October Mountain Financial Advisors Welcomes Gary Schiff

LEE — October Mountain Financial Advisors announced it has appointed Gary Schiff as managing director of the firm, which provides client-centered investment-management, financial-planning, and trust-administration services to clients in Berkshire County and throughout New England. Formed earlier this year, October Mountain Financial Advisors is an alliance of Lee Bank and St. Germain Investment Management, based in Springfield.

“We’re excited to welcome Gary to October Mountain Financial Advisors. As managing director, he will be leading our efforts in the Berkshires and our alliance with Lee Bank,” said Tim Suffish, senior vice president and head of equities at St. Germain Investment Management. “Gary joins us with over 30 years in the business of investments and banking, and a passion for delivering professional and accountable service to clients at the local level. It’s this consistency with our core beliefs, along with Gary’s experience in the industry, that will benefit all of our clients in the Berkshires and the region.”

Schiff most recently served as vice president, senior investment advisor with the Private Client Group at TD Wealth in Pittsfield from 2001 to 2016. Prior to his position with TD Wealth, he joined Bank of Boston’s Berkshire Region senior management team in 1995, and through successive mergers leading to TD’s current ownership, held senior positions at the bank in marketing, communications, government, and public relations. Schiff is a graduate of Middlebury College, received his master’s degree from Harvard University, and has attended the Cannon Financial Institute Trust School. He holds FINRA Series 7 and 66 registrations.

Schiff is presently a member of the Berkshire Funders’ Roundtable and serves as a corporator of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Foundation, a member of the Congregation Knesset Israel Investment Committee, a member of the Berkshire County Estate Planning Council, and chair of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires Investment Committee. He is a past director and president of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, past director of the Berkshire Economic Development Corp. and the Colonial Theatre, and a former member of the Lenox Planning Board, Berkshire County Regional Employment Board, and Berkshire Community College Business Advisory Committee.

Along with Schiff and Suffish, October Mountain Financial Advisors’ principal team includes St. Germain Investment Management’s Michael Matty, president and director; Richard Bleser, vice president, portfolio manager; Matthew Farkas, vice president, portfolio manager; and Thaddeus Welch, portfolio manager.

“I worked closely with Gary and Tim as portfolio managers with Banknorth Wealth Management. Together we served a significant number of individual, family, and institutional clients throughout Berkshire County and nationally,” said Chuck Leach, president and CEO of Lee Bank. “We’re all Berkshire residents, and October Mountain’s base in Lee enables us to again collaborate closely as a team that places the highest value on client relationships and locally made investment decisions.”