For more than 20 years, Chris has been providing a select number of entrepreneurs, business owners and their families with customized wealth management guidance. As a Private Wealth Advisor, he believes that his client-first approach and commitment to understanding each family’s unique challenges has contributed to lasting relationships.

Because of Chris’s experience as a combat veteran in Iraq, his service as a member of the Army Reserves and his recent promotion to Brigadier General, he believes he is able to have a steady hand in turbulent times and hopes that his clients can rely on this.

Chris and his partner, Louie Sampedro, have worked together for the span of their careers. Through multiple market cycles, including the fiscal crises of 2000 and 2008, as well as through the growth of their practice, the births of children and Chris’s deployment to Iraq in 2008, they have kept their focus on their clients and the core tenets of their practice: transparency, honesty and integrity.

Today, Chris and his team have a honed process that integrates the different aspects of their clients’ financial lives. Beyond money management services, he offers holistic solutions that address clients’ business transition opportunities, estate planning, tax mitigation and philanthropic goals. He hopes that his counsel and actionable advice will make a real impact in his clients’ lives.

Experience

• Took a leave of absence from 2008 to 2009 to serve a combat tour in Iraq
• Joined UBS in 2007
• Began his wealth management career at Goldman Sachs from 1998 to 2007

Accolades

• Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors, California, 2018 – 2020

Education and credentials

• M.B.A., UCLA, winner of the Weston Award for academic excellence in finance
• M.S.S., strategic studies from the US Army War College
• M.S. with honors, military studies (focus on the Civil War), American Military University
• B.S., general engineering, US Military Academy at West Point
• Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®)
• Series 3, 7 and 63 securities licenses
• Member of the Western Finance Association

Life

• Since 2009, Chris has served in the US Army Reserves, where he was recently promoted to Brigadier General.
• He is an adjunct professor of military science at UCLA.
• Chris and his wife, Lory, have three children: Tanner, London and Hannah.
• He is a member of the Bel-Air Country Club, Plantation Golf Club and Army–Navy Country Club.
• His interests include youth sports, golf, running and scuba diving. He is passionate about protecting the world’s oceans.

Registered States:
AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, IA, IL, IN, MA, MN, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WY

Committed to offering comprehensive advice to select families, Louie provides access to UBS’s global resources. He is dedicated to building relationships across generations, understanding that every client is an individual with unique needs and goals.

Louie is comfortable with complexity. Whether he’s advising on asset allocation, alternative investment strategies, tax mitigation or the challenges of concentrated stock positions, Louie tries taking the complex and simplifying it into clear, actionable solutions.

He and his partner, Chris Barra, have been a team for more than 20 years. Since the beginning of their practice, he has strived to focused on the complicated needs of ultra high net worth clients, trying to understanding both the liability and asset sides of their balance sheets.

Louie believes his ability to listen, understand and analyze his clients’ situation has contributed to long-lasting relationships. He provides knowledge and broad access to the global resources of UBS to his clients.

Experience

• Joined UBS Private Wealth Management in 2007
• Began his wealth management career at Goldman Sachs in 1998
• Early career with GE Capital and GE Healthcare

Education and credentials

• M.B.A., Anderson School of Management, UCLA
• B.S., engineering, Arizona State University
• Series 3, 7 and 66 securities licenses
• Member of the Department of Finance advisory board at the W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University Life

Life

• Louie is an active supporter, mentor and speaker at the Financial Management Association, Arizona State University.
• He is a mentor for American Corporate Partners, helping members of the military transition to civilian life.
• He is fluent in Spanish and serves as the West Coast representative in UBS’s Mosaic Diversity and Inclusion group.
• He is a longtime member of the Association of Corporate Growth, Los Angeles.
• He is a volunteer in local sports such as American Youth Soccer Organization (as both a coach and referee), Little League and with his children’s school, St. Lawrence Martyr School in Redondo Beach.
• Louie, his wife Lynda and two children, Stevie and Dante, are active members/volunteers within the St. Lawrence Martyr Church community.

Registered States:
AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, IA, ID, IL, IN, LA, MA, MN, MO, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WY

Hamish is a key member of the Barra Sampedro Group in UBS Private Wealth Management. He supports the team’s research, analysis and reporting capabilities and embraces their client-centric approach and core principles of transparency, integrity and honesty. With a honed process, the team offers a wide range capabilities and knowledge with access to the global resources of UBS.

Focused on providing investment research, Hamish conducts research by building models and data sets to monitor the markets and helps to formulate investment solutions. He is responsible for executing trades, monitoring trading analysis and preparing performance reviews. Hamish is an important contributor to the team’s customized and creative financial solutions and is highly geared towards investment analysis and management, utilizing complex derivatives to hedge risk or obtain the client’s objective.

Experience

• Joined UBS in 2018
• Previously worked at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management
• Began his career as a securities operations intern at Western Assets in 2016

Education and credentials

• B.A., public policy and economics, University of California Santa Barbara
• Series 7 and 66 securities licenses

Life

• Hamish is a dual citizen of the US and Australia.
• He is an active mentor for undergraduates and recently graduated individuals at UC Santa Barbara.
• He is a former standout swimmer and water polo player.
• His interests include sports, politics, music and travel.

Violeta ensures that the daily business operations run smoothly and that the team provides clients with a tailored, comprehensive Private Wealth Management experience. She prides herself on trying her best to be there for clients by understanding their personal needs and assisting with delivering on their goals for the short and long term.

As the logistics lead for the team, Violeta takes accountability regarding compliance and regulatory issues for the team’s business operations. With a role that fits her personality, Violeta brings enthusiasm, care and concern for each client’s well-being.

Experience

• Background in banking and finance operations

Education and credentials

• International Baccalaureate program
• Series 6, 7, 63 and 66 securities licenses
• Notary Public
• CA life insurance license

Life

• Violeta enjoys spending time with family in La Quinta, CA.
• Outside of work, she likes to play tennis, hike, travel and practice photography.

Registered States:
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, IA, ID, LA, MA, MN, MO, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, SD, TX, UT, VA, WA