Experience Makes all the difference

As dedicated Private Wealth Advisors, The Freides Kanigher Westerman Group focuses on providing executives of both public and private companies, as well as multigenerational families, a personal family office experience. Our objective as their advisors is to provide thoughtful advice regarding any financial issues that may arise. Clients appreciate our holistic approach, which incorporates liability management and estate planning, with tax optimization and philanthropic strategies, into a financial plan that addresses the full range of their financial goals and priorities. With accessibility to the expansive resources within UBS, as well as third parties industry-wide, our team is not only well-positioned to provide objective, unbiased advice, but to directly access and execute solutions with efficiency and ease.

Drew Freides

Managing Director - Wealth Management
Private Wealth Advisor
310-734-2402

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Drew began his career in financial services in 1999 at Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management, where, in 2008, he successfully achieved membership in the firm’s influential Leadership Council. In April 2009, he joined UBS Private Wealth Management.

Throughout his career, Drew has received industry recognition. He was named to Barron’s Top 100 Financial Advisors1 in the U.S. and Forbes America's Top 100 Wealth Advisors2 list. In addition, Drew was featured in Barron’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors3 listing and to the Financial Times 400 Top Financial Advisors4 list. Within UBS, Drew is a distinguished member of the UBS Pinnacle Council, which represents an exclusive group of the firm’s top 2% of Advisors. In addition to his individual accomplishments his team, the Freides Kanigher Westerman Group, has been recognized as one of Barron's Top 50 Private Wealth Advisory Teams for 2019 and 2020. 

Prior to his career in wealth management, Drew spent seven years designing and managing the construction of custom racing yachts at Nelson-Marek Yacht Design, focusing primarily on the design of America’s Cup yachts. In addition to designing the yachts, Drew was a crew member aboard multiple America’s Cup yachts. Drew continues to pursue his passion of sailboat racing, winning 3 World Championships & 1 National Championship in the past 3 years – he was the 2017 & 2018 Melges 20 World Champion, the 2019 Farr 40 World Champion as well as the 2017 Melges 20 US National Champion.

Drew obtained an M.B.A. from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia with honors. Prior to that, he received a B.S. and an M.S. in naval architecture and marine engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Drew also holds the FINRA Series 3, 7 and 66 securities licenses.

Drew’s clients have appreciated his team’s holistic approach, incorporating liability management and estate planning, along with tax optimization and philanthropic strategies into their investment advice, creating a thoughtful overall financial plan. The team focuses on providing executives of both public and private companies, as well as multigenerational families thoughtful advice regarding any financial issue that may arise.

Drew is passionate about animals, serving on the boards of and as treasurer for two nonprofit animal rescue organizations: Farm Girl Dog Rescue, Inc. and Animals Help People Help Animals (AHPHA). Equally enthusiastic about sailing, Drew is an active member on the boards of the New York Yacht Club, the San Diego Yacht Club and the California Yacht Club. In addition, Drew serves as a director on the board of the nonprofit Villa de Vida, which focuses on providing housing for adults with developmental disabilities. Drew is also a member of the UJA Federation of New York, a philanthropic organization within the New York Jewish community. He resides in Brentwood.

 


Registered States:
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, MT, NC, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WY


Michael D. Kanigher

Managing Director - Wealth Management
Private Wealth Advisor
310-734-2477

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With over 20 years of experience in private wealth management, Michael joined UBS Wealth Management in 2003. He joined from  Goldman Sachs’ Private Wealth division, where he developed his vast knowledge and experience, refining his ability to address the needs of ultra-high net worth clients. 

Michael is a distinguished member of the UBS Pinnacle Council, which represents the top 2% of Financial Advisors in the firm. Since 2014, he has been recognized by Forbes, Barron's and the Financial Times as a top ranked advisor. He is currently ranked on the Forbes America's Top 250 Wealth Advisors1 list and Barron’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors2 in the United States. He has also been previously recognized by the Financial Times 400 Top Advisors3 list. Michael has been distinguished as a top financial advisor year over year, but he is most proud of the Freides Kanigher Westerman team's designation as Barron's Top 50 Private Wealth Advisory Teams4 every year since inception of the list. Michael attributes this success to the shared efforts of his team.

Prior to starting his career in private wealth management, Michael owned and operated a sports card distribution company. The company was active for most of the 1990s. Although he no longer has this business, he maintains a passion for a wide-range of collectibles to this day.

Michael earned an M.B.A. from UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he subsequently joined the Alumni Executive board and served as chairman of the Alumni Development Committee. He attended San Diego State University for undergraduate, where he earned a B.S. in business administration with distinction in finance. He holds the FINRA Series 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 63 and 65 securities licenses as well as a life insurance license.

Michael focuses his practice on a select number of affluent clients enabling him to dedicate more time to delivering the service and experience that managing substantial wealth demands. He is a passionate problem solver, and provides insight and solutions for his clients’ complex wealth management needs.

