Our Story

The Capital of Texas Group is founded on a simple principle – We believe that affluent families, business owners and executives are too busy to actively manage their complex financial lives. Between their careers and their rich, full lives, there is no time to create a strategy for retirement, or address issues of wealth transfer, or even clearly define their goals.

An investment portfolio created without specific objectives, may produce excessive risk, inadequate performance or lack a clear way to measure how they’re doing.

At the Capital of Texas Group at Morgan Stanley, we work with a select group of clients like these to provide a full range of wealth management advice and service, while simplifying their decision-making and handling day to day management.

We also work with select businesses, institutions and foundations, providing professional portfolio management, retirement plan consultation and other services.

With two highly credentialed advisors each having specific areas of knowledge, our “sophisticated simplicity” model is intended to give you both the wealth management services you need, and more time to live the life you’ve worked hard to build.
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Sophisticated Simplicity - what it means for you

“Sophisticated simplicity” is both a guiding principle for our team, and a description of our process for creating wealth management plans for our clients.

We begin with an extensive discovery process, during which we help our clients define and articulate their goals – retire early, purchase a vacation home, fund college educations for subsequent generations, leave a meaningful gift to a cherished institution and so on.

Then, we create a comprehensive wealth management plan centered around those goals. Every recommendation is the result of an exhaustive and detailed analysis of appropriate investments, time horizons, assets and liabilities, liquidity, and tax implications.

Additionally, we believe “sophisticated simplicity” means that our plans are robust but also flexible, to accommodate the changes that inevitably occur. These include both life events (the birth of a child, a marriage or divorce, the sale of a business, for example) and macroeconomic variations, such as a market correction or financial crisis. Furthermore, with your permission, we may consult with your attorney or accountant, to ensure that all your trusted advisors are in alignment with your long-term strategy.

At The Capital of Texas Group, we have the skill and experience to help you handle even the most complex wealth management situation … and take as much of it off your plate as you deem appropriate.

Through it all, our goal is to help you live your life, knowing that you have a plan in place custom-designed around your goals and objectives.

Client Resources

We are committed to providing you with the latest market insights and resources available to be better informed in the current market. The most up to date content from Morgan Stanley includes:
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What we believe about managing wealth

Ideally, when choosing a wealth management team, you are starting a decades-long relationship. How do you know if you will be happy working with them? It’s a fair question. To help answer it, we’d like to share the principles that drive The Capital of Texas Group:
Always start with a goal.
Financial decisions are about balancing objectives – risk vs. return, for example. Without a target in mind, those decisions are made blind.
Everything is connected.
Today’s financial decision affects the ones to come. That’s why we believe in comprehensive wealth management, to help ensure that each choice aligns with a client’s goals.
Keep it simple.
Even the most sophisticated wealth management strategies and tactics should feel simple to our client. We do the work so you don’t have to.
Be prepared.
No one knows what the future holds. We work to protect our clients against the unforeseen.
Conserve by being conservative.
Many clients prefer to focus on wealth preservation, which reflects our values as well.
Focus on retirement.
The team’s advisors all have advanced credentials focused on retirement – it is often at the core of our wealth management plans.
Investing and emotion don't mix.
There is considerable research that proves it – we provide the perspective and even hand that help clients stay on track through emotional times.
Every relationship should last a lifetime.
We can’t guarantee it will, of course … but our commitment to honesty, integrity and elite service are designed to earn your trust over years, decades and generations.
The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management or its affiliates. All opinions are subject to change without notice. Neither the information provided nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Location

8701 Bee Caves Rd
Ste 300
Austin, TX 78746
US
Direct:
(512) 370-0481(512) 370-0481
Toll-Free:
(800) 234-1940(800) 234-1940

Meet The Capital of Texas Group

About Russell Cowman

Russell is a founding member of the Capital of Texas Group, serving as a Senior Portfolio Manager customizing portfolios for high-net-worth clients. Russell and his team have used “Sophisticated Simplicity” to help simplify the complexities of wealth management for clients. He also utilizes Morgan Stanley’s world class Alternative Investment Platform to invest in the public and private markets. Their portfolios are designed to match your needs today and align with your personal goals for the future.

