Michael is an early pioneer in the model portfolio space, who is a combination of a business leader and portfolio manager with experience at top tier financial firms, including JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, S&P Global and Thomson Reuters. At Goldman Sachs, Michael was the head of Multi Asset Model Portfolio business. Prior to that at S&P Global, Michael was president of S&P Investment Advisory Services which he built the into one of the top independent model portfolio and SMA investment advisory firms, which was later sold to Goldman Sachs.

Michael has over 25 years of industry experience with Goldman Sachs and S&P Global. At Goldman, Michael was the named portfolio manager for multi asset model portfolio and key institutional relationships. Prior to that at S&P Global, Michael was the Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, Multi-Asset of S&P Investment Advisory Services (SPIAS). Michael was responsible for the oversight of the asset allocation and fund selections for all of SPIAS’ multi-asset class strategies.

Robert has over 30 years of industry experience having held various investment strategy and trading positions at Goldman Sachs, S&P Global, Thomson Reuters, Société Générale, The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan Ltd, Lloyds Bank Plc., and Carroll McEntee & McGinley Inc. At Goldman Sachs, Robert was a Multi Asset Portfolio Manager. At S&P Global, Robert was Deputy Chief Investment Officer of S&P Investment Advisory Services primarily responsible for the surveillance and analysis of international economic trends.

Sherod is veteran wholesaler and relationship manager with over 20 years of industry experience. Most recently, Sherod was a Key Accounts Manager and Regional Director of Sales for model portfolios at Goldman Sachs. Sherod held similar roles at S&P Investment Advisory Services where he was a top performer in asset gathering and maintaining a book of business helping drive several billion dollars into the model portfolio program. He has a strong background in multi asset portfolios, ETFs, mutual funds, and annuities. Sherod held prior positions at AXA Equitable, T. Rowe Price, and Blackrock/iShares.

Michael is an accomplished professional with over 25 years of experience in investment management operations, corporate development, technology and finance. Michael was most recently at Goldman Sachs where he led the integration of S&P Investment Advisory Services (SPIAS) into Goldman’s Multi Asset Solutions business and vastly expanded the model portfolio distribution capability. Prior to that at S&P Global, Michael was Chief Operating Officer of SPIAS managing corporate development, finance, sales operations, marketing, governance and key operational functions for the Investment Advisory and Equity Research businesses.

David has served as the most senior legal or compliance officer at several top-tier financial services firms, including S&P Global, Muzinich & Co., Mercer, Lazard Asset Management and Citigroup Asset Management. At S&P Global, his responsibilities included legal oversight for S&P Investment Advisory Services (SPIAS) during the same period the Aspire team was with SPIAS. At Mercer, he was one of three initial employees who established Mercer’s institutional investment management business, which has grown to be one of the largest of its type in the world. Earlier in his career David also worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Investment Management. David holds a BA from Brandeis University and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Ms. Dawn Timmons has been retained by Aspire to assist with drafting compliance program documentation. Ms. Timmons served as the Chief Compliance Officer of S&P Investment Advisory Services (SPIAS) during the same period the Aspire team was with SPIAS. Ms. Timmons has over 20 years of experience at prominent firms such as Goldman Sachs, Citi, Guggenheim Partners, and S&P Global, and is currently the Managing Partner of DOTIMMONS, LLC, a compliance consulting firm.

Meet the Team