Outside of work, Michael is a runner and an all-around family man. He resides in Sherman Oaks with his wife, Hillary, and their two daughters. He greatly enjoys travelling and experiencing different cultures. Michael is very involved in his community. He serves on the board of the East Valley YMCA. In recognition of his work, he received the Certificate of Congressional Recognition from the City of Los Angeles as well as the Fillmore Crank Distinguished Service Award in 2019. Additionally, he passionately supports Campbell Hall school where he was a parent for 17 years


Registered States:
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WY


Steven Westerman

Private Wealth Advisor
310-734-3907

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Steven has 19 years of experience in the financial services industry, and he joined UBS Private Wealth Management in 2009 and received his Private Wealth Advisor accreditation & designation in 2012. He provides customized wealth planning strategies to high net worth individuals and families, with a focus on entrepreneurs who have sold a business and executives at public companies. Steven has experience in managing wealth resulting from IPOs, mergers, and sales of and privately owned businesses, and he has spent most of his career working with options and the hedging of concentrated stock positions.

Steven was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and his family moved to the United States at a young age where he spent most of his childhood growing up in Atlanta, GA. After obtaining his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) with a double-major in Economics and Psychology, Steven joined Lehman Brothers in 2001 in their Equity Derivatives division. Two years later he was hired by Credit Suisse to work in their Debt Capital Markets group and then transitioned into their Private Banking division in 2004. While working full-time, Steven was able to obtain his M.B.A. from the Marshall School of Business in 2009. Steven currently serves on the Board of Directors at Hillel Hebrew Academy and mentors and offers career guidance to military veterans through American Corporate Partners.


Registered States:
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, MA, MD, MI, MN, MT, NC, NJ, NV, NY, PA, PR, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA


Brendan Carroll

Vice President - Wealth Management
Financial Advisor
310-734-2478

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Brendan develops customized wealth management solutions for ultra high net worth individuals, families and foundations. Utilizing a holistic approach encompassing investing, philanthropic and tax minimization strategies, as well as estate and legacy planning services, Brendan works closely with clients and their outside advisors to provide portfolio recommendations, reviews and asset allocation analysis utilizing his team and UBS's global investment research and leading open architecture, manager and fund selection process. Brendan believes in proactively communicating with clients and creates a customized plan to achieve an ongoing dialogue with each client. He also provides clients access to various UBS educational events and materials. 

Prior to joining UBS, Brendan was with UTA in Los Angeles and NAI Global in Boston before that. Brendan received a B.A. in environmental studies with a concentration in policy and law at the University of Washington, and when called for, utilizes that knowledge for clients interested in ESG (environmental, social and governance) and sustainable investing. While at the University of Washington, he was a member of the Men's Heavyweight Varsity Rowing Team. Brendan holds the Series 7 and 66 securities licenses as well as a life insurance license.

Brendan resides in Palm Beach, FL, with his wife, Samantha, and their three children. Outside of work, he enjoys golf and ocean swimming and is currently a Los Angeles Regional Advisory Board Member of The Ireland Funds.


Registered States:
CA, DC, FL, GA, MA, MD, NV, NY, TN, TX, UT


Mark Thompson

310-734-2386

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Mark joined the team after obtaining an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University in April of 2011. He is in charge of portfolio analysis, custom reporting and modeling, and implementation of client portfolios. Prior to joining UBS, Mark worked at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. He received a B.A. in business administration from Pepperdine University in 2009. Mark holds the Series 7 and 66 securities licenses, and is a candidate for the first level of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

While at Pepperdine, Mark made multiple trips to San Felipe, Mexico, through a service group committed to building houses for impoverished families. In his free time, Mark enjoys surfing, cycling and playing the drums.


Registered States:
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, PR, RI, TX, UT, VT, WA, WI, WY


Nadine Babiuch

310-734-2450

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Nadine joined UBS in the Chicago office in 2008. After spending four years in Chicago, she relocated to her native California and transferred to the Los Angeles Private Wealth Management branch. Prior to joining UBS, Nadine worked as an Investment Associate at JP Morgan.

Drawing on her past experience, Nadine concentrates on trading, portfolio construction and implementation, performance reporting and lending.

She received a B.S. in finance with a political science minor from Miami University. Nadine holds the Series 7 and 66 securities licenses. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking and spending time at the beach.


Registered States:
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, PR, RI, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WY


Langdon Froomer

Senior Wealth Strategy Associate
310-734-2442

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Langdon Froomer graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 2016  with a B.A. in Economics.  During his time at Johns Hopkins, he was the captain of the Varsity Water Polo Team. Prior to joining the Freides Kanigher Group in 2017, Langdon supported advisor teams across the Los Angeles Private Wealth Management market as a Wealth Planning Analyst, creating customized financial plans for clients. Building on his financial planning expertise, he obtained the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation in June of 2019.

Langdon is on the board of the Young Professionals Group for the International Medical Corps. He also holds his FINRA Series 7 and 66 licenses, as well as his California Insurance & Annuities license. Outside of work, he enjoys swimming, playing basketball, and spending time with his two dogs.