For over three decades, clients have turned to Russell to help them “turn a lifetime of savings into a lifetime of income”. Russell and his team focus on protecting your “retirement income” up to and through retirement, with a primary emphasis on portfolio management and developing retirement income strategies. Most importantly, this approach provides more clarity for your retirement future. Clarity based on an investment plan designed to protect your hard-earned money and support your dreams.

Born and raised in Texas, Russell has been a longtime resident of Austin. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and, prior to that, played baseball and attended St. Edwards University. Recently, he obtained the designation of Retirement Income Certified Professional®.

When not working, his family is his priority. He has been married to his wife, Barbara, since 1998 and they are blessed with two beautiful children, Connor and Cara. He loves spending time with his family in the mountains of Colorado, where they enjoy skiing, fly fishing, golf and hiking. The values he cherishes most are family, honesty, and integrity.

Alternative investments are often speculative and include a high degree of risk. Investors can lose all or a substantial amount of their investment. They may be highly illiquid, can engage in leverage, short-selling and other speculative practices that may increase volatility and the risk of loss, and may be subject to large investment minimums and initial lock-ups. They may involve complex tax structures, tax inefficient investing and delays in distributing important tax information. They may have higher fees and expenses that traditional investments, and such fees and expenses can lower the returns achieved by investors.
Securities Agent: NY, LA, IA, IN, CA, CO, SC, PA, FL, WA, MO, VA, TX, TN, RI, OK, AR, UT, AK, ID, NJ, MD, KY, KS, AZ, NM, MI; General Securities Representative; Investment Advisor Representative
NMLS#: 1278855

About Lee K Meeks

“Enduring Wealth is the Product of the Discipline of the Plan and the Capacity to Understand” -Lee K. Meeks


Lee is a founding member of The Capital of Texas Group at Morgan Stanley, bringing extensive experience in comprehensive financial planning. She focuses on three fundamentals of financial freedom: wealth accumulation, preservation, and generational wealth transfer. This experience allows her clients to spend their time focusing on other important aspects of their lives. Lee also serves as the primary liaison and coordinator between the group’s clients, CPAs, and Estate Attorneys, helping to ensure that client’s financial, legacy, and philanthropic goals are met.

Lee holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout her career, spanning over three decades, Lee has always been focused on educating herself to better serve her clients and support her team. She has earned several financial licenses and designations, including the highly regarded CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) professional designation from the College of Financial Planning in Denver, Colorado, the Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®) designation and the Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA®) designation.

A native of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Lee has resided in Austin since 1989. She is an active member of the Austin Junior Forum, the Association of Professional Investment Consultant’s (APIC) and the Financial Planning Association. She also volunteers as a long-term volunteer judge for the SIMFA Foundation’s InvestWrite® national writing competition. Lee is an avid animal lover who is involved in animal rescue. In her free time, Lee cherishes her time spent with her family and friends near and far and she can often be found on many of Austin’s beautiful trails. Lee and her husband of 41 years, Randy, have two adult children and three precious grandchildren in which they are extremely proud. Their three dogs, Paisley, Sophie, and Flynn round out their household.

The use of the CDFA® designation does not permit the rendering of legal advice by Morgan Stanley or its Financial Advisors which may only be done by a licensed attorney.
Securities Agent: SC, CO, UT, VA, TN, RI, CA, WA, KY, FL, TX, NY, NJ, AZ, AK, OK, LA, AR, PA, NM, MO, MD, IN, MS, KS, ID, IA, MI; General Securities Representative; Investment Advisor Representative; Managed Futures
NMLS#: 1275612

About Patty Brueckner

Patty’s journey into the financial services industry started by chance, but it quickly became a dedicated career. She found her passion for helping clients achieve financial success and the satisfaction of making a positive impact on their lives, which led her to fall in love with wealth management in 2014.

