The Song-Pegg Group at Morgan Stanley

Many things have changed for Carolyn Song-Pegg since joining Wall Street in 1995. On a personal note, Carolyn married William Pegg and they raised two children, Max and Christina. Bill is an attorney and works at Cornell University, Max is a Registered Client Service Associate on the team, and Christina attends Rochester University. Bill and Carolyn are officially “empty-nesters” residing in Winnetka, IL. Carolyn enjoys exercise, and her Asian dumplings have become a much-anticipated New Year’s Day tradition for the past thirty years. On a professional note, Carolyn transitioned from working in the institutional middle market to being a retail high-net-worth Financial Advisor and Portfolio Manager.

Carolyn enjoys being a steward of the markets--both global and domestic. In the past quarter-century she has experienced market ups and downs including the Asian financial crisis of 1997; Recession of 1990-91; Long-Term Capital Management meltdown in fall of 1998; Dot.com bubble of 2000; Financial Crisis of 2007-2008; and most recently the Covid-19 pandemic crash of 2020. During trying times, Carolyn looks for opportunities to take advantage of changes in the economy, either through productivity gains from innovation or demand shift.

Carolyn believes all the fundamental analysis in the world doesn’t matter if she can’t take care of her clients: educating them about the economy, about how to position themselves for new opportunities, and about how to remain calm during volatile markets. Carolyn obsesses over economic numbers, and relishes spirited conversations with clients about politics, the market, and life. Friends, family, and clients make Carolyn’s life full and enjoyable, and market volatility makes it interesting. Her primary business is Portfolio Management, but Carolyn’s primary objective is taking care of clients.

Some past experiences include working at CS First Boston, Bear Stearns, and UBS; teaching Mergers & Acquisition at the Weller Institute; and working as a Consultant at the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development in San Francisco. In 2015 Carolyn was approached by multiple firms to join their retail Financial Adviser teams. This second leg of her career was spent with a prominent regional banking institution.

Carolyn also previously worked at Morgan Stanley and rejoined the firm in 2022, bringing along Susan Gescheidle and Cara Heiser and establishing The Song-Pegg Group. They believe in providing an overall great client experience offering personalized and top-notch customer service. The Song-Pegg Group’s mission is to assist clients in defining and understanding their financial goals, managing their assets, and assisting with their objectives. They are here to serve clients with their daily and long-term financial needs, as well as to educate them and elevate their knowledge and understanding of Capital Markets.

Cara Heiser has been in the financial industry for the past 15 years where she focus on cash management and financial planning. She graduated from University of Iowa Tippie College of Business with a BBA in 2001, and in 2010 received a certificate in management from DePaul University. Cara has recently completed her certification as a Financial Planning Specialist, and she enjoys working with clients to help them meet their financial goals through our strategic process here at Morgan Stanley.

Cara recently joined Morgan Stanley in Spring 2022 and she is honored to be working for a company that offers so many tools and resources for my clients. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Cara worked at Fifth Third Bank in Lake Forest where she managed a center with over $80MM in client assets and helped clients meet their immediate and long-term goals through utilization of asset management and leveraging solutions.

Cara grew up in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago and currently reside in Libertyville Illinois with her husband, David, and three children. David is a third-generation business owner in the commercial and residential janitorial and cleaning industry. Her oldest child, Cameron attends St. Joseph Catholic School in Libertyville and enjoys playing sports, dancing, and anything Pokémon. Mia Grace, Cara’s daughter, aspires to be a ballerina and her youngest son, Hayden, loves spending time reading books and doing puzzles.

Community involvement and Philanthropy is very important to Cara, and she shares her involvement with her family. Cara currently sits on the board of the Saint Joseph Catholic School Parent Association as fundraising Chair and has held various past board positions for The Junior League Evanston North Shore, Holy Cross Early Childhood Development Board, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Philanthropic Board, and One Hope United Lake County Ambassador Board. In addition to board membership, Cara and her children raise money for various organizations by participating in 5K fundraising events, and as a family they volunteer at local food banks and Bernie’s Book Bank in Lake Bluff Illinois.

Cara has a passion for her career and working with her clients. Every day she looks forward to going to work and working with her dynamic team of professionals. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family, playing beach volleyball, and traveling. Her personal goal is to visit all 50 states with her family before my oldest child goes to college. Cara looks forward to continuing to grow personally with her family, and professionally with her team, to create a life that she loves.

Susan Gescheidle began working in the financial industry in 2012 after owning and operating a contemporary art gallery in Chicago for many years. After getting Series 6, 63, 65, and 7 FINRA licenses in 2018-19, Susan became a Licensed Assistant to Financial Advisor, Carolyn Song-Pegg, at Fifth Third Securities. They joined Morgan Stanley together in 2022, followed shortly after by Cara Heiser, and The Song-Pegg Group was formed.

As a Wealth Management Associate, Susan is client-centric, detail-oriented, knowledgeable about products, and prides herself on helping clients with their operational and administrative needs. She helps manage client relationships and enjoys the client interactions. Susan wants the best experience for the clients she can provide, as well as being a good partner to her team members.

If Susan is not at work or walking outside in nature or urban settings, she’s probably off with one (or more) of her four kids traipsing around the world. They have hiked the Inca Trail in Peru, searched for the “Big Five” on safari in Tanzania, soaked in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, explored alpine villages and the Matterhorn in Switzerland, rode bikes to wineries in the French countryside, and rode camels in the Sahara Desert in Morocco. Never lose your “joie de vivre” is her motto.

William “Max” Pegg attended Indiana University’s Kelley school of business and graduated in 2024 with a degree in Finance and a minor in Economics. Upon graduation in May 2024, he joined the Song-Pegg group at Morgan Stanley. After passing the Series 7 and Series 66 in July, Max started working on the team in the Registered Client Service Associate role.

As a fresh college graduate, Max hopes to bring a new perspective to the team and maintain the group's fantastic performance. Outside of work, he enjoys learning about history, traveling, playing chess, and weightlifting.