Registered States:
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, PR, RI, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WY


Gilberto Sanchez

Senior Wealth Strategy Associate
310-734-2427

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Gilbert Sanchez joined the Freides Kanigher Westerman Group as a Senior Wealth Strategy Associate in 2020. He was most recently the investment strategist for Comerica Bank, where he acted as fiduciary for $200MM of client assets, modeled investment portfolios, and was in charge of manager and product research. Prior to joining Comerica Bank, he was the assistant operations manager for the UBS Private Wealth Management office in Los Angeles. In this role, he assisted in the monitoring and approval of operational requests requiring series 9/10 authority and oversaw operational risk and audit reporting. He began his career in 2011 as a financial services representative at Zecco Trading. Gilbert holds the FINRA 7, 9, 10, 63, and 66 securities licenses and is a CFA Level II candidate.

Gilbert grew up in La Puente, California and has a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Irvine. In his free time, he enjoys running by the beach, playing basketball, and spending time with family. 


Registered States:
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, PR, RI, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WY


Melanie A. Desma

Authorized Officer
Financial Advisor
310-734-3866

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Melanie began her career at UBS in 2000 working for PaineWebber Operations. After, she went on to office administration and then client services within the firm. In 2005, Melanie accepted a position with UBS doing internal audits and moved to UBS’s home office in Weehawken, NJ. She spent two years conducting internal audits at various UBS locations within the United States and Puerto Rico. Melanie returned to California in 2007 as an operations manager to open the first UBS Private Wealth office in Los Angeles. She was in charge of hiring and training a new operations staff, approving transactions and reviewing trades and other risk items. In 2009, Melanie decided to return to client services and joined The Freides Kanigher Group, where she is in charge of account opening and transfers, incoming and outgoing disbursements, implementation of asset allocations, trading and day-to-day client requests.

Melanie received a B.A. in sociology from the California State University, Northridge.  She holds the Series 7 and 66 securities licenses. In her free time, Melanie enjoys running and has completed two full marathons and multiple half marathons.


Registered States:
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, PR, RI, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WA, WI, WY


Lise Ly

Senior Wealth Strategy Associate
310-734-2476

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Prior to joining UBS in 2008, Lise worked in the mortgage industry for four years, serving most recently as an analyst for mortgage-backed securities. She received a B.A. in business administration from the University of California, Riverside. She provides excellent client service to the team's clients and holds the Series 7 and 66 securities licenses.

In her free time, Lise enjoys traveling the world, cooking, baking and trying out new cuisines.


Registered States:
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OR, PA, PR, RI, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WY


Corinne Carroll

Senior Wealth Strategy Associate
310-734-3881

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Corinne began her career at Merrill Lynch in 2000 and has over 18 years of financial markets experience in private wealth management.  In 2008, she joined UBS for the first time at the firm’s first UBS Private Wealth office in Los Angeles. She briefly left UBS in 2017 to manage a private wealth team’s transition to First Republic Investment Management. Corinne joined the Freides Kanigher Group in 2020, where she assists with account opening and transfers, incoming and outgoing disbursements, implementation of asset allocations, trading and day-to-day client requests.  Corinne graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Vermont, holds Series 3, 7, 63, and 66 licenses and is a California-registered insurance agent. In her free time, Corinne enjoys gardening, cooking, and spending time with her family. 


Registered States:
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, PR, RI, TX, UT, VT, WA, WI, WY


Katherine Whitlock

Wealth Strategy Associate
310-734-2397

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Katherine Whitlock graduated from University of California Santa Barbara in 2017 with a B.A. in Economics. After graduating from UCSB, Katherine continued to live in Santa Barbara and work as a fundraiser for a local non-profit company. Prior to joining the Freides Kanigher Group in May of 2018, Katherine interned for the UBS Santa Barbara office. She holds her FINRA Series 7 and 66 licenses. 

 


Registered States:
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, PR, RI, TX, UT, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY


Amanda Meraz

Client Service Associate
310-734-2444

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Amanda Meraz graduated from University of California at Riverside in 2014 with a B.A. in Business Economics.   After her time at UCR, Amanda lived in New York City working in Sales. Prior to Joining the Freides Kanigher Group in March of 2018, Amanda joined the UBS Private Wealth office November of 2016 in the operations department. Amanda is studying for her FINRA series 7 and 66. Outside of work, Amanda enjoys traveling, going to the beach, dancing, and spending time with her family.

 


Qiqi Zhang

Client Service Associate

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Qiqi Zhang graduated from Emory University in 2020 with a B.A in Economics and a B.A in Psychology. After graduating from Emory University, she worked in consulting at Willis Towers Watson as a health and benefits analyst, gaining experience in the life and health insurance industry prior to joining the Freides Kanigher Westerman Group in July of 2021. Qiqi has also interned in client service and business development roles, one of which was located abroad in Singapore. Qiqi grew up in Boston, MA and enjoys hiking, reading and playing lacrosse in her free time.


Registered States:
AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VI, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY