Our Advisors

As President and co-founder of Kelman-Lazarov, Ron focuses on asset management and investment strategies. “The most rewarding part of my job is building relationships with our clients,” Ron says. “We have worked with generations of families over the years and truly feel like we have made a difference in their lives as they planned for their future.”

Ron earned the designation of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) from the College for Financial Planning in 1983 and is a member of the Financial Planning Association.

Ron co-founded the National Security & Trust Company in 1981 and Vital Records Control in 1988. He currently serves as secretary and a director of both institutions, which have grown to 14 locations in seven states. Ron is a member of Give 365 Memphis. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Memphis Zoological Society and is a past president of Bornblum Solomon Schechter School. In 2008, Ron served on the Fan Advisory Board of the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team.

He earned a B.B.A. degree in Marketing from the University of Texas in 1977 and an M.B.A. in Finance from Southern Methodist University in 1979.

Ron and his wife Debbie have two grown children, Adam and Amy. Adam is married to Jami, and the couple recently welcomed the Lazarovs’ first grandchild, a girl, in April. Ron loves spending time with his family, especially the newest member! He also enjoys golf, travel, and watching the Grizzlies play ball.

Marty is the Chairman and co-founder of Kelman-Lazarov. In this role, he helps develop investment strategies and coordinates planning and consulting activities for the firm. In 1984, Marty earned his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®) designation. He is a member of the Financial Planning Association and is a past president of the Memphis Chapter for the International Association for Financial Planning.

Marty finds helping K-L clients and their families to be especially gratifying. “I love to meet with our clients and help them reach their life goals,” he says. “Many times we engage in some fairly intimate conversations about family situations. I have been told I am bilingual – I can speak financial and emotional!”

An active member of the Memphis community, Marty holds a belief that one should not complain about one’s community without trying to make it a better place. He is a member of the Boards of Trustees of Lausanne Collegiate School and Jewish Community Partners. Over the years, he has served on the Board of Directors of Ridgeway Country Club, as president of the Board of Trustees for Lausanne Collegiate School, on the Board of Trustees for Leadership Memphis, as the director of the Epilepsy Foundation, as chairman of the Memphis Youth Guidance Commission, and as a member of the Junior League of Memphis Community Advisory Board.

The son of Holocaust survivors, Marty is actively involved with Facing History and Ourselves, an education initiative that teaches students about racism, anti-Semitism, and prejudice so they can prevent it from happening in the future. Marty serves on both the Memphis Advisory Board and the National Board of Trustees for the organization.

He received a B.A. degree in history from the University of Virginia in 1973. He earned his M.Ed. in Counseling in 1976 and an M.B.A. in Finance in 1981, both from the University of Memphis.

Marty is married to Dale, a psychologist. Their son Alex earned his Ph.D. in psychology in December 2015. Marty loves playing golf and believes in strength training and exercising. For him, taking a hike in a beautiful natural setting is always a great day!

Keith has worked and gained experience in the financial services industry since 2003, joining the Kelman-Lazarov team in 2008. At K-L, he helps develop investment strategies and coordinates planning and consulting activities for the firm. He earned his Certified Retirement Counselor (CRC®) designation in 2008 from the International Foundation for Retirement Education.

“I enjoy building lasting personal relationships while working with our clients to develop financial plans that create customized strategies and solutions for their unique goals and objectives,” he says.

In 2001, Keith received his bachelor of Business Administration and Finance from the University of Memphis while playing as a Division I student athlete for the men's soccer team. Keith went on to earn his M.B.A. in 2003, working as a graduate assistant and research aide to Dr. Phillip T. Kolbe and Dr. M.E. Bond. Keith was also employed for a semester as an adjunct professor for the University of Memphis.

Keith helps to support local inner-city kids by sponsoring annual club fees for their competitive soccer team. He is an alumni member of the Phoenix Club of Memphis, an organization that has been serving the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis since 1955. Keith enjoys supporting organizations like Youth Villages, St. Jude, and the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis because they help build, assist, and reinforce the foundation of our society: our youth.

Keith is married to his wife Emma DiCesare, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. They reside in East Memphis with sons Nicolas and Leo, and their dog, Gunner. In their spare time they enjoy traveling to Toronto to visit family and trips to the beach in Gulf Shores. Keith is an avid golfer, soccer enthusiast, enjoys playing with his boys, and being with friends and family.

Andrew joined Kelman-Lazarov in 2007. His main areas of focus are investment research, portfolio construction, and trading. Along with Ron, Marty, Keith, and Jacob, he serves on K-L's investment committee, which is responsible for the firm's investment strategy and implementation.

“The most rewarding part of my job is building and maintaining long-term relationships with the wonderful clients of K-L by trying to develop and implement strategies that add the most possible value for them. It's an honor and a responsibility to be able to share a client's journey with them,” Andrew says.

From a young age Andrew enjoyed the subject of personal finance, creating and following his first budget at the age of 13. He continued this path into his formal education as a lifelong pursuit. Andrew graduated from David Lipscomb University with a B.S. in Finance and Economics and a minor in Psychology. He says studying psychology is an interesting complement to traditional finance, as it is important to understand both how we should behave when making financial decisions and how we actually behave – and find a balance between the two. He earned his M.B.A. from the University of Memphis, holds an Executive Certificate in Financial Planning from Christian Brothers University, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.

When Andrew is not working, he enjoys playing guitar – he has played for more than 20 years! A lifelong baseball fan, he started playing baseball at the age of five and still plays city league softball. He married his wife Lauren, this past summer.

Sharon Hammer joined Kelman-Lazarov in November 2012 as a financial advisor, coming to us from Merrill Lynch. Prior to that, she spent most of her career managing bank trust divisions. Sharon is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®), and her role at K-L focuses on client service, including financial plans, qualified retirement plans, life insurance, and long-term care insurance.

“At Kelman-Lazarov, we all want what is best for our clients and we work as a team to best serve their needs,” Sharon says. “I find helping our clients to be very rewarding.”

Sharon is the past president of the Rhodes Alumni Germantown-Collierville Chapter, a past member of the Board of Trustees for Lausanne Collegiate School, and the past president of Lausanne's parents' association. In addition, she has been a member of the City of Germantown Financial Advisory Committee and a member of Memphis Tax Watch Group. She is a graduate of Germantown's Citizens' Police Academy and a certified member of Germantown's emergency response team. Sharon says she feels it is important to be actively involved and give back to the community.

Sharon graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Rhodes College and received her J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School.

Sharon enjoys spending time with her daughter, Alexandra, who is a Freshman at Elon University. She is an avid reader, plays the piano and violin, enjoys doing crossword puzzles, and loves going to the beach!

A Certified Financial Planner™ since 2005, Patrick is a member of the Kelman-Lazarov financial planning team. In his role as Support Advisor, he works closely with Marty, Keith, Sharon, and Michael. Prior to joining K-L in 2016, he worked for Paragon Bank in Memphis in progressive roles, and has more than 13 years experience in the financial services industry.

“I had a close business relationship with K-L through Paragon. Over the several years that we worked together with mutual clients, it was evident that we shared a common philosophy on building long-term personal relationships with clients and always placing the best interests of the client first,” he says.

Patrick is an active supporter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. In recent years, he volunteered with Junior Achievement at Hawkins Mill Elementary.

He earned his B.S. degree in Finance from the University of Tennessee in 2002.

Patrick enjoys spending time with friends and family. He and his wife Sue, an elementary school teacher, are the proud parents of two boys, Davis and Connor – and include their yellow lab Bella as a part of the family as well. When vacation time rolls around, they like the sun and water of the Gulf Coast beaches. An avid sports fan, Patrick cheers on the Tennessee Volunteers, Memphis Grizzlies, and Chicago Cubs.

Bill joined Kelman-Lazarov in 1995. As an advisory associate, his focus is on wealth management and he works closely with clients to help them make well-informed long-term decisions.

“Virtually all of my new clients come from the referrals of trusted existing clients, resulting in a feeling of friendship and family,” Bill says. “Very few people who come into the fold tend to leave K-L. I am constantly in awe of the extraordinary level of concierge-like service that our clients consistently enjoy from our entire gifted staff. It's an increasingly rare thing in our modern techno-society.”

Bill was previously employed as an Associate Vice President of Investments with Raymond James & Associates, a member firm of the New York Stock Exchange. A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ since 1994, he has served as a board member, officer, and program director of the Mid-South Society of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners, now known as the Financial Planning Association.

In 2000, Bill was approved by the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission of the Tennessee Supreme Court to be listed as a Rule 31 Mediator in the field of General Civil Mediation. He has received multiple appointments to serve as a Special Master in the Chancery Court of Shelby County, Tennessee, performing financial analysis on proposed rulings in divorce cases. He was admitted as an Expert Witness in the Circuit Court of Shelby County, Tennessee in 2007.

Bill graduated from the University Park campus of Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Psychology in 1975.

Bill’s wife Shannah holds a Ph.D. in health care economics and works as national director for a major health care company. They are the proud parents of daughter Nessa, a Summa Cum Laude graduate of St. Mary’s Episcopal School and currently attending college. The family also includes two beloved Maine Coon cats, Hymie and Natasha. When he is not spending time with his family, Bill enjoys writing and digital photography, and has an extensive lens collection. He is also an avid Big Ten Conference college football fan.

An independent contractor, Howard joined Kelman-Lazarov in January 2011 to provide insurance assistance and investment advisory services. Prior to K-L, Howard worked as a financial advisor with Mass Mutual. Licensed to practice law in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi, he is also a partner in the Manis Law Firm.

“The most rewarding thing about my job is helping clients solve their financial problems. At K-L, we take the time to truly get to know our clients, and that is a big factor in finding the right solutions for them,” he says.

Howard earned his executive certificate in Financial Planning from Christian Brothers University in 2007 and the designation of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) in 2008.

Howard’s community involvement has included the Memphis Jewish Federation, Ridgeway Country Club, and Memphis Jewish Foundation Professional Advisory Group.

He earned his B.A. in Risk Management and Estate Planning from the University of Georgia in 1989. He earned his J.D. from the University of Memphis in 1993.

Howard and his wife Kim have a son, Louie, and a daughter, Avery. When he is not working or spending time with his family, he enjoys playing golf.