FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

Tom Thornton

SVP Due Diligence, St. Petersburg, FL

1. Tell me about your role in the department – what is a typical day like for you?
   1. A member of the Research team (31 total of us), where we decide asset allocation and seek to pick good money managers for our clients in Freedom, RJCS, and UMA. A typical day would include two meetings with current portfolio managers, one with a potential portfolio manager, discussion with other AMS researchers about those meetings, couple hours of analyzing how we are doing and how we could be better, and reading about 250 emails about markets and related info.
2. What role did you start in at RJ?
   1. November of 1990 (not a typo) I started with Corporate Finance/Investment Banking, worked on spreadsheets for almost 12 months, then was hired into AMS/IAS as a SMA trader in late 1991 as the 13th AMS associate.
3. What has changed the most since you first joined RJ / AMS?
   1. My hairline (early AMS photo attached).
4. What is your favorite memory of RJ / AMS?
   1. Halloween when some of us “dressed up” like a fraternity party, the day went by fast and fun.
5. What do you like to do away from work – hobbies or activities?
   1. Any and all sports/leisure activities, including watching, but more playing.
6. Top 3 bucket list items?
   1. Play golf at some famous courses in Ireland and Scotland, spend some (more) quality time in Hawaii with my wife, and learn to play more than two chords on my guitar.
7. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
   1. Spending a somewhat scary month in Kazakhstan and Russia, successfully adopting two children.
8. What was your favorite job?
   1. Current job, seriously. Not bailing hay, not detasseling corn, not washing restaurant dishes, not short order cook, not the meat packing plant, not stocking shelves, not shipping electronics, not loading luggage onto planes.
9. Do you have any side-hustles?
   1. Fantasy football, but seasonal and not very lucrative.
10. What’s your favorite family tradition?
    1. Going to Sanibel Island down by Fort Myers, yearly, beach vacation, wife loves it so I love it.
11. What TV show are you currently binging?
    1. 90210 the original.
12. If you could instantly acquire one talent or ability, what would it be and why?
    1. Predicting the next 6-12 months in market movements, to help Freedom clients better.

Steve Romanoff

AMS Sales, Director of Externals – St. Petersburg, FL

1. What role did you start in at RJ?
   1. I joined the firm in August 1992 working as a client service associate in the Elite department which is now better known as Capital Access. I was responsible for processing new account applications which included ordering checks for clients, debit card(s) and ensuring the appropriate documents were noted in the SIS back-office system. I would then file the account paperwork in 3-ring binders that were kept on a bookshelf in our department. We have come a long-way since those days for sure.
2. What has changed the most since you started with RJ?
   1. So much has changed since I started, yet so much has stayed the same. In sharing the obvious, I am humbled by the level of growth our firm has experienced since I started – the size of our firm, the people and our presence in the marketplace. When I started, all of the home office associates were located in Tower 1. One bragging right I have after 30 years is being able to say that I have actually worked in every tower at the home office complex (excluding the bank building) including 100 Carillon and our latest home in Towers 5&6. Despite the tremendous growth, the firm’s leadership has been able to preserve the small firm culture which remains so critical to our continued success.
3. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
   1. The one accomplishment I am most proud of was going back to school to obtain my MBA after getting my undergraduate degree 22 years prior. It was the continued encouragement of my manager at the time and I took on the task with much trepidation. In the end it was one of the best things I could have done for my career and I greatly benefited from the experience.
4. Favorite RJ Memory
   1. Sharing a favorite memory is extremely difficult because there are so many. I’d like to share two of them – a high moment and low moment:
      
      The first is when I came across an advisor friend and his wife at the Elevate conference a few years ago. I had worked very closely with this advisor while traveling as an AMS external sales representative. After greeting each other I noticed that he had qualified as a Chairman’s council producer and I congratulated him on his success. It was then his wife with a tearful smile told me that I was a big part of helping him get to that point in his career. We had worked together transitioning his business away from transactions into the managed platforms. For me, that represented everything we are about and I would consider it a true mountain top experience.
      
