

Aligned Wealth Management Group at Morgan Stanley

Our Mission Statement
Our Story and Services
COORDINATED, INTEGRATED, AND ELEVATED: ALIGNED WITH YOU
We are an innovative, credentialed, and driven wealth management practice offering meaningful guidance and an elevated standard of client care to uniquely successful individuals, families, and business owners, both locally and throughout the country.
Our mission is to become an essential partner and advocate for our clients. This means that we leverage our experience, creative energy, and a vast array of resources to help clients define and pursue what matters most, while guiding them through their most pressing challenges and consequential decisions.
WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE US
- Through our Collaborative Approach, we instill confidence in our clients by helping them understand their current situation and what's ahead.
- Our clients gain clarity from the Meaningful Guidance we provide, knowing they have a team that will put their needs first and simplify the complex.
- We help clients anticipate, prepare, and act on forward looking opportunities and challenges through our commitment to providing Personal Attention.
We meet our clients where they are at and take them where they want to go.
- Financial PlanningFootnote1
- Professional Portfolio ManagementFootnote2
- Alternative InvestmentsFootnote3
- Cash Management and Lending ProductsFootnote4
- Life InsuranceFootnote5
- Estate Planning StrategiesFootnote6
- Trust ServicesFootnote7
- Philanthropic ManagementFootnote8
- Business Succession PlanningFootnote9
- Sustainable InvestingFootnote10
OUR CLIENT SERVICE PHILOSOPHY
With decades of experience behind us, we are often the "first call" from clients looking to address a wide range of financial concerns. As our clients and their families grow and evolve, they ask different kinds of questions and require new and expanded capabilities from their Financial Advisors. Our team's highly credentialed and broad knowledge base has facilitated our long history of growing alongside our client families and addressing their evolving circumstances, milestones, and challenges.
To successfully execute on a world-class client experience and develop a mutually rewarding relationship, we must agree to the following behavior-based commitments:
On our end, we will:
- Act with integrity, honesty, and openness in everything we do for and with you.
- Absolutely respect the confidentiality of our working relationship.
- Commit ourselves to the highest standards of accessibility and responsiveness.
- Remain open to your feedback and be flexible to your needs.
In return, we ask that our clients are:
- Open, frank and honest with us at all times.
- Prompt in providing us with complete, accurate, and orderly data we need to properly advise them.
- Open to any advice we may offer.
- Open to following through on any commitments that are agreed upon.

Aligned With You
With a "coach and guide" mindset and approach, we bring together, the sometimes confusing, often overwhelming elements of long-term financial success, financial planning, and investment management. We do this with a sense of purpose and responsibility, which are designed to provide clients with confidence and clarity.

