The Clayton Group

Niall’s role is Private Wealth Advisor to ultra-high-net-worth investors and their philanthropic endeavors.

Niall’s first book: Investing Strategies for the High Net-Worth Investor: Maximize Returns on Taxable Portfolios, was published by McGraw-Hill in December 2009. In 2019 he released, Tailored Wealth Management: Exploring the Cause and Effect of Financial Success (Palgrave-MacMillan). In 2018 he published, Forecasting Long-Term Portfolio Returns: The Efficient Valuation Hypothesis, in Seeking Alpha. His whitepaper, "After-Tax Returns on Stocks Versus Bonds for the High Net Worth Investor" appeared in The Journal of Wealth Management in 2006.

Niall has appeared on CNBC and National Public Radio. In addition, he has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and BusinessWeek. His research on taxable portfolios has been quoted by a dozen other authors.

Niall is a former member of the Institute for Private Investors and during 2008-2010, served on the CFA Institute Committee for the Development of Investment Policy Statements for high-net-worth investors. He has addressed The CFA Institute, Family Office Exchange, Campden Global Wealth, and Tiger 21. Niall serves as chairman of the Investment Committee and treasurer for the Papal Foundation and as a Board of Trustees member for the Roman Catholic Foundation of Eastern Missouri. He is an advisory board member for the Tommy and Victoria Baker School of Business at The Citadel. He is co-founder of the Fr James Kisero Children's Clinic in Bolo, Kenya and continues to support Gannon's St. Raymond Learning Centre in Simboi, Kisumu, Kenya. He is a past director of Junior Achievement of Mississippi Valley, Connections to Success, St. Louis Variety, and Cor Jesu Academy. He is a past President of the St. Louis Irish Arts and served as Chairman of the 2006 Annual Catholic Appeal.

Niall received the Silver Congressional Award and is a four-time recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. In 2008, he received the Bill Eager Portfolio Manager of the Year Award. In 2019, he was inducted into The Citadel’s Baker School of Business Hall of Fame. In 2025 he was awarded The Medal of 1842 from The Citadel. For his work with the Archdiocese of St. Louis, he was inducted into the Order of St. Louis the King.

Niall completed The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania’s ‘Institute for Private Investors: Private Wealth Management Professional Track Program’ in 2005. He completed the FBI Citizen's Academy in 2023. He received his undergraduate degree from The Citadel Military College of South Carolina and subsequently held the rank of lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve as an M1 Abram’s tank platoon leader.


Securities Agent: GA, KS, DC, CO, VA, TX, NC, MI, IA, AL, TN, MA, IN, NY, NM, CA, VT, NJ, IL, CT, AR, WV, SC, MN, FL, AZ, PA, OK, OH, MO, DE, WA, MD, KY; General Securities Representative; Investment Advisor Representative
NMLS#: 1841086

Mark has been with the firm or its predecessors since 1985. As a Private Wealth Director, Mark is an advisor to private investors, family offices, public and private corporations, and LLCs. He also works primarily with high-net-worth individuals and families to help preserve their assets and wealth. He provides investment, retirement and estate planning related strategies through the firm’s advisory and brokerage capabilities.

He is one of only 250 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney advisors nationwide to earn the designation of Family Wealth Director. Financial Advisors who earn this designation meet stringent quantitative and qualitative requirements including managing a particular level of client assets and passing a rigorous Private Wealth Management exam. Family Wealth Directors must demonstrate extensive knowledge and experience advising high-net-worth clients. Specific experience in this type of client management includes estate and trust planning, managing concentrated stock positions including control and restricted securities and related option grants, alternative investments, lending, intergenerational wealth transfer, and investment banking.

Mark is a graduate of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business with degrees in both Finance and Management. Mark is an active member of St. Albans Country Club, served as Chairman for the Cor Jesu Academy Annual Golf Tournament, and a past board member for the St. Louis Bi-State Chapter of the American Red Cross. Mark lives in St Louis, Missouri and has two daughters, Kendra and Paige.

As a Private Wealth Advisor and Portfolio Manager, Matt plays a crucial role in implementing financial strategies for our ultra-high net worth clients. In his capacity as Senior Portfolio Management Director, he is responsible for developing macro after-tax portfolio strategies, managing assets, and security selection. With over 25 years of experience, Matt has been advising and managing taxable accounts, trusts, and foundations for ultra-high net worth families.

Matt holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation, and, in 2011, he earned the Certified Portfolio Manager (CPM^®) designation, which was sponsored by the Academy of Certified Portfolio Managers and Columbia University in New York. Matt also holds the Financial Planning Specialist (FPS) designation.

Before joining Morgan Stanley, Matt served as a Fixed Income Specialist at Edward Jones, where he was responsible for trading fixed income products, including government, municipal, and corporate bonds.

Scott serves as a Private Wealth Advisor, working with affluent multi-generational families, foundations, and executives. He utilizes his extensive industry experience of nearly two decades to provide wealth management solutions tailored to each clients specific goals. In addition, Scott is a member of The Gannon Group’s investment committee, leading the research and due diligence efforts on both equity and bond portfolios. He is actively involved in managing client portfolios on a daily basis, making sure portfolios are properly allocated to target with an emphasis on tax efficiency. Scott also oversees the Gannon Group’s compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) of the CFA Institute. His work ensures the full disclosure and fair representation of the Gannon Group’s investment performance, which is communicated to current and future clients. Scott maintains the Gannon Group’s proprietary after-tax historical and future return models that are used in client and prospect consultations.

