OUR TEAM
Get to know us!
Jerry M. Schwartz, CFP®
Founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Compliance Officer
A native New Yorker, Jerry earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Stony Brook University and a Masters of Arts degree in comparative East-West philosophy from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In addition to post-MA graduate work, he was the recipient of a National Defense Foreign Language Fellowship in Sanskrit, was the assistant to the editor of the University of Hawaii’s journal, Philosophy East and West, and participated in the East-West Philosopher’s Conference on Wang Yang-Ming, held at the University of Hawaii.
Jerry began his career in financial planning in 1977 when he became an FINRA Registered Representative with Merrill Lynch in Honolulu. In 1984, he left Merrill Lynch to open a private financial planning and investment advisory practice. Jerry is a Certified Financial Planner® and a member of the Financial Planning Association and the Registry of CFP® Licensed Practitioners. He is past president, past chairman and past trustee of the Board of the Capital District Society of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) in Albany, NY, and is a member of the Financial Planning Association of Hawaii and the Hawaii Estate Planning Council.
Jerry has been featured on radio in the Albany area, and on CNBC and KHET Hawaii Public Television. He has taught individual tutorials in business ethics and philosophy through Empire State College SUNY, financial planning and investment courses in the non-credit division of Columbia-Greene Community College, addressed the New York State Bar Association, Elder Law Section, and spoke on financial planning for the aging and was a panel participant at the 2005 White House Mini-Conference on Aging in New York City. He currently presents the “Planning for Retirement” segments of “Take Charge of Your Money” presented through the University of Hawaii on Olelo, Hawaii public access TV. He also presents programs and talks on spirituality addressing the issue of applying the purposes of our lives to the money in our lives.
Jerry was founding board president of Green County Common Ground, a nonprofit alternative dispute resolution and mediation service. For more than 30 years (1989-2022) he was the treasurer and investment manager of the Foundation for World Education (FWE), supporting the work of Integral Yoga Community in the U.S. and Auroville, India. Since the early 1990’s he has been a volunteer friend of the Camphill Movement in North America, which consists of 15 sustainable communities, for youth, adults and the retired/elderly with developmental differences. Jerry has been a board member and co-chair of the investment committee of the Camphill Foundation since 1995. In addition, he has managed the endowment from 2001 to the present. Jerry serves as a founding and current board member of Lokelani ‘Ohana, a Camphill-inspired community on the island of Maui, Hawaii. From 2009 until its conclusion in 2021, he was investment advisor to the Triskeles Foundation, which created donor advised funds supporting progressive social initiatives and philanthropy. In addition, he manages several other philanthropic endowments.
Kimberly M. Mullin, FPQP®
Partner, Office and Administrative Manager
Specialities: Client Services, Business Financial Director, and Technology Coordinator
Kim graduated from SUNY Empire State College with a Bachelor of Science degree in business, management and economics with a concentration in finance and earned her Associate of Arts degree in business finance from University of Phoenix. She completed the Foundations in Financial Planning program through the College of Financial Planning, and has earned a Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional™ designation. She is also an active member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeastern New York.
Kim began her career in finance in 2000 at Trustco Bank, where she led a full-service team as a branch manager for over six years. Her ability to resolve her client’s financial needs earned her rapid advancement through the organization, taking on assignments at multiple corporate locations, each with greater managerial responsibilities and challenges. Prior to starting her career in finance at Trustco, Kim had extensive experience in the fields of management and training, customer service, and sales.
Kim joined the team at Arista Advisory Group, LLC, in July of 2007. She currently manages the operations and administration. She offers our clients exemplary knowledge of the banking industry, customer service skills and problem-solving abilities. Kim’s major area of expertise is the coordination of all aspects related to client support, including new accounts, account transfers, account maintenance, account funding/distribution, trading, cost basis, performance reporting and financial planning and investment research.
In her free time, she volunteers with the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York as a troop leader for her daughter’s Girl Scouts troop, and enjoys time with her husband and children, camping, gardening, baking and cooking.
Bernard C. Murphy, CFP®
Partner, Financial Planning and Investments
A native of Dublin, Ireland, Bernard earned his degrees in Economics and Sociology from the University of Dublin, Trinity College (TCD) in Ireland. He earned his CFP® designation in 2011.
Bernard has worked for close to thirty years to support the lives of children and adults with varying disabilities, in his varying responsibilities as CEO, CFO, and President of four organizations. As a result of this work, he learned to appreciate that an institutional and/or person’s vision and core values for life are a critical and often overlooked component of the process when developing financial plans.
Today, as a Certified Financial Planner®, Bernard is committed to working in a highly personalized way with individuals. Through understanding what a person’s life intentions are, initially through addressing questions such as “who am I, what is my work in the world,” it is possible to establish a solid basis upon which one can build a financial plan to support an individual on their journey to the exploration and fulfillment of this intention.
Bernard has served as a trustee and/or director of a number of non-profit organizations. He is a former trustee and past president of the Camphill Association of North America. He has served as a director of the Board of the Camphill Foundation from 1992 until 2010 where he also held the office of Board President and CEO between 2003 and 2010. Bernard was also a co-founder of the North American Council for Curative Education and Social Therapy. In addition, Bernard currently serves as a volunteer with three non-profit entities.
Bernard has and continues to co-initiate a number of educational workshops and seminars on topics such as mission-related investing and understanding money in the context of an individual’s unique biographical journey.
Eileen M. Updyke, FPQP®
Senior Services Coordinator
Eileen began her career at First Albany Corporation in 2002 where she was responsible for all aspects of Control and Restricted Stock, Corporate Share Repurchase Programs, Stock Option Exercises as well as Rule 144 transactions. She has also worked as a registered sales assistant where she contributed to the growth and management of the Financial Advisor’s business while providing extraordinary support to the Financial Advisor and staff. She also served as the primary liaison between the financial advisor, clients and the operations team.
Eileen has been a valuable member of the larger Arista team since 2008; she joined Arista Advisory Group, working with Kim and Dave, as a Senior Client Services Coordinator in August 2016. In her position, she is responsible for assisting advisors with client relationships and maintaining client portfolios. Her responsibilities also include tracking new applications, handling money transfers and client database management. She is also accountable for client inquiries and requests, preparations for client meetings, and for daily maintenance of branch files and transactions while always focusing on exceptional service.
Eileen has held her Series 7 and 63 Licenses and Insurance License with the State of New York.
Eileen grew up in Latham and now resides in Ballston Lake with her husband Pete and her two children Sidney and Tanner. She enjoys photography, traveling, outdoor activities, and spending time with her family.