WMS ANNOUNCES THE ADDITION OF SIX NEW SHAREHOLDERS

WMS Partners is pleased to announce the addition of Gosia Elashmawy, Joel Houck, Paul Lamari, Kelly Nowottnick, Josh Rowe, and Rebecca Streamo, as new shareholders. 

“Adding this team to our shareholder group is part of our plan to expand ownership and reinforce our commitment to remaining an independent, permanent firm for our client families now and for future generations,” said Todd Wickwire, Chief Executive Officer of WMS. Laura Carr, Chief Operating Officer added, “This group represents the very best of WMS, and we are thrilled to welcome them as new shareholders.”

Gosia Elashmawy, CFP® is a Senior Financial Advisor collaborating with clients to develop holistic, personalized financial plans to help them achieve their personal and financial goals. Gosia is a member of the firm’s Planning Committee and in that role assists in developing best practices for the firm’s financial planning services. Gosia also collaborates with the firm’s advisory leadership team to help guide the broader operations of the business. Gosia is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) practitioner and has a Bachelor of Science degree from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, graduating in the top ten of her class, and recently celebrated her twelfth anniversary with the firm.

Joel Houck, CFA, CFP® is a Senior Financial Advisor with over 30+ years of experience in investments, equity research, capital markets, fund development and portfolio management. In his role as a Senior Financial Advisor, Joel works with multi-generational families to develop comprehensive, personalized financial plans to support their current and future needs. A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) practitioner, Joel was previously a Principal with Cicero Capital Partners LLC. While at Cicero, Joel incubated and was the sole portfolio manager of CCP Strategic Alpha Fund, a hedge fund focused on volatility trading. Prior to Cicero, Joel was a Managing Director for Wells Fargo Securities LLC, where he led the Specialty Finance equity research team. Joel has been quoted in numerous publications, including the Wall Street Journal, and has appeared on Bloomberg and CNBC. Joel has been recognized six times by The Wall Street Journal as a top five equity research analyst for stock selection. Joel graduated from Miami University in Oxford, OH with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Statistics and an MBA in Finance.

Paul Lamari, JD is WMS’s General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. In these roles, Paul advises the firm’s senior management and board of directors on a broad range of legal and regulatory matters and develops, monitors, and enforces the firm’s various compliance programs and requirements. Prior to joining WMS in 2010, Paul was an Associate Attorney with Pat Cresta-Savage, LLC, where he focused on representing clients on matters related to civil litigation, criminal defense and employment law. Paul holds a Bachelor of the Arts degree from the University of Maryland and an MBA from the University of Baltimore.  Paul earned his JD from the University of Baltimore, graduating cum laude.  Paul is licensed to practice law in the State of Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

Kelly Nowottnick, JD Kelly is a Senior Financial Advisor whose expertise includes estate planning and wealth transfer strategies. Kelly has over a decade of experience advising high net worth families on the intricacies of tax and wealth planning, business succession planning, trust administration, financial stewardship, next-generation education, and philanthropy. Prior to joining WMS, Kelly was a Vice President and Senior Fiduciary Advisor with Hawthorn PNC Family Wealth. Prior to that, she was a practicing attorney in the Tax and Wealth Planning Group of Venable LLP. Kelly graduated magna cum laude from the University of Maryland School of Law, is a member of the Order of the Coif, and served as Associate Editor of Maryland Law Review. Kelly earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business, graduating summa cum laude.

Josh Rowe, PhD, CFA, WMS’s Co-Chief Investment Officer & Director of Research, coordinates the firm’s investment research across public and private markets. Josh and his colleagues develop new investment ideas, evaluate quantitative data, identify trends, and author white papers. He also serves as chair of the Asset Allocation and ESG committees and works directly with clients on portfolio construction. Prior to joining WMS, Josh was a Portfolio Manager and Senior Analyst with Orinda Asset Management where he researched and managed long and short investments across the capital structures of companies in the financial services, transportation, real estate and energy industries. As a credit generalist, Josh has also traded corporate, structured, and hybrid credit instruments. Josh earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation after graduating with a PhD in History from Princeton University and a Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Rebecca Streamo, JD is a Financial Advisor and Senior Planner providing support to senior advisors responsible for managing client relationships, while concentrating much of her focus on estate planning and wealth transfer strategies. She also chairs the firm’s Planning Committee and works with the financial planning team to assist clients in a wider variety of topics, including retirement and cash flow planning. She collaborates regularly with clients’ estate planning attorneys to identify and achieve clients’ estate planning and wealth transfer goals. Prior to joining WMS Partners, Rebecca practiced estate planning law at TrustCounsel, a law firm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She worked on a wide variety of estate plans, charitable giving, probate, trust administration and guardianship work for a diverse set of clients. Rebecca received her Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her JD from North Carolina Central University School of Law.

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