Prior to joining the Gannon Group, Scott was an Investment Consultant at Scottrade. Specifically, he worked on the advanced option strategy desk where he was an expert in option strategies and utilized that knowledge to manage risk for the firm.

Scott is a Chartered Financial Analyst^® (CFA) charterholder. Scott received his MBA from Washington University with a concentration in Finance and completed his undergraduate degree at Indiana University.

Jeff helps deliver holistic wealth management planning for individuals and families in addition to consulting services to for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. His holistic planning practice is focused on helping clients achieve their financial goals within their personal boundaries of risk tolerance and their investment time horizon. He is committed to delivering exceptional service. His approachable style helps clients make well-informed decisions, while maintaining the discipline necessary to navigate the most challenging of markets.

Jeff joined Morgan Stanley in 2018 after a successful 23 year career at Anheuser-Busch where he worked in Marketing and Field Sales. After moving his family to Austin Texas in 2007 with Anheuser-Busch, and returning to St. Louis with Anheuser-Busch in 2011, he managed the company’s Entertainment Marketing strategies. In this role, he acted as a consultant to the brand teams regarding the music industry. He continued working as an Entertainment Marketing consultant after leaving Anheuser-Busch and worked with Fortune 100 companies and creative agencies. Jeff graduated from Arizona State University and earned his MBA in Finance from Saint Louis University.

Jeff and his wife, Ann, have four grown children, and their youngest son is a sophomore in college. They live in Des Peres Missouri and are active in their parish, St. Gerard Majella. They enjoy spending time together as a family, traveling, and outdoor activities. Jeff is an avid triathlete and has completed five Ironman competitions.

In 2016, Sarah joined the Clayton Group at Morgan Stanley as their Wealth Management Associate. As the group's chief operations manager, she is dedicated to delivering a world-class service model tailored to each client’s financial goals. Her responsibilities include collaboration with client legal and tax counsel for updates and adherence to estate and multi-generational strategy, maintaining encrypted client document vaults, and dispatching team members for special situations. Sarah also aims to educate clients on digital platforms for efficient interaction with their portfolios and ensure client priorities and strategies are communicated across the team. Her other duties include the resolution of complex servicing issues and oversight of the team's marketing.

Within the firm, Sarah serves as Co-Chair of the Support Professional Advisory Council (SPAC) and is a member of the PWM Strategic Solutions Forum.

Sarah’s career at Morgan Stanley began in 2013 as a Client Service Associate. She became a Registered Associate in 2014 after obtaining her Series 7 and 66 licenses. Before joining the Clayton Group, Sarah was the Client Engagement Associate for the St. Louis Complex, where she was serving as the local subject matter expert for Cash Management and Digital Strategies.

Prior to her tenure at Morgan Stanley, Sarah worked at the US Department of Agriculture, processing loss claims and loss mitigation for guaranteed rural housing loans. She also has professional experience as a Senior Staff Designer at Ginger Huff Interiors, after receiving her Bachelor of Science degree, in Family and Consumer Science - Interior and Environmental Design, from Illinois State University.

Sherri has worked for Morgan Stanley and its predecessors for over three decades, helping to create an outstanding overall wealth management experience for clients. Sherri provides a broad range of support services, anticipating and addressing client inquiries and requests. She is responsible for building client relationships, portfolio performance reporting and ongoing servicing coordination.

Sherri works in depth with trade executions, including large block of Rule 144 eligible securities and stock option exercise transactions. She serves as a liaison between organizations and clients when processing charitable contributions, assisting with legend removals from restricted stock and ensuring gifts are made in a timely fashion.

Sherri earned the designation of Financial Planning Associate in 2006 and hold Serves 7 and 63 licenses. From 2009 to 2015, she partnered with the management team to develop field initiatives and was responsible for the education and training of new hire staff in the St Louis Complex at Morgan Stanley.

Cindy has over 30 years of private banking and client service administration experience for ultra-high-net-worth families. Serving as the group's administrative coordinator, her primary goal is to help ensure new and existing clients are on-boarded and serviced with ease, care and attention to detail. Her other duties include daily management of client liquidity needs, maintenance of relationships with client's external strategic partners and coordination of long range philanthropic distributions.

Cindy has been with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and its predecessor firm since 1996, originally working as a Client Service Associate for a team of Financial Advisors in Dallas, Texas. Her career in financial services began as a personal banker and cashier at Bank One after receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education from Illinois State University.

Cindy also has been active within the United States Armed Forces as a former member of the U.S. Air Force Reserves where she held the rank of Airman, First Class.

With over 5 years of client service experience, Janna serves as a Registered Client Service Associate. She enjoys providing exceptional service with care and attention to detail. Her responsibilities include account opening, cash management, digital services and many more.

After graduating from the University of Missouri - St. Louis with a degree in political science, she moved to South Korea for 2 and a half years to teach English. She enjoys spending time outside with her dog.

Janna recently returned to Morgan Stanley and the St. Louis area from Las Cruces, New Mexico. She currently holds the Series 7, 63 & 66 licenses.