Our Team

Our Team

 

 

Wesley R. Nicholson, CFP®, AIF®

President

As founder and president of Laurel Financial Group, Inc., Wes directs the firm’s efforts on helping families and business owners plan and manage their savings, retirement, and wealth.

Wes and the advisors at Laurel are firm believers in a holistic approach to wealth management and planning. Financial security is, after all, what we aim for in the big picture.

Wes doesn’t believe money is the end-all; it is the foundation for a degree of freedom with the choices we face in life. The size of a portfolio cannot measure success or happiness; it’s how it is utilized, viewed, and handled that can bring these results about.

Wes has yet to meet any two clients who are alike, and because of this, he believes in a truly personalized approach to planning. Unlike many other firms, Wes does not promote the use of any canned model portfolios at Laurel and has never used them himself. This gives Wes the ability to tailor portfolios to clients’ needs without compromise.

Wes earned his securities registration in 1983, the CFP® designation in 1988, and the AIF® designation in 2010. A lifelong resident of the South Hills, he and his wife have three adult children who have started on their gluten-free professional careers. Wes is especially proud that his two daughters have already successfully launched their businesses and his son has entered the music industry.

Wes enjoys family, friends, outdoor sports, and spending time deep in the mountains, and he aggravates himself with an avid pursuit of golf.

Wes and his team can help you with any of your financial needs, including saving for college, retirement, or any other life goals. Wes can also direct you to solutions in life and health insurance. 

Michael J. Allen, RICP®

Investment Adviser Representative

Mike is an investment advisor and has been with Laurel Financial Group since January 2015. Mike has earned the distinction of being a Retirement Income Certified Professional® through his focused study on creating sustainable retirement income plans. Mike primarily creates and reviews portfolio allocations and retirement income plans for clients. He is also heavily involved in the security selection and monitoring process. His background in engineering helps him thoroughly break down a financial situation and recognize a realistic approach for helping clients reach their goals. From his time on the football field, Mike also knows firsthand that a game plan is only as good as its execution. He prioritizes plan monitoring and clear, realistic goals among the most important parts of implementing a plan.

Mike graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a BS in mechanical engineering in 2012. After graduation, he spent nearly three years as an application engineer in the welding industry with the Lincoln Electric Company in Cleveland, Ohio, where he helped customers identify and solve their welding issues. He specialized in aluminum and robotic processes, and he can lay down a pretty nice bead if he does say so himself. Mike really values his time spent at Lincoln, where he got to develop solutions with other engineers and welders from all over the world. Mike made the switch from engineering to financial planning out of a desire for a career that was relevant to more people in their everyday lives. He has always thrived and felt most in his element when helping others solve problems, so he thoroughly enjoys helping clients work through personal finance issues such as retirement planning.

Mike enjoys many things in life but is definitely in a coffee and cycling phase right now. He is mastering the art of pour over and French press coffee brewing and is trying to ride 40 miles a week. Mike is also always up for some golf, but buyer beware, his game ranges from that of Dustin Johnson to someone who has never hit a ball before on any given day. Cooking is also one of Mike's loves and he's become half decent at it because his true passion is eating. Mike and his wife, Rebecca, live in Peters Township with their son, Harrison and their cat, Misha.

Mike would love to help you with any issues involving retirement planning, small business retirement plans, debt consolidation, payoff planning, college saving, or just general investing. He's also nifty if you need to cook for someone who is gluten-free like his wife.    

Jack E. Doran II, RFC, AIF®

Vice President

In 1996, Jack started his career as a financial advisor in Pittsburgh with the precept of being able to build relationships with individuals, families, and business owners and to provide them with access to all the resources, products, services, and tools available within the entire financial marketplace, without restriction (“the world is your oyster”). Being an independent financial advisor at Laurel Financial Group has allowed his client-first philosophy to be the core tenet in his role.   

Jack is a 1985 graduate of Point Park College with a bachelor’s degree in business management. As a college senior, his interest in investment management was sparked when he took the initiative and attained his first securities and insurance license as part of his independent studies. He also was an outfielder and co-captain on the Point Park Pioneer baseball team.

After graduation, he moved to Florida to pursue a dream of being a professional golfer. While in Florida, he also worked in real estate as a licensed business broker. He credits these experiences, and others, with helping him garner awareness and appreciation of the many obstacles, both personal and financial, that can unfold at any time and at any stage of life. He builds upon his collective life experiences daily, as he helps his clients with all facets of their financial lives.  Jack loves sports and the outdoors, and he enjoys sharing the “secrets” of the golf swing golf with family, friends, and clients that simply want to “play better”.     

