The SouthLand Group at Morgan Stanley

Warren is a Managing Director, Global Sports and Entertainment Director, and founding partner of The SouthLand Group. For more than 25 years, he has enjoyed serving the needs of individuals and families with significant wealth, empowering them to achieve new levels of success through a disciplined wealth management approach and a commitment to outstanding service.

A lifelong resident of Albany, Warren has always studied the markets and the power of investing. After graduating from Auburn University with a B.S. degree in Finance, he joined Merrill Lynch where he spent the next 23 years. In 2017, Warren and his team moved to Morgan Stanley and have been integral members of the firm ever since.

Soon after joining Morgan Stanley, Warren earned the firm’s Global Sports and Entertainment Director designation. This credential – achieved by less than one percent of the firm’s 15,000 Financial Advisors – places him among an elite group of advisors qualified to serve the unique needs of professionals working in the sports and entertainment industries. Warren and his team now have access to an extensive range of services that are designed specifically to help high achievers manage their wealth throughout their careers . . . and across generations.

A strong believer in paying it forward, Warren has been actively involved in giving back to his community his entire career. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Deerfield-Windsor School, a private college preparatory school in Albany, and a past member of the Albany Rotary Club, a board member of the Flint RiverQuarium, the Albany-Dougherty Community Partnership for Education, and a Trustee of the Darton College Foundation. Prior leadership roles include Chair of Leadership Albany, President of Artesian City Sertoma Club, President of the Albany Area Arts Council, and Leadership Georgia Class of 2006.

Warren and his wife, Suzanne, have two children, Jonathan and Caroline, who are both attending college. Favorite leisure activities include spending time with this family in the outdoors of Wyoming. Mountaineering and snow skiing are important aspects of their lives.

Michael is a Senior Vice President, Global Sports and Entertainment Director, and founding partner of The SouthLand Group. He has been providing financial advice to talented professionals, business owners, and their families in Georgia and around the country for nearly 25 years. His extensive experience enables him to help clients understand the intricate details of their wealth, while helping guide them towards the achievement of their personal and professional goals.
Growing up in Albany, Michael loves living and working in his hometown. Upon earning his degree from Valdosta State University, he returned home to begin his career in wealth management in 1997. He worked at a few prominent firms, including Merrill Lynch, before moving to Morgan Stanley in 2017. Today, he and his team enjoy helping clients achieve their personal and professional goals through a goals-based approach that includes a detailed financial plan, a diversified investment portfolio, and a commitment to outstanding service.
Michael has built his career educating and advising clients on how to better understand and manage their total financial picture. Soon after joining Morgan Stanley, he earned the firm’s Global Sports and Entertainment Director designation. He is among an elite group of advisors qualified to serve the specialized needs of those working in the sports and entertainment industries. This certification provides Michael and his colleagues with an extensive range of resources designed specifically to help these professional manage the unique challenges of significant wealth.
Michael enjoys working with like-minded clients who value and appreciate the level of skill and service he and his team deliver. He receives great satisfaction knowing he is helping make a significant impact on the quality of his clients’ lives and often becomes one of the most important relationships to their families.

Michael believes balance is vital to a happy life. He and his wife, Peggy, together have four children, John, Virginia, Parks, and Carlisle. Outside of the office, he enjoys fishing and spending time outdoors with his family.

Zoe is an experienced Financial Advisor at The SouthLand Group at Morgan Stanley, a highly skilled wealth advisory team located in Albany, GA. Zoe is also the Resident Manager of Morgan Stanley’s Albany branch. With energy and passion, she utilizes her analytical strengths to help clients understand and solve their financial challenges. She enjoys educating clients on how to potentially create and execute an effective financial plan, reduce risk in their portfolio, and make more confident decisions about their wealth. For Zoe, professional success is measured in terms of client well-being and goal achievement.

Zoe learned the importance of being financially secure from her father, a successful CPA with a long history of serving the needs of local families and businesses. Following in his footsteps, Zoe earned her B.S. degree in Accounting from Valdosta University. Upon graduation, she went on to receive her Certified Public Accounting certificate, while working at a large regional accounting firm in Atlanta. It was during this experience that Zoe discovered her true desire to help people solve their financial challenges beyond their tax concerns. She wanted to have a more meaningful impact on the quality of their lives.

In 1997, Zoe returned to Albany and put her career on temporary hold to be a full-time mom. A few years later, she returned to the workforce as a Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch, bringing her years of business experience to her financial planning practice. Zoe joined The SouthLand Group when it was founded in 2015, and today enjoys providing a broad array of integrated services to the professionals, business owners, and families they proudly service.

Zoe’s desire to help others is equaled only by her dedication to her community and her family. Over the years, she has been active with many organizations, including the Junior League of Albany and the Flint RiverQuarium. She currently serves as a member of the Charity League of Albany, the Phoebe Foundation Board, and volunteers at the Carlton Breast Center main campus.

Today, Zoe enjoys living in her hometown with her husband, Brent, and their four children, Cohen, Rachel, Zach, and Scott. In her leisure time, she enjoys cooking and playing tennis. Fun activities with her family are an essential part of her life.

Drawing on more than 20 years of financial services experience, Julie is often the first line of contact on a broad array of client services. A consummate professional, she is committed to providing each client with the highest level of personal service. Julie’s responsibilities include relationship and portfolio management, as well as coordinating and implementing marketing and business development strategies for The SouthLand Group.

Julie graduated from Valdosta State University with a degree in Business Management. In 2001, she began her financial services career at Regions Bank and transitioned to the firm’s wealth management division, Morgan Keegan, soon after. Six years later, Julie began working with Michael Cohen. In 2010, they made the decision to move their practice to Merrill Lynch, where they would later form The SouthLand Group and join Morgan Stanley. Julie maintains her FINRA Series 6, 7, 63, and 66 licenses.

Julie lives in her hometown, Sylvester, with her husband Britt and their two children, Cody and Kendal. They are active in their school system, as well as the local sports boosters and recreation department. When not on a ball field or at a cheer competition, they love to spend family time on the Florida Gulf Coast.

As a Portfolio Associate at The SouthLand Group, April focuses on building strong client relationships by modernizing the client experience through an elevated standard of care. With 26 years of industry experience, she prides herself in providing exception service to each client and handles a broad array of operational and service-related activities that include account maintenance, money movement and executing trades for transactional clients. April is the point person for all client digital activities for the team.

From the largest task to the smallest request, April works diligently to exceed client expectations. She holds a B.S. degree in Business Education from Georgia Southern University. April began her career in the financial industry in 1995 with First Union Brokerage Services in North Carolina as a Sales Assistant. After moving back home to Camilla, Georgia in 1997, she joined Merrill Lynch where she began working with Warren Willis as a Registered Client Associate. She joined Morgan Stanley with the team in 2017.

Outside of the office, April is an active member of First Baptist Church in Camilla and enjoys supporting a number of community organizations. In her free time, you can find her at the tennis courts or spending time with family and friends. Her favorite thing is to spend time on the Gulf Coast with her husband David, and their two college kids, Ashley and Will.