Patty holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Cybersecurity from the University of Texas at San Antonio, an AA in Business Administration and an AS in Economics from Austin Community College. Currently, Patty holds both her Series 7 and 66 licenses. Patty is fluent in English, Spanish and German. She also has a good understanding of Italian, French and Portuguese.

Patty started her career in retail banking, moving from teller to banker in four years. She then joined a financial services firm, where she worked in Retirement Services and Equity Compensation for another four. In 2022, she joined Morgan Stanley as a Senior Registered Client Service Associate.

Patty was born in Cuba and has been living in the Austin, TX area since 2014. Prior to moving to Austin, Patty lived in Germany and took advantage of every opportunity to travel. Outside of work, Patty enjoys waterskiing, synchronized swimming, golf, tennis, traveling and helping her family get integrated to the local vibe as they moved from Cuba in 2023. She has a beautiful Persian Chinchilla cat (the Bond kitty) named Angel that was adopted in August of 2020.

The Power of Partnerships

By partnering with experienced individuals across wealth disciplines, Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors can align specialized resources with your custom needs and deliver strategic guidance through the familiarity and trust of existing relationships

About Will Curran

Will Curran is a Private Banker serving Morgan Stanley Wealth Management offices in Texas.

Private Bankers partner with Financial Advisors to develop a specialized approach for managing clients’ cash flow, liquidity and financing needs, leveraging our comprehensive suite of cash management and lending solutions.

Will began his career in financial services in 1987, and joined Morgan Stanley in 2010 as a Private Banker. Prior to joining the firm, he was a Market Manager at Presidio Bank. He also served as a Commercial Banking Director at Citibank.

Will is a graduate of the University of California, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. He lives in New Braunfels, Texas with his family. Outside of the office, Will enjoys enjoys playing and making guitars, as well as cycling.
NMLS#: 797351

About Trammel Austin

Trammel Austin is a Planning Associate at Morgan Stanley providing dedicated financial planning support to Financial Advisors and their teams. Operating as an extension of the FA/Team, he collaborates with clients to discover and define goals that matter most to them. Leveraging state of the art technology, he will evaluate various options and their potential outcomes to help clients confidently choose the appropriate course of action. Trammel provides expertise across a wide suite of Morgan Stanley planning tools designed to assist in the areas of investment accumulation, retirement, education, major purchase, cash flow, risk management, tax efficiency, and wealth transfer planning.


He earned his undergraduate degree from Georgia State University and received the Financial Planning Specialist® designation from the College for Financial Planning. Trammel is originally from Austin, Texas and currently resides in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Wealth Management
Global Investment Office

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Creating customized financial strategies for the challenges that today’s families face.
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Ready to start a conversation? Contact The Capital of Texas Group today.
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Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

1Morgan Stanley offers a wide array of brokerage and advisory services to its clients, each of which may create a different type of relationship with different obligations to you. Please consult with your Financial Advisor to understand these differences or review our Understanding Your Brokerage and Investment Advisory Relationships brochure available at www.morganstanley.com/wealth-relationshipwithms/pdfs/understandingyourrelationship.pdf.

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2Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is the trade name of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, a registered broker-dealer in the United States.

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3When Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors (collectively, “Morgan Stanley”) provide “investment advice” regarding a retirement or welfare benefit plan account, an individual retirement account or a Coverdell education savings account (“Retirement Account”), Morgan Stanley is a “fiduciary” as those terms are defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”), as applicable. When Morgan Stanley provides investment education, takes orders on an unsolicited basis or otherwise does not provide “investment advice”, Morgan Stanley will not be considered a “fiduciary” under ERISA and/or the Code. For more information regarding Morgan Stanley’s role with respect to a Retirement Account, please visit www.morganstanley.com/disclosures/dol. Tax laws are complex and subject to change. Morgan Stanley does not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals are encouraged to consult their tax and legal advisors (a) before establishing a Retirement Account, and (b) regarding any potential tax, ERISA and related consequences of any investments or other transactions made with respect to a Retirement Account. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning and other legal matters.