Jack maintains designations as a Registered Financial Consultant (RFC®) and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®). Each of these designations focuses on client-first principles, continuing education within the field, and high ethical standards. Jack also has completed the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) program from the College of Financial Planning and in addition to his responsibilities as a financial advisor and Laurel Financial Group’s Vice President, he also serves as the firm’s Compliance Coordinator.

Like many Pittsburghers, Jack and his wife have centered their lives around their kids and extended families. The diversity of the region, faith-based traditions, sports, educational opportunities, and the many other positive attributes that the “Burgh” has to offer have made Western Pennsylvania the perfect place to raise a family. Jack feels that the personal and family-oriented culture of Laurel Financial Group is a direct reflection of the culture of Pittsburgh and provides a rock-solid foundation in his passionate pursuit of building lasting and caring relationships with his clients.

Guy C. Filewich, RFC

Guy’s primary areas of focus are investment management and retirement income planning. In addition, he helps clients organize and integrate other areas of their personal finances such as risk management and education funding. 

Before joining Laurel Financial Group, Guy was affiliated with a corporate financial services firm. After some time there, he realized that their business model of stressing proprietary products wasn’t for him. It was apparent that there are no “best” products or solutions for addressing clients’ financial needs. The independence of being affiliated with Laurel Financial Group is better suited to Guy’s philosophy of how the financial services business should operate. He views financial instruments as tools that, in most cases, shouldn’t simply be characterized as good or bad. And the tool, or combination of tools, must fit client circumstances. 

Guy graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He was also a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society. He holds the Registered Financial Consultant (RFC) credential from the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants. 

Guy resides in the Elizabeth Township area with his wife, Julie, and teenage son, Cameron.

Bridget Ellis

Administrative Assistant

Bridget joined Laurel Financial Group in April 2017. She and her husband, Greg, have been residents of Upper St. Clair for more than 30 years. Bridget brings a wealth of experience to Laurel Financial with a background in the private investment/venture capital arena and has more than 30 years of experience in administration in that field.

Bridget enjoys biking, skiing, traveling, and volunteering on the Montour Trail in the Hooton Gardens. She also likes to explore new languages and is currently learning German. When she isn't out and about, she likes to spend time with Greg and their dogs, Bianca and Mathilda.

Bridget brings a fresh perspective to the team and has a great outlook on life. Her philosophy of "getting out there and learning something new every day" is one of the reasons we are excited to have her on board.

Ralph Wagner

Investment Advisor

Ralph is an Investment Advisor and has been with Laurel Financial Group since February of 2023. His background is in insurance and financial services with both business owners and individual families.  His personal philosophy has evolved much over the years, along with his career and spirit for entrepreneurship. One pillar, however, is his belief that the legacy you leave is not determined by how much money you make, or status you achieve, but instead, will be determined by the impact you have on the lives of others. Ralph made the move to Laurel Financial group out of a desire to broaden his ability to have that positive impact on the lives of the families and businesses he works with. 

Ralph graduated from the University of Phoenix in 2014 with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and Marketing. Throughout his working life he has worked in the insurance and financial services industries for a total of 15 years.  During that time, he gained vast experience in helping individuals and families planning for the unknown in areas like Medicare, long term care, final expense, asset protection, property protection, liability, disability, and much more.  Also, he has a great deal of experience with helping business owners set up benefit plans for their employees, including 401k, Simple IRA, and others.

Ralph will tell you:

“I came to Laurel Financial Group to help individuals & families achieve their goals with utmost integrity. It is often the little details that are vital that help them make big things happen. Helping people identify what is really important to them can help them to run their life, instead of their life running them. I know I can get everything I want in life by serving the needs of others and helping them reach their goals. Not many can truly say they love what they do, but I get to make an extremely positive impact in people’s lives, that often has generational implications, each and every day. Laurel Financial Group allows me to do that!”

When not at work, Ralph has a very full life with his significant other Megan.  Together they share a total of 7 kids, and 5 grandkids, keeping them very active. He loves attending sporting events, traveling to new exotic places, and being outdoors. There are many quotes out there, but here are a few of his favorites…  Jim Rohn: Either you run the day, or the day runs you.
Zig Ziglar: You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.
John Wooden: It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.

Ralph would love to meet you.  Afterall, who can’t learn a little more about how money works?  He loves teaching people (or groups) new concepts that can change their lives forever.  Set up some time with him to have a conversation and see if he can help change your life for the better too.