Investment strategist joins Four Ponds team

Four Ponds Financial Planning has added a new outside investment consultant to its team as part of a continuing effort to enhance the investment guidance provided to Four Ponds clients.

Eric Stein, CFA, of East Bay Financial Services will serve as Chief Investment Strategist for Four Ponds, bringing with him years of experience in the investment field. He will be assisted in this role by his East Bay partner, Mario Nardone, CFA.

“We are thrilled to engage with Stein as our chief investment strategist,” said Four Ponds founder David McPherson.  “By adding him and Nardone to our team, Four Ponds will have access to highly respected and experienced investment resources, allowing us to focus on our primary goal of providing exceptional financial planning to our clients.”

East Bay is an investment consulting firm providing services such as portfolio oversight, investment due diligence, and wealth management guidance tailored to meet the needs of Four Ponds clients. In addition, East Bay provides model portfolios that subscribe to the investment philosophy shared by Four Ponds that the market is reasonably efficient, that low-cost, time-tested and liquid investments in a diversified portfolio yield financial success over time.

Stein has extensive investment experience developed through the variety of roles held during his career, including serving asVice President at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where he earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2001.

He also served as the Chief Investment Officer for RSM U.S. Wealth Management for over ten years, providing strategic leadership and solutions for their national investment platform. Before joining East Bay in 2018, he worked with global investment manager Nuveen, where he was focused on business intelligence and strategy. Stein is based in Charlotte, N.C.

Nardone has deep experience in investment management beginning in 1999 at Vanguard.  He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2003, thereafter transitioning to Chief Investment Officer and Chief Compliance Officer for a financial planning and advisor firm.  In 2010, he launched East Bay Financial Services in Charleston, S.C.