Ned Durden is Chief Investment Strategist (CIS) and a Portfolio Manager for the investment strategies at WestEnd Advisors, a Victory Capital Investment Franchise. In addition to his portfolio management responsibilities, as CIS, Ned is responsible for distilling the Investment Team’s outlook and research to ensure clear, accurate, and effective communication of the firm’s investment views and portfolio positioning. He also conducts sector and security analysis along with macroeconomic research used to guide decisions across the firm’s investment strategies. Ned entered the financial services industry in 1997 and joined WestEnd Advisors in 2006. Before joining WestEnd, he was a founding member and Senior Analyst at Cambium Capital, a long/short equity hedge fund. Prior to that, Ned was a Director at the MONY Group, a diversified financial services firm. Ned is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he received his B.A. degree. He also received his MBA from the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law (JD/MBA). 

Christopher M. Hyzy is Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer supporting Bank of America Private Bank and Merrill within Bank of America Corporation. In this role, Chris is responsible for determining the investment view for the wealth management businesses, developing and managing the asset allocation strategy, Fixed Income and Equity management, solutions due diligence, investment policies and guidance, including wealth planning, and supporting the client-focused investment approach. Previously, he served as the Chief Investment Officer and Chief Investment Strategist for the Private Bank.
   

Prior to joining Bank of America, he was chief investment officer and head of product strategy for the Latin American Market region of The Citigroup Private Bank. He chaired the Global Investment Themes Committee and was a voting member of the Investment Strategy Committee for the Citigroup Private Bank, and active member of the Investment Policy Committee, the Product Strategy Committee, and senior leadership team. Preceding his role at Citigroup, he was the director of Merrill Lynch’s Investment Policy Group and head of the Investment Committee for International Private Clients.
   
Chris also held investment positions including director of the Global Portfolio Strategy group for Private Wealth Advisory and senior international equity strategist for Merrill Lynch’s Private Client and Middle Markets Group.
    
Chris received his B.A. in business from Villanova University and earned an M.B.A. in finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Villanova University and previously served on the Provost Board and the Finance Department’s Advisory Council at Villanova and is a former member of the Finance and Investment Committee for the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. 

Gabriela D. Santos, Managing Director, is a Global Market Strategist on the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Global Market Insights Strategy Team. In this role, Gabriela is responsible for delivering timely market and economic insights to institutional and retail clients across the U.S. and Latin America. In addition, Gabriela conducts research on the global economy and capital markets and is responsible for the development of the Guide to the Markets, Guide to China, and Guide to the Markets – Latin America, amongst other publications. Gabriela has played an instrumental role in the development of the team’s research on Chinese markets and  the expansion of the Market Insights program in Latin America.

    
Gabriela is also a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, and other financial news outlets and is often quoted in the financial press.

    
Prior to joining J.P. Morgan in 2012, Gabriela worked at HSBC’s Private Bank for three years, stationed in Singapore, Switzerland and Mexico. In her role as a banker in Singapore, Gabriela provided strategic advice to High Net Worth European clients on managing their personal and family wealth. Previously, she was a trader on the structured products trading desk in Geneva, Switzerland and helped launch a credit platform in Mexico City, Mexico.

Raj is Managing Director – Wealth Management and Head of The Sharma Group, a high end boutique within Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking and Investment Group and has over three decades of experience in customized investment and wealth management for entrepreneurs, corporate executives, families and institutions. Raj runs a national wealth management practice based in Boston.
     
Raj is on the Barron’s Hall of Fame list– one of a small group of advisors who have appeared in Barron’s ranking of America’s Top 100 Advisors for ten years. He has been featured in the Barron’s and Forbes Top 100 Advisor list since inception. In 2023 and 2024, he was recognized by Forbes as the number one Financial Advisor in Massachusetts. consecutive He was also recognized by the Financial Times of London ranking of top Global Advisors. He was featured on the inside cover of the September 2019 issue of Forbes Magazine. In 2023, The Sharma Group was recognized as one of the country’s Top 50 Wealth Management teams by Forbes Magazine and as the number one team in MA.
      

Raj is the author of “The Purposeful Wealth Advisor” released by Amplify Publishing in 2022. The book is ranked as a Best Seller on Amazon in the Financial Services category. More recently, Raj was selected to give a TED talk on wealth management as a career.
      

Raj is an ardent believer in philanthropy and is involved with several domestic and global organizations in the areas of poverty disruption, education, youth leadership and the environment. He is a current trustee and former Chairman of Boston Harbor Now and a member of the Board of Trustees of Emerson College. Raj is also a Founding trustee and Director Emeritus of the American India Foundation (AIF), an organization devoted to disrupting poverty in India through a spectrum of programs. Raj is on the Board of Youth LEAD, now part of Emerson college – an internationally recognized organization promoting cultural understanding and tolerance among high school students. He was also recently appointed to the board of The Boston Foundation, one of the oldest community foundations in the country.
      

In May 2023, Raj was included in Boston Magazine’s list of “150 Most Influential Bostonians”. In October of 2023, Raj received the Life Time Achievement Award from New England Community Awards for his contribution to philanthropy and betterment of the community. Raj was also a finalist for the prestigious “Invest in Others” Lifetime Achievement award.