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Robert C. Smith
President and Chief Executive Officer
Robert Smith is President and CEO of Spero-Smith Investment Advisers, Inc. Spero-Smith is a registered investment advisory firm providing independent investment advice, asset management, and financial planning consultations to high net-worth individuals, foundations, and retirement plans. The firm is the successor company to Spero Financial Services and has been helping clients organize their financial lives and achieve their financial goals since 1972.
Mr. Smith offers more than 30 years of experience in investing, finance, accounting, management and marketing. Prior to joining Spero-Smith, he was chief investment officer of an investment advisory firm he co-founded in 1988.
In July 2007 Ohio Governor Ted Strickland appointed Bob to the Board of Directors for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation as an investment and securities expert; he was reappointed to this position in 2009. Mr. Smith was appointed to the board of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority in 2007 by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson. In 2004, Ohio Governor Bob Taft appointed Bob to the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System as an Investment Expert where he chaired its Investment Committee; he served on this board until August 2007. He also serves on the board of the Motorists Insurance Group.
Mr. Smith is frequently consulted by local print and broadcast media as a commentator on the economy, financial markets and investments. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of ideastream® (WVIZ/WCPN) and Ohio Northern University and and serves on the board and executive committee of the Greater Cleveland Partnership and the board of Lake Ridge Academy.
Additionally, Mr. Smith serves on the Investment Committee of The Cleveland Foundation, chairs the Investment Committee for United Way Services-Greater Cleveland and is on the Finance Council at St. Ladislas Parish. Previously, Mr. Smith served as Chairman of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association where he championed the merger of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association and Cleveland Tomorrow. He is the former Chairman of COSE, and past president of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northeast Ohio.
Mr. Smith served on both mayoral campaigns of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and co-chaired the new mayor’s transition committee. Mr. Smith was a finalist for the National Small Business Association’s 2009 Lewis Shattuck Small Business Advocate of the Year award, and he received the Outstanding Service Award from James F. Dicke College of Business Administration at Ohio Northern University in 2008. In 2004, he received the American Jewish Committee's Richard H. Adler Community Leadership Award and the COSE Entrepreneurial Leadership Award sponsored by Cleveland State University's College of Business Administration and the Cleveland Rotary Club. Other awards include Honorable Mention for Medical Mutual of Ohio’s Non-Profit Board Executive of the Year in 2003.
Mr. Smith received an MBA (Finance) from Duquesne University and a B.A. in Business Administration (Accounting) from Ohio Northern University. He is a member of the CFA Institute and the Cleveland CFA Society.
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Jeff N. Malbasa
Chief Operating Officer
Jeff has a Masters of Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance and Banking from The Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. Jeff graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University where he received Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Economics and in History. He is also a member of The Golden Key Society in recognition of his undergraduate academic excellence and of Beta Gamma Sigma in recognition of his academic achievement in business school.
Jeff joined Spero-Smith Investment Advisers, Inc. in June of 2003. As Chief Operating Officer, Jeff is responsible for developing and implementing strategic initiatives for the firm. In addition to his managerial responsibilities, Jeff manages a select number of clients as a portfolio manager and consultant and is closely involved in the research and decision making regarding our investment portfolios.
In the community, Jeff is an active member of the LeadDiversity Alumni Executive Committee, University School and Tufts University Alumni Associations and Northeast Cleveland Little League’s Board of Directors.
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Mimi Lord, CFA, CFP®
Senior Vice President & Chief Investment Officer
Mimi re-joined Spero-Smith in March 2007 as Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer. Her primary responsibilities include directing the investment research process and supervising the efforts of the investment management team. Mimi previously had worked at Spero-Smith for six years beginning in January 1994 as a portfolio manager. She worked closely with about 75 individual clients and several corporate 401(k) plans. She was promoted to Director of Financial Planning in 1998 and had oversight of financial planning projects for clients. Throughout her six-year tenure, Mimi served on the Investment Policy Committee and was involved in researching securities and asset classes.
From 2000 to the beginning of 2007, Mimi worked for two nationally recognized financial services companies, Morningstar and TIAA-CREF. She was involved in the design and launch of Morningstar’s website for financial advisors and wrote weekly investment columns on such topics as tax-efficient investing, exchange-traded funds, Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS), asset allocation, diversification, and retirement payout strategies. At the end of 2001, Mimi accepted a position at the TIAA-CREF Institute serving as a liaison to independent financial advisors and writer/editor of various publications related to investing and retirement planning. In a special assignment lasting one year, Mimi served as Director of Product Development at TIAA-CREF Asset Management in the launch of 12 new investment portfolios designed for college and university endowments. She was a frequent speaker at endowment conferences and author of numerous articles relating to endowment management.
As a former security analyst with Kemper Financial Services, Mimi has a strong background in stock analysis and the securities industry. For five years she focused predominantly on the telecommunications industry during and after the 1984 breakup of AT&T and through the emergence of the cellular industry. Her work with Kemper included several months in the research department of a London-based brokerage firm, James Capel & Co.
Mimi received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan in 1981, a Masters in Journalism from Indiana University in 1978 and a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University in 1973. Mimi is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Certified Financial Planner™ certificate holder. She is also a member of the National Association for Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), the Financial Planning Association (FPA), and CFA Institute.
Mimi has served in various positions as a Trustee at Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, including chairs of Budget and Investment Committees. She and her husband, James Wilson, a law professor at Cleveland State University, have two children, both in college.
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Matthew S. Olver, CFP®
Senior Vice President & Wealth Advisor
Matt joined Spero-Smith Investment Advisers, Inc. in June 1997 and was promoted to Senior Vice President in July of 2009. He is responsible for the oversight of the personalized investment strategies and financial planning consulting services for new and existing clients of our firm, including individuals, retirement plans, institutions and endowments. He started his career with Spero-Smith as an Assistant Financial Planner, conducting education funding, investment, and retirement plan analysis.
Matt is a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner and a member of the National Association for Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and the Financial Planning Association (FPA).
Graduating magna cum laude from John Carroll University where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1997, Matt is still active in the John Carroll community as a member of the JCU Entrepreneurs Association and JCU Magis Advisory Group. He is a graduate of the Cleveland Bridge Builders Class of 2006.
He is a regular contributor to the “Ask the Expert” column in Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer and has been quoted in various newspapers and periodicals on investment strategies, mutual funds and 529 college savings plans.
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Debra L. Boerger, CFP®
Portfolio Manager
Deb joined Spero-Smith in September, 2005 after more than twenty-seven years in the investment advisory field. For the eleven years prior to joining our team, she owned her own company. In 1988, she co-founded another investment advisory firm with Bob Smith. Prior to that, Deb spent ten years learning the business from the bottom up. She brings Spero-Smith and its clients a depth of experience that is unique in this industry.
Deb received a Master of Business Administration from Baldwin-Wallace College in 1987 and a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) from Miami University in 1975.
Deb is a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner and a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA).
A large part of Deb’s life is her involvement in the Greater Cleveland community. In 1999, she became the first female president of the Rotary Club of Cleveland. She remains very active in her club as well as in the district, currently serving for the 11th year as the Chairperson of the Ambassadorial Scholarship program.
In addition to her Rotary involvement, Deb is a past Board Member of Padua Franciscan High School, a past Board Member of the Old Stone Foundation, a past Board Member of Lutheran Chaplaincy Services and a former Executive Board member of the Greater Cleveland Council, Boy Scouts of America.
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Kara Downing CFP®
Portfolio Manager
Kara joined Spero-Smith Investment Advisers in late 2002 as an Assistant Portfolio Manager, where she was responsible for assisting the portfolio managers with various portfolio management projects, including trading (stock, mutual funds, and fixed income), account review, fulfillment of client service requests, and various investment and financial planning research projects.
In early 2006, she was promoted to Investment Analyst where she was responsible for the research assistance on stocks and mutual funds for the firm’s Chief Investment Officer and provided client reports for individual, foundation, endowment and corporate retirement plan clients. In early 2007, Kara was promoted to Portfolio Manager and is responsible for the implementation of individual client strategies based on their unique goals and constraints, as well as identifying financial planning issues and conducting client update meetings.
Kara is a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner and a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA).
Graduating cum laude from Bowling Green State University, Kara received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting.
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Erica M. Aber CFP®
Director of Operations & Portfolio Manager
Erica joined Spero-Smith Investment Advisers, Inc. in June 2004. Erica is in charge of the operations of the firm, which include the evaluation and implementation of comprehensive firm policies, procedures, and project management. She is also responsible for the implementation of individual client strategies, which includes portfolio management, identification of financial planning issues, and client update meetings.
Erica is a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner and a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA).
Erica is currently pursuing her MBA at John Carroll University.
Erica graduated cum laude from Ohio University where she received Bachelor in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and Management Information Systems (MIS). She is also a member of The Golden Key National Honor Society, in recognition of her academic excellence.
In the community, Erica volunteers for The United Way of Greater Cleveland and serves on it Organizational Assessment Committee.
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Tony J. Basalla
Portfolio Manager
Tony joined Spero-Smith Investment Advisers, Inc. in April of 2006. He works collaboratively with current and prospective clients in developing an appropriate investment strategy based on client’s unique goals and constraints. The implementation and ongoing monitoring of these strategies, as well as indentifying financial planning issues and conducting client update meetings are included in his Portfolio Manager responsibilities. Tony works closely with the Chief Investment Officer in the research of the fixed income markets. He gathers, analyzes, and presents data to our Investment Team to identify the necessary strategies for implementation within client’s portfolios.
Tony graduated from Mount Union College where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Quantitative Analysis. He was a four-year member on the Mount Union College Men’s Basketball Team where he was a scholar-athlete.
In the community, Tony is a volunteer basketball coach at St. Ignatius High School. He also enjoys teaching and coaching kids through AAU and Big Shot Basketball Academy.
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