Avalan Wealth Management expands operations
Santa Barbara-based Avalan Wealth Management has added two new members to its executive suite and also extended its reach into Santa Ynez.
Avalan, a full-service Registered Investment Advisor Firm, announced Peter Madlem to assume the company’s new chief investment officer role, an April 4 press release said.
Madlem brings 35 years of experience and spent time as the regional CIO at Northern Trust where his department was a top-performing investment group, and his individual risk-adjusted returns were in the top 1% of all Northern Portfolio Managers.
He left Northern to assume the CIO position for Montecito Bank & Trust.
At Montecito Bank & Trust, Madlem rebuilt the department’s investment research capabilities, investment processes, policies & procedures, and compliance infrastructure. He attracted a successful team of investment professionals who were able to expand solutions across high-net-worth, Endowment, and not-for-profit enterprises.
He was responsible for managing the Bank’s billion-dollar bond portfolio and was consistently a top-decile performer across bank bond fund manager peers.
On April 5, Avalan then announced the hiring of Rick Weber as the company’s new managing director. Originally, Weber practiced law, specializing in mergers and acquisitions at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, in New York.
He made the transition to finance, focusing on distressed investing, as one of the original seven employees for Angelo Gordon & Company, which currently has $53 billion under management.
On the institutional side of finance for over 35 years, Weber served as the Chief Risk Officer for Peter Schoenfeld Asset Management and then directed the merger arbitrage department overseeing a billion dollars in investments. Weber’s proudest achievement was starting his own firm that grew to $400 million under management in four years.
His latest stint was joining Montecito Bank & Trust as a portfolio manager.
A Santa Ynez resident, Weber helped Avalan open its newest location in the county and said he “couldn’t be happier” living in Santa Ynez with his wife.
Aside from work, Weber serves on the Board of People Helping People, the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara and is currently the President of the Solvang Rotary.
