwaukee area, Paul heard about Landaas & Company through his father, who listened religiously to Bob’s radio show. Paul’s father started taping the show and sent the cassettes to Paul, urging him to give Bob a call.
In 1993, Paul joined Landaas & Company, where he combines his economics training, teaching skills and devotion to long-term financial planning.
Paul and his wife, Paula, have four sons. His community involvement includes mentoring economics students from UW-Milwaukee and assisting the Waukesha West High School Academic Decathlon team.
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Christine Crawleyregistered representative, registered paraplanner, licensed in Wisconsin for life, health and accident insurance |
Chris Crawley wasn’t considering a professional career in financial services when she took a receptionist job at First Securities Corp., in Brookfield. But that’s what she has made of it.
That investment firm, co-founded by Bob Landaas, introduced Chris to the rigorous details of processing financial transactions and keeping individuals’ accounts. It also showed her how much she enjoyed interacting with clients.
“I like talking with people. I like meeting with them,” Chris says.
Chris later reunited with Bob as his assistant after he started his own firm in downtown Milwaukee. As her experience and expertise in financial services expanded, Chris’s responsibilities grew.
Soon, Chris was an assistant to a number of advisors at the expanding firm. Eventually, she studied for and attained the regulatory licensing required to be an advisor herself.
“Everybody here has had the opportunity to advance in some way,” Chris says.
Chris has grown on the job. She has learned through Landaas University, an in-house training program aimed at furthering associates’ awareness of finances and economics. But also, the team approach toward client services at Landaas & Company has allowed Chris to learn by doing.
Chris has worked with advisor Margaret Schumacher for more than a decade at Landaas and in 2008 formed a working partnership with her.
“This has given me the opportunity to have more of a key role in client relations,” Chris says.
Chris and her husband, Doug, have a son and a golden retriever. She enjoys spending time with her family and being outdoors.
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Steven Giles – Vice Presidentgeneral securities representative, Master of Business Administration in personal financial planning, specialized in retirement planning, investing and college funding |
In his first job after graduating from the University of Washington, Steve Giles enrolled in his employer’s 401(k) retirement savings plan. His investment returns soared in the heady markets of the late 1990s. So did Steve’s interest in financial services.
“That was the beginning,” Steve says.
At different times in his life, Steve wanted to be a corporate lawyer, like his father, and a teacher, like his parents-in-law. His profession as a financial advisor has allowed him to combine attributes of both.
Like a lawyer, Steve is heavily involved in researching and analyzing, evaluating and strategizing. And education is at the heart of his relationship with clients.
“I teach them,” Steve says. “And,” he jokes, “I’m really good at reading and writing upside down.”
Office skills and an obvious passion for the business got Steve an assistant’s position at a financial firm, while he studied off-hours at City University of Seattle for his master’s degree in personal financial planning.
When he and his wife, Jennine, moved to Wisconsin to be closer to her parents, Steve sought a place where he could keep growing in the financial profession. He joined Landaas & Company in 1999.
“I like waking up in the morning knowing that I can come downtown and solve people’s financial problems,” Steve says.
As a father of three young children, Steve also has the listening skills and patience needed to give clients customized attention.
“Everybody has a different story,” Steve says. “I like knowing that I can help them.”
Steve enjoys cycling, travel, outdoor recreation and gardening. He coaches a U9 soccer team. He is active in the Kiwanis Club of Milwaukee and Roots Nature Club, which provides outdoor education to young children and their families.
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Ronald Hansen – Vice Presidentgeneral securities principal, financial and operations principal, municipal securities principal |
Ron Hansen recalls buying a J.C. Higgins baseball glove for $7.95. It was his first childhood purchase with his own earnings – money he made mowing neighbors’ lawns for 50 cents an hour.
Ron has long had a sense of the value of money and how hard people work for it.
“I want my clients to feel good about whatever we do because their money is important to them,” Ron says. “I always want the truth. Just tell me what I need to know, and let me decide. And I want to do the same thing for my clients.”
Out of high school, through on-the-job diligence and night classes at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Ron progressed to manager of data processing at a Milwaukee metal products company.
Outside of work, Ron started making investments through a longtime friend who in turn persuaded Ron to take part in delivering the message of “the power of long-term investing.” Ron soon became licensed as a securities and insurance advisor and built up a base of clients first through cold-calling and then by reputation.
In 1981, Ron and other colleagues, including Bob Landaas, founded an investment firm in Greenfield that eventually relocated to Brookfield. In time, Bob moved to downtown Milwaukee, and in 1999, Ron joined him at Landaas & Company.
Ron and his wife, Colleen, have a daughter and a son. Ron enjoys his three grandchildren, golfing and fishing.
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Brian Kilb – Executive Vice Presidentgeneral securities representative, Certified Public Accountant, financial and operations principal, specialized in investment and retirement planning |
After years of working and living in the Milwaukee area, Brian Kilb and Bob Landaas had close friends in common, but they had never met until the birthday party of a mutual acquaintance.
At the time, Brian was seeking a new challenge.
Brian had already achieved top jobs in accounting, finance, administration and operations for a variety of manufacturers involved in everything from medical technology and aeronautics to disposable wipes and sustainable decorative lighting. But he was seeking something more fulfilling.
Before he left his last company, Brian prepared a detailed career plan that weighed his strengths and weaknesses, listed his priorities in life, and specified what he wanted out of work.
His pursuit, Brian wrote, was a career through which he could support his family, help those around him achieve their potential, and satisfy his own intellectual curiosity.
Until he met Bob, Brian hadn’t considered working in financial services, but friends who knew them both encouraged Brian to talk to Bob. Not only did Brian appreciate the long-term, client-oriented approach Bob created, but he found at Landaas & Company the position he was aiming for with his career map.
“I would have never thought of this job as something that would fulfill that list,” says Brian, who joined Landaas in 1997. “I recognize the intellectual challenge of understanding markets and the economy, appreciate the opportunity to interact with and impact client lives, and enjoy the chance to remain active in management.”
Brian grew up in the Cleveland area and received a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Notre Dame. Brian and his wife, Lynn, have two daughters. He enjoys coaching, fitness, reading, music and his faith.
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Bob Landaas – Presidentgeneral securities principal, general securities representative, investment advisor representative |
Bob Landaas first built a reputation for objective, unbiased, plain-spoken investment advice as a frequent guest expert on a popular Milwaukee radio show. Then producers approached Bob to host his own weekly call-in program, through which Bob became a Saturday-morning fixture for nearly two decades.
Bob was drawn to investment advising as a way to use his economics training to help other people. He began his practice near the end of what was then the longest downturn since the Great Depression. Changes in brokerage regulations launched the discount brokerage industry and opened up alternative investment vehicles.
And Bob established himself independent from the dominant Wall Street firms.
“I started in the business to try to represent the best interest of clients, only to realize that at many firms they just wanted me to sell whatever product they were generating,” Bob says. “So after a short period of time, I realized that I was either going to represent the best interest of the company I was working for, or I was going to represent the best interest of my customers. I chose the customers.”
Bob’s renown as a financial educator expanded through his answering thousands of callers’ questions on the radio as well as nearly a decade as co-host of the nationally distributed Public Television show “Dollar Signs.”
The following that Bob had cultivated first by knocking on doors and calling on strangers then mushroomed with his TV and radio work. Not only did fans entrust Bob with their money, but several came to work with him as client-focused professionals seeking to contribute to Landaas & Company.
“I’m most proud of the people that I work with day to day,” Bob says. “As a result of our success, we’ve been blessed by being able to attract and retain some very qualified people that come from all walks of life. I’ve always thought that you build strength through diversity, and it’s the diversity that we look for that has made us a much stronger investment firm.”
Bob is a graduate of Millikin University where he majored in economics, political science and philosophy. He also studied economics at the University of Vienna, in Austria.
Bob and his wife, Kathleen, enjoy sailing on the Great Lakes, tending to their horses and spending time with their grandchildren.
After managing an investment and trading firm in Chicago, Jeff Peterson was looking for opportunities closer to his home in Pleasant Prairie, Wis.
Jeff had been a longtime radio fan of Bob Landaas, so he called Bob to get advice on local companies that might be a good fit for Jeff’s talents. Before Jeff knew it, Bob was offering him a job.
“I guess he was intrigued by my background,” Jeff says.
Jeff’s eclectic experience included consulting on energy and equity research for a New York investment bank. He taught a graduate course in securities analysis at Concordia University Wisconsin. He earned an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and a Master of Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology in securities analysis and financial risk management.
But Jeff started out far from the investment world, earning a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California. He was a commissioned U.S. naval officer on a nuclear fast-attack submarine. He also had a career in the commercial nuclear power industry. At various junctures, he was a senior reactor operator, engineer, project manager and line manager at such companies as Westinghouse Electric, ABB, and Duke Energy.
“Eventually, the challenges of driving nuclear subs and operating or modifying nuclear power plants become routine,” Jeff explains. “I discovered that people are far more complex, unpredictable, and interesting than physics. That’s why the financial markets are so challenging and can never be completely mastered.”
Since joining Landaas & Company in 2001, Jeff has been applying his varied skills as a problem solver to clients’ financial situations.
“I know of no other job that allows me to combine two arts that I really enjoy: The detailed study of the financial markets and working with a variety of interesting clients – all of them unique – while tailoring customized solutions to their specific goals and needs.”
The father of three daughters, Jeff sings in a church choir and plays trombone on occasion with various groups. He and his wife, Julie, are active in their local community and have a special interest in the MACC Fund and other childhood cancer causes.
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Arthur Rothschild – Vice PresidentJD, CPA, Certified Financial Planner, general securities representative, specialized in personal financial, retirement and investment planning |
It’s Friday morning in Mr. Lippe’s personal finance class at Whitefish Bay High School. Students listen to Art Rothschild’s advice.
“Know what you want to do,” Art tells them. “It’s very important to have goals and objectives.”
Art learned early the focused discipline he preaches to the students. He was a Boy Scout. He was on the high school debate team and the wrestling team.
Though he didn’t always know what he wanted to do, Art learned valuable lessons in what he didn’t like.
“Boring, but darn good background,” he tells the class of his time at a law firm. Ditto his stint at a top accounting firm.
As a child, Art learned that he enjoyed investing, thanks to stock-picking experiences with his father and grandfather. As a lawyer, he gravitated to estate planning. As a CPA, he specialized in personal financial planning.
Art left his position as an international tax manager at S.C. Johnson & Co., in Racine, to get back to his passion for financial planning.
“I’m simply somebody who helps people with their money,” Art tells the students.
Explaining the benefits of planning for the long haul and distributing investments across a variety of assets, Art tells the students how he was drawn to Landaas & Company by its reputation for objective and unbiased advice.
“All we do for a living is advise our clients as to what they should do with their money to be successful in life,” Art tells the students.
An honors graduate of the University of Michigan and the Wayne State University Law School, Art has been with Landaas & Company since 1992. He and his wife, Vikki, care for the lizard, cats and dog left behind by their two grown sons.
Art enjoys movies, skiing, running, writing and swimming. For several years, he has been active in the soccer community in Racine – first as a coach, then for many years as a board member of the Racine Area Soccer Association.
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Kristina SchnuckelCertified Financial Planner, registered representative |
At Landaas & Company, Kristina Schnuckel has found a place to satisfy her intellectual curiosity while helping other people.
Since 2007, she has worked closely with Bob Landaas and his clients as a member of his team. In 2011, through coursework, testing and experience, Kristina became designated as a Certified Financial Planner. What she loves most about her job, she says, is the ability to set her clients’ minds at ease.
“That is one of the reasons I pushed myself to earn this designation,” Kristina says. “The CFP designation process provided me with a well-rounded education, covering everything from retirement and estate planning to tax efficiency with investments. It allows me to give our clients that next level of great service.”
Kristina graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with honors and worked at a local accounting firm before coming to Landaas & Company. A native of Waukesha, Kristina now lives in Pewaukee with her husband and young son. She enjoys spending time with her family, reading and travel.
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Nelson Weine – Vice Presidentlaw degree, master’s degree in tax law, general securities representative, chartered mutual fund counselor, specialized in investment and tax planning |
After a stint at the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. Nelson Weine moved with his wife to her hometown of Milwaukee, where his law practice specialized in tax and estate planning. A series of law firm mergers prompted Nelson to pursue his longtime interest in mutual fund investments.
Nelson worked a number of years in the investment advisory arm of a mutual fund company before following up on a newspaper ad for an opening at Landaas & Company in 2000.
He likens his role as that of a medical professional who diagnoses clients’ financial ailments, prescribes a remedy and monitors the results.
“If it’s not working, we change the dosage,” Nelson says.
As with tax law, investment markets are ever-changing and never dull, Nelson says. But he finds that assisting clients is especially gratifying.
“People come here confused. You help them focus on their objectives,” Nelson says. “Just being able to give people good plans and control risk – that’s basically what it is.”
Nelson grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and has degrees from Miami University, the Ohio State University College of Law, and the George Washington University Law School.
Nelson and his wife, Linda, have a son and daughter and two grandchildren. Nelson enjoys tennis and ping pong as well as reading, particularly spy novels and investment books. Among his activities, Nelson serves as a trustee for the Mound Zion Cemetery Association, in Brookfield.