The Fortis Group at Morgan Stanley

Phil has had a fascination with financial markets for as long as he can remember. His grandmother introduced him to stocks, just as her father had introduced her a generation earlier. When he graduated from Towson University with a degree in Finance, Phil knew exactly what profession he wanted to pursue.

Phil joined a Morgan Stanley predecessor firm in 1998 and built a successful practice there and at UBS over the next 12 years. In 2001, he earned the prestigious Certified Financial Planner designation and met Matt May, Financial Advisor and Eric Brann, Financial Advisor two colleagues who would eventually become his teammates on The Fortis Group at Morgan Stanley.

The team was established in 2010 when Phil, Matt and Eric transitioned to Morgan Stanley. Today, Phil spearheads the team’s financial planning efforts, helping clients create personalized plans that go beyond their investment portfolios to address issues such as education funding, lending and insurance – in short, virtually every aspect of their financial lives.

Phil consciously strives to limit the team’s practice to a limited number of clients so he and his teammates can provide them with the attention they deserve. He is committed to proactive client communications and reaches out to every client on a regular basis, while staging educational events that help clients understand complex issues and make more informed financial decisions.

Brought up in Columbia, Maryland, Phil is an active member of his community. He has long been affiliated with The Rotary Club’s Hunt Valley chapter and is an avid supporter of The Shriners Hospital. When not working for his clients and community, Phil bikes, golfs, works out and spends as much time as he can with his wife Mary, daughter Theresa and his two grandchildren.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC 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 visit us at http://www.morganstanleyindividual.com or consult with your Financial Advisor to understand these differences.

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303 International Drive, Suite 500 Hunt Valley, MD 21030, 410 229-8200
Investments and services offered through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.

Eric serves as The Fortis Group at Morgan Stanley’s primary portfolio manager. He concentrates on the development and oversight of client’s portfolio allocations across the group’s various investment strategies, and overseas the team’s portfolios managed in a discretionary manner. Eric also played a key role in creating the team’s Financial Foundation and Financial Life processes that provide clients with a systematic approach to planning for and proceeding toward the goals most important to them.

A graduate of The College of William and Mary with a BA in Government and English, Eric interned at the Capitol in Washington D.C. with his State Senator and local Representative while in college, thinking he would pursue a career in government. After working for a year in Washington, he began to have second thoughts and realized that, as a self-proclaimed “math geek,” he might be better suited to a career in finance. Entering the financial services industry as a Sales Assistant with Kidder Peabody in New York City, he learned the business from the ground up and also developed an abiding respect for the importance of superior client service. This realization shaped his approach as a Financial Advisor and has influenced his interactions with clients over his 25 year career.

Eric was born and raised in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and currently resides in Hershey, Pennsylvania with his wife Christine, a family law attorney, and their children, Garrett and Kaitlyn. His family is active in the Dravet Syndrome Foundation, an organization that advocates for children affected by this rare, catastrophic and life-long form of epilepsy, with the purpose of expediting research to find a cure and better treatments.

Eric Brann is a Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley participating in the Morgan Stanley Portfolio Management program. The Portfolio Management program is an investment advisory program in which the client’s Financial Advisor invests the client’s assets on a discretionary basis in a range of securities. The Portfolio Management program is described in the applicable Morgan Stanley ADV Part 2, available at www.morganstanley.com/ADV or from your Financial Advisor.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC 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 visit us at http://www.morganstanleyindividual.com or consult with your Financial Advisor to understand these differences.
303 International Drive, Suite 500 Hunt Valley, MD 21030, 410 229-8200
Investments and services offered through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.

Matt brings more than 20 years of financial services experience to every client he advises. He began his career at AG Edwards in 1997, partnering with his mother Elizabeth “Pete” May, a longtime Financial Advisor. After moving their practice to UBS and working together for the next 13 years, Pete retired and Matt joined forces with Eric Brann, Financial Advisor and Philip Lee, Financial Advisor to form The Fortis Group at Morgan Stanley. The team transitioned its practice to Morgan Stanley in 2010.

Matt takes pride in his ability to help clients determine whether they can retire as planned and if not, what they must do to achieve their goals. Several of the industry designations he has earned throughout his career have focused on retirement. In fact, Matt is one of only 5000 Financial Advisors nationwide (or 1% of all Financial Advisors ) to have earned the Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP^®) designation. In addition, he is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP^®) who pays a major role in the team’s financial planning efforts. Matt not only helps clients determine how to retire as planned, but how to manage risk and make major acquisitions in a cost-effective manner. For his corporate executive clients, Matt is a source of advice on how to potentially take full advantage of employer stock options and other equity compensation programs.

A graduate of Washington & Lee University where he was an offensive lineman on the school’s football team and double majored in Economics and Political Science. He has lived in the Baltimore area for more than 20 years and is active in his community, having served as President of his local Rotary Club chapter several times and spearheading various fundraising efforts. In addition, Matt is currently President of the National Football Foundation’s Greater Baltimore Chapter. The Foundation promotes high school football and seeks to develop the qualities of leadership and sportsmanship in America’s young men.

Matt and his wife Donna reside in Lutherville with their three daughters, Courtney, Kelley and Megan.

303 International Drive, Suite 500 Hunt Valley, MD 21030, 410 229-8200
Investments and services offered through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.

Jackie is responsible for meeting the administrative and operational needs of the Fortis Group. Her primary focus is on delivering superior client service and providing a quality experience for all Fortis Group clients.

Jackie joined Morgan Stanley in 2010 from UBS Financial Services. She has over 20 years experience in the Financial Industry where she has served as a Client Service Associate as well as a Marketing Assistant for Managed Accounts programs. Jackie holds her Series 7, 3 and 66 licenses.

Jackie graduated from Loyola University in Baltimore, MD with a B.A. in Communications. She is a long time resident of Maryland and currently lives in Bel Air, MD with her husband Mark and two children, TJ and Grace. Jackie and Mark are heavily involved in Grace’s travel softball program, the Hickory Lady Hornets.

303 International Drive, Suite 500 Hunt Valley, MD 21030, 410 229-8200

Investments and services offered through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.

Jacki joined the Fortis Group in 2021 to support the increasing administrative and operational needs of the team and its commitment to high-quality client service. Her role is to assist with the implementation of the team’s comprehensive financial planning process, as well as addressing the day-to-day administrative needs of our clients.

Jacki most recently worked in investment operations for Valmark Financial Group, in Akron, Ohio.

A graduate of the University of Dayton, Jacki double majored in International Business and Spanish, with a minor in Marketing. She and her husband, Mike, live in Baltimore and enjoy hiking, travelling and O’s games.