Walter has also provided his expertise as an author to a chapter of the American Bar Association`s publication, The Lawyer`s Guide to Retirement, Strategies for Attorneys and Their Clients.

He also utilizes his financial and investment planning skills as a principal in Arista Investment Advisors, Ltd., a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). Currently, the firm manages assets in excess of $100 million for various individuals, trustees, and retirement plans.

He has been a features lecturer at New York University`s School of Law and Albany Law School. Walter has appeared on various public television and news programs dealing with his area of expertise and has lectured locally and nationally on various retirement, elder law, estate and financial planning topics to attorneys, insurance agents, physicians, and corporate executives.

Walter earned his Juris Doctorate from Fordham University.

Jerry M. Schwartz, CFP®
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(TM) practitioner, Co-Founder

Jerry M. Schwartz, Co-founder, Principal and Chief Investment Analyst with Arista Investment Advisors, Ltd., was born in 1947 in New York City. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Stony Brook University and a Master of Arts degree in comparative East-West Philosophy from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In addition to post-M.A. graduate work, he was the recipient of a National Defense Foreign Language Fellowship in Sanskrit, was the assistant to the editor of the journal Philosophy East and West, published at the University of Hawaii and participated in the East-West Philosophers’ Conference on Wang Yang-Ming, held at the University of Hawaii.

In 1977 he became an FINRA Registered Representative with Merrill Lynch in Honolulu and continued there until 1984, when he began his private financial planning and investment advisory practice. In addition, he was a Registered Principal with the FINRA, through Walnut Street Securities, Inc. through March 2004. He now serves his clients exclusively through Arista Investment Advisors, his independent investment advisory and financial planning practice.

Mr. Schwartz completed the CFP® Education Program through the College for Financial Planning and has earned the Certified Financial Planner® designation. He is 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 FPA in Albany, NY and is a member of the Hawaii Society of the FPA in Honolulu and the Hawaii Estate Planning Council.

In addition to numerous appearances on the radio in the Albany area, on the CNBC cable television network and KHET Hawaii Public Television, he has taught individual tutorials in business ethics and philosophy through Empire State College of the State University of New York, financial planning and investment courses in the non-credit division of Columbia-Greene Community College in Hudson, NY and has twice addressed the New York State Bar Association, Elder Law Section. Mr. Schwartz 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 presents the “Planning for Retirement” and "Investing for Retirement" program segments of the telecourse, “Take Charge of Your Money3, presented on Olelo, Hawaii public access TV, through the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He presents programs and talks on spirituality and money, addressing the issue of applying the purposes of our lives to the money in our lives.

Mr. Schwartz was founding Board President of Greene County Common Ground, a not-for-profit alternative dispute resolution and mediation service. Mr. Schwartz is a board member, investment advisor and treasurer of the Foundation for World Education, a tax-exempt granting institution, which supports the work of the Integral Yoga community in the USA and Auroville, India. He is a past board, endowment and investment committee member of Camphill Village, USA, Inc. in Copake, NY, a life sharing community for the developmentally disabled and currently manages a portion of the endowment of the Camphill Village Copake Foundation. Additionally, he is a member of the board, chairs the asset management committee and is investment advisor for the Camphill Foundation. He is investment advisor to the Triskeles Foundation, which serves progressive social initiatives and philanthropy and serves as a board member and treasurer of Lokelani 'Ohana on the island of Maui, Hawaii, which is building a life sharing community for people with special needs. In addition, he manages several other charitable and religious endowments.

Karin Lopez-Gerber

Karin joined the team at Arista Investment Advisors Ltd. in 2002 and has since become Vice President. Her duties in this position include preparation of financial plans, retirement planning, planning for education funding, professional investment advice to clients, research and analysis, and offering portfolio recommendations for new and existing clients. Karin reviews investment options for clients, identifies their investment objectives and matches investment products to their financial goals. This includes analysis for asset allocation and positioning portfolios for diversification, while making sure the portfolio is suitable for the client based on risk tolerance and client objectives. Other duties include monitoring the recommended list of suitable funds, maintaining compliance requirements within the firm as well as overseeing many of the firm’s day-to-day operations and providing training to staff associates. Karin views her most important job function as making sure clients’ needs are met.

Karin began her path in the Financial Services field at Trustco working in the Trust Department where she gained working knowledge of Trust Investments. She has also gained experience working on the broker/dealer side in a prior investment firm running managed asset programs. Karin is a member of the Financial Planning Association, Women’s Business Council and is currently enrolled in the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP) course.

Karin has been active in the financial services field for over twelve years. She graduated from the State University of New York at Albany in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with honors. In December of 1996, Karin graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Master of Business Administration from the State University of New York at Albany. Karin was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma - National Honor Society for Business Administration and Accounting at SUNY Albany in 1996. Prior accomplishments include holding the Series 7 and 63 Licenses with the NASD and her Insurance license with the State of New York. Karin attended and completed the Canon Trust School in Boston, MA.

Karin enjoys being involved in the academic and social activities of her daughters Jennifer and Jessica and her stepdaughters Jessica and Melissa.

Olivia A. Mussett, CFP®
Financial Planner

Olivia joined Arista Investment Advisors, Ltd. in March of 2006. As a Financial Planner, Olivia works directly with clients to structure and implement successful financial plans, to include appropriate asset allocation and investment planning, as well as retirement and risk planning.

Olivia began her career in the Financial Services industry in 1998 with Banc of America Investments in Jacksonville, Florida as a Registered Sales Associate, supporting a group of financial advisors who managed over $150 million in assets. In this role, she analyzed and monitored client portfolios and implemented adjustments to their investment strategy. In 2001, she joined Prudential Securities in Albany, NY as a Registered Sales Assistant, where she managed all aspects of investment administration for two independent investment teams. Most recently, she was a Relationship Manager with Curran Investment Management, where she created and managed financial plans for high net worth clients.

Olivia is a 2004 graduate of The American College’s CFP® Certification Program, successfully completing studies in financial planning, risk management, investments, tax planning and management, retirement and employee benefits and estate planning. In 2005, she earned the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation. She is a Series 7, 63 and 65 investment advisor and is also licensed in life, accident and health insurance. She has completed the NYS Partnership for Long-term Care Insurance training.

Olivia is a member of the Financial Planning Association and is a Board member of Zion’s United Church of Christ of Taborton.

Christin Sarubbi

Chris graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theoretical Mathematics in 1972. She continued her graduate studies at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.

Chris was employed for over seventeen years in the financial industry where she worked for Morgan Guarantee Trust Company and was a Vice President of The Chase Manhattan Bank. Her areas of specialty were the trust and investment arenas and the management of corporate wide credit and country risk related issues.

For another seventeen years, she provided support to corporations in the Financial Services, Real Estate, Insurance and Educational industries. She has extensive experience in business analysis. This includes the organization of information to derive intelligence crucial to understanding performance, setting business directions, and implementing solutions.

Since 1994, Chris has been co-director of The Tibetan Lama Fund, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation to support Tibetan monks and nuns in exile and assist the preservation of Tibet’s unique culture and philosophy.

Chris joined the team at Arista Investment Advisors Ltd. in August of 2006, as the Director of Client Services, where she provides assistance to clients, and maintains portfolio management and financial planning systems.

Kimberly M. Cleveland

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 & Training, Customer Service and Sales.

Kim joined the team at Arista Investment Advisors, Ltd. in July of 2007 as a Client Service Associate, where 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 and reconciliation 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.