      My low moment came when the sales and due diligence teams challenged each other to a basketball game (see attached picture) – circa 2002. We actually rented a gym and invited everyone from the department to attend which included Jeff Dowdle and George Raffa. Please note my two teammates including Erik Fruland and Scott Horack. Although the sales team triumphed in victory, there was little credit that could be given to my poor performance on the court. Let’s just say basketball is not my sport. If I recall, things were so bad that Jeff and George were actually heckling me from the sidelines. All in all it was a great time and the event represents the family atmosphere we continue to promote today.
5. Personal Note
   1. Away from work I am all about family. I have two adult daughters (23 & 27) and a golden retriever named Nala. Outside of time with the family, my favorite activity is skiing and traveling wherever I can find good snow.

Jeff Hartnett

VP, Operations – Product Centers – St. Petersburg, FL

1. Tell me about your role in the department – what is a typical day like for you?
   1. My responsibilities recently changed due to the RJ Operations / AMS Operations integration a few months ago. I am now the VP of FA Discretionary Trade Support, Advisor Services and Reconciliations. I’m working each day to bring myself up to speed so that I can support the teams doing all of the hard work in each of these functions daily.
2. What role did you start in at RJ?
   1. I started with AMS in 2004. I started working the Systematic withdrawal desk. I moved to AMS Trading shortly after.
3. What has changed the most since you first joined RJ / AMS?
   1. The size of AMS but not its heart. I recall the days of standing in a vacated space of our floor in tower 4 for department meetings. We are too big to do that now. The faces of the people may have changed over the years but the heart of AMS has stayed the same.
4. What is your favorite memory of RJ / AMS?
   1. During extremely busy times seeing my groups rally together to hit the mark and service our advisors needs for their clients.
5. What do you like to do away from work – hobbies or activities?
   1. Spending time with my family. Going to theme parks with the kids. Collecting guitars, vinyl records and retro video games.
6. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
   1. Seeing people I hired progress in their careers at RJ.
7. What TV show are you currently binging?
   1. The Boys on Amazon Prime
8. If you could instantly acquire one talent or ability, what would it be and why?
   1. My son has autism and requires a lot of special attention and care. If I could do anything I would find a cure for autism so that he and others who are on the spectrum would not have to suffer the effects of it

Binx and Evie

Owner: Cassie Coleman

Binx is about 3 years old. He has the sweetest high pitched meow. The ultimate cuddler/smotherer at night when we’re trying to sleep. Evie is just over 2 years old. She runs the show at our house. She loves being brushed and gets super jealous when we show any attention to any other cat.

Duke

Owner: Renata Pereira

Duke is a 4 year old Siberian husky originally from Miami FL, he recently moved to St Pete with his mom. He is a couch dog who loves to talk, play with small animals, likes to run, squirrel watch, sunbathe, snuggle, highly motivated by human food, but he also loves to eat carrots, celeries, blueberries, and ice cubes. His nicknames are: Puppy, Perro, Lil boy, and Dukie.

Mickey

Owner: Adriana Medina

Mickey is a goofy, energetic and super loveable Golden Retriever that is obsessed with tennis balls and running on the beach. In his downtime, he loves to lay upside down on the bed and snuggle whenever I let him watch TV with me.

Moonshine and Martini

Owner: Jennifer Osterman

Moonshine and Martini are about a week apart. They will be 2 this year. They are two different breeds. Moonshine is a Ragdoll and he is very laid back and chill. Loves night time hugs and snuggles and he loves any toys that are green. He is also a picky eater and will not eat meat. Martini is a Himalayan and she is sassier. She likes ALL food and loves to play with hair ties. Both are very attached to each other.

Mr. Man

Owner: Nicolas Louis

Mr. Man is a distinguished gentleman who likes Star Wars. He didn’t want to wear anything that would impede his movement of being a cat.