The credentialed skills of a Family Wealth Director and a Family Wealth Advisor, coupled with our team's many years of experience working with families, uniquely positions us to deliver a broader spectrum of family-centric wealth management solutions to our clients.
In addition to the services listed above, we also help families address complex issues that fall outside the bounds of a traditional advisory relationship, such as:
- Spending more time enjoying your wealth and less time managing it.
- Defining what you want your legacy to be.
- Understanding how a complex estate plan translates to your financial goals and legacy plan.
- Offering qualified investors exclusive access to investments that may otherwise only be available to institutional investors.
- Refining philanthropic goals around tax-aware strategies.
- Preparing your children to be financially independent.
- Helping families navigate the complex, multigenerational challenges of managing significant wealth through direct access to an extensive range of resources.
Location
Meet Aligned Wealth Management Group
About Denise L Schirmann
After a successful career in marketing, Denise earned her MBA and became a Financial Advisor at Smith Barney, where she was awarded the Smith Barney Triple Crown in her first year. She went on to earn her CFP® certification and the Family Wealth Advisor designation. Denise has been named a Forbes Best-in State Wealth Advisor every year since 2018 and is a current member of the Morgan Stanley Century Club.
Throughout her career, Denise has focused on those areas where she can make a huge, positive difference in each client’s life. Her credentials, focused skills and nearly two decades of experience ensure that clients have a trusted advisor to lean on for clear thinking, perspective and support.
Denise and her husband have three adult children. Close to home, they enjoy spending time boating and enjoying Lake Michigan. Globally, they like to travel to destinations where they can spend time skiing, hiking and scuba diving.
Named to the 2025 Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams Ranking
Source: Forbes (Awarded Jan 2025) Data compiled by SHOOK Research LLC based for the period 3/31/23–3/31/24.
2018-2023 Forbes Best-In- State Wealth Advisors
Source: Forbes.com (Awarded 2018-2023). Data compiled by SHOOK Research LLC based 12-month time period concluding in June of year prior to the issuance of the award.
NMLS#: 1398710
CA Insurance License #: OG32435
About Michael L Matthys
Mike is a Chartered Financial Analyst™ and a Morgan Stanley Family Wealth Director, a designation held by approximately 4% of Financial Advisors at Morgan Stanley. These designations allow him to offer his clients access to the best thinking in portfolio construction, while working to strengthen each family’s financial security for generations to come.
Mike earned a master’s degree in business administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University after completing his undergraduate work at Illinois State University. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Mike served affluent clients for five years at J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank. In addition, Mike is a student of the industry and an active member in the CFA® Institute and the CFA® Society of Chicago.
He resides in Kildeer, IL, with his wife, Laura, and their two children, Danielle and Brandon. In his free time, Mike enjoys golfing, camping and spending time with his family.
Named to the 2025 Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams Ranking
Source: Forbes (Awarded Jan 2025) Data compiled by SHOOK Research LLC based for the period 3/31/23–3/31/24.
NMLS#: 821719
CA Insurance License #: 0K71936
About Indra Josephs
Indra’s goal is to provide each client with realistic and attainable financial pathways to accomplish their myriad goals and leave meaningful legacies. The substantial and exclusive resources available to her because of her team’s Family Wealth designation allows her to help families work through complex financial situations to preserve their wealth and ideals across generations. She works tirelessly to establish and maintain client partnerships that are authentic, collaborative, transparent and meaningful. In return, her clients look to her for an unwavering dedication to understanding and serving their financial goals.
Indra graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in finance and organization administration from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Indra served as a vice president at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, where she helped affluent families grow and preserve their wealth, while addressing the complex challenges of managing generational wealth.
Indra, her husband Scot, and two children, Liam and Elina, live in Hawthorn Woods, IL. She is active in her Lithuanian community and has participated in holiday folk dancing for more than 15 years. Indra is a trustee of the District 95 Education Foundation, which provides grants and resources to support innovations in the district. She is also philanthropically involved with organizations that support women.
Named to the 2025 Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams Ranking
Source: Forbes (Awarded Jan 2025) Data compiled by SHOOK Research LLC based for the period 3/31/23–3/31/24.
NMLS#: 821642
CA Insurance License #: OM48192
About Colleen Rapp
Colleen joined Morgan Stanley because she enjoys developing relationships with individuals and families and is passionate about helping them reach their financial goals.
She currently resides in Hawthorn Woods, Illinois with her husband, Ken. While away from the office, she enjoys hiking, playing piano and traveling with her family.
Named to the 2025 Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams Ranking
Source: Forbes (Awarded Jan 2025) Data compiled by SHOOK Research LLC based for the period 3/31/23–3/31/24.
NMLS#: 2342153
About Maria Wojcik-Llamas
Maria graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. She began her career in the financial industry at Charter One Bank (formerly St. Paul Federal Bank). After working with clients for several years, she joined the Oakbrook Terrace branch of Smith Barney and later transitioned to the Barrington Branch.
Maria, her husband and three children live in the northwest suburbs. In her spare time, she enjoys camping, biking, playing volleyball and spending time with family and friends.
About Nate Stevens
Nate graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance. In his spare time, Nate enjoys golfing, travelling, and spending time with his closest family and friends.

Contact Denise L Schirmann

Contact Michael L Matthys

Contact Indra Josephs

Contact Colleen Rapp
Portfolio Insights
Investing
- Asset Management
- Wealth Planning
- Traditional Investments
- Alternative Investments
- Impact Investing
Retirement
- 401(k) Rollovers
- IRA Plans
- Retirement income strategies
- Retirement plan participants
- Annuities
Family
- Estate Planning Strategies
- 529 Plans / Education Savings Planning
- Long Term Care Insurance
- Special Needs Planning
- Trust Services
Philanthropy
- Endowments
- Foundations
- Donor Advised Funds
- Impact Investing
Business Planning
- Succession Planning
- Business Planning
- Qualified Retirement Plans
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