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4Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning and other legal matters.

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5Morgan Stanley’s investment advisory programs may require a minimum asset level and, depending on your specific investment objectives and financial position, may not be appropriate for you. Please see the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC program disclosure brochure (the “Morgan Stanley ADV”) for more information in the investment advisory programs available. The Morgan Stanley ADV is available at www.morganstanley.com/ADV.

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6Alternative Investments are speculative and include a high degree of risk. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his/her investment. Alternative investments are appropriate only for qualified, long-term investors who are willing to forgo liquidity and put capital at risk for an indefinite period of time.

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7The returns on a portfolio consisting primarily of Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) aware investments may be lower or higher than a portfolio that is more diversified or where decisions are based solely on investment considerations. Because ESG criteria exclude some investments, investors may not be able to take advantage of the same opportunities or market trends as investors that do not use such criteria. Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss in a declining financial market.

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8Insurance products are offered in conjunction with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC’s licensed insurance agency affiliates.

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9When Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors (collectively, “Morgan Stanley”) provide “investment advice” regarding a retirement or welfare benefit plan account, an individual retirement account or a Coverdell education savings account (“Retirement Account”), Morgan Stanley is a “fiduciary” as those terms are defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”), as applicable. When Morgan Stanley provides investment education, takes orders on an unsolicited basis or otherwise does not provide “investment advice”, Morgan Stanley will not be considered a “fiduciary” under ERISA and/or the Code. For more information regarding Morgan Stanley’s role with respect to a Retirement Account, please visit www.morganstanley.com/disclosures/dol. Tax laws are complex and subject to change. Morgan Stanley does not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals are encouraged to consult their tax and legal advisors (a) before establishing a Retirement Account, and (b) regarding any potential tax, ERISA and related consequences of any investments or other transactions made with respect to a Retirement Account. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning and other legal matters.

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10Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning and other legal matters.

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Check the background of our Firm and Investment Professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck*.

The information, products and services described here are intended only for individuals residing in states where this Financial Advisor is properly registered as described in this site.

Morgan Stanley reserves the right, to the extent permitted under applicable law, to retain and monitor all electronic communications. Morgan Stanley will not accept purchase or sale orders via any Internet site, social media site and/or its messaging systems. Morgan Stanley does not endorse and is not responsible and assumes no liability for content, products or services posted by third-parties on any Internet site, social media site and/or its messaging systems. All electronic communications are subject to terms available at the following link:
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The securities/instruments, services, investments and investment strategies discussed in this material may not be appropriate for all investors. The appropriateness of a particular investment, investment strategy or service will depend on an investor's individual circumstances and objectives. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments, strategies and services, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a Financial Advisor or Private Wealth Advisor. This material does not provide individually tailored investment advice. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for legal matters.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”) is not implying an affiliation, sponsorship, endorsement with/of the third party or that any monitoring is being done by Morgan Stanley of any information contained within the website. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information contained on the third-party website or the use of or inability to use such site. Nor do we guarantee their accuracy or completeness.

The views, opinions or advice contained within third party websites or materials are solely those of the author, who is not a Morgan Stanley employee, and do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, or its affiliates. The strategies and/or investments referenced may not be appropriate for all investors as the appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor's individual circumstances and objectives.

*References to length of service at Morgan Stanley include years at Morgan Stanley and predecessor firms.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and federally registered CFP (with flame design) in the U.S, which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

The use of the CDFA designation does not permit the rendering of legal advice by Morgan Stanley or its Financial Advisors which may only be done by a licensed attorney.  The CDFA designation is not intended to imply that either Morgan Stanley or its Financial Advisors are acting as experts in this field.

Awards Disclosures
CRC 6491812 (04/2024)