Our Team

Joan, who joined Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. in 1981, became the youngest Senior Vice President in the history of the firm in 1983. She was recently ranked among the top Illinois Wealth Advisors by Forbes/Shook, one of the top female wealth advisors in the country by Forbes, and a 5 Star Wealth Advisor .She is a current and past member of both Oppenheimer’s Chairman’s and Executive Councils, which honors the top 80 producers in the firm each year.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University and holds the General Securities Representative License (Series 7), and is a licensed as an agent for life and health insurance professional in multiple states.

Joan provides comprehensive wealth management advice for Gilchrist Group clients. Typically these clients have complex financial situations that require close attention to tax issues, estate planning, asset allocation, and risk management.

In addition to advising clients on wealth strategies, Joan is a Portfolio Manager through the Oppenheimer OMEGA Portfolio Management program. OMEGA managed portfolios are managed with discretion and a fiduciary standard of care. The portfolios provide a wide range of investment options.

John joined Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. in 1996 after serving for seven years as the Chairman of First Chicago Capital Markets (a securities affiliate of The First National Bank of Chicago). He has over 25 years of experience as an investment banker in municipal finance. During his career, he has been chairman both of the Illinois State Employees Retirement System and the Illinois Study Commission on Public Pension Investment Policy. He is also a past member of the Illinois State Board of Investment and a past President of Urban Gateways of Chicago, a recipient of the National Medal of Art.

John oversees the teams fixed income portfolios. He analyzes factors such as duration, interest rates, credit quality, tax implications, and default risk. John also works alongside many of our clients outside advisors to implement complex wealth strategies. These outside estate and generational strategies advisors include attorneys, CPA’s, business managers, and personal assistants.

John earned a B.A. in Business from SMU and a M.B.A. from University of Chicago.

As a next-generation advisor Will Gilchrist plays an integral role in the innovation of the practice. During his career, Will has introduced a number of key client relationships to The Gilchrist Group. These clients fall under the category of Ultra High-Net worth Individuals (individuals with a $30 Million to $999 Million net worth), C-Level Executives of Pre-IPO companies, C-Level executives of multi-billion dollar public companies, Corporate clients, Institutional investors, Professional athletes, Entertainers, and various Chief Executives Officers/ beneficial owners after the sale of their company.

Will’s area of focus addresses the complexities of corporate executive equity compensation. Some of the services he can offer include: the public sale of restricted/control securities through Rule 144 transactions, Rule 10b5-1 plan creation/administration for insiders, lending programs for stock option exercises, hedging strategies, and guidance on executive compensation ranging from RSU’s (Restricted Stock Units), ISO’s (Incentive Stock Options), NSO’s (Non-Qualified Stock Options), etc Additionally, he assists companies with stock option exercises for employees, retirement plans, corporate cash management, and introductions to Oppenheimer’s investment banking department.

Within the group Will provides holistic wealth advice, develops custom built financial plans, defined-outcome scenarios, asset allocation models, and tax efficient wealth strategies.

Will received his B.S. from Florida State University with concentrations in Economics and Geography.

Outside of the group Will serves on the Board of Directors of The Badu Foundation. The organization is a Chicago Based non-profit that seeks to empower underserved communities with financial literacy education and access to educational scholarships. He also serves alongside some of the biggest names in Basketball on The Board of Advisors for the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Charter Basketball School.

Within the Gilchrist Group Jon’s primary focus is advisor coordination for high net worth individuals and institutions. These demographics often execute complex financial/wealth planning strategies through a number of advisors including attorneys, accountants, agents, business managers, CFO’s, and personal assistants.

The Gilchrist Group in conjunction with outside advisors have experience developing financial plans, managing/administering personal and corporate retirement plans, portfolio management for trusts/LLC’s/partnerships, cash management strategies for corporations, tax-loss harvesting strategies, addressing insurance needs, and providing access to alternative investments (for qualified individuals)

In some cases these outside advisors can join Oppenheimer’s Professional Alliance Group. Professional alliances can allow outside advisors to create recurring revenue streams, provide additional services to existing clients, and deepen client relationships through coordination.

Jon can also assist startup founders/executives on goals-based planning related to their equity based compensation. These individuals are often granted ISOs (incentive Stock Options), NSOs (Non-Qualified Stock Options), RSUs (Restricted Stock Units), or other forms of equity compensation.

His previous experience includes working as a finance professor’s assistant and a student fund manager at the Florida State University College of Business Student Investment fund. Jon holds both a Master’s and bachelor’s degree in Finance.