Patrick A. Sweeny is a founding partner of Apella Capital. He focuses on investor education and the strategic growth of the firm. In 1994, he also co-founded Symmetry Partners—a national financial solutions and investment management firm focused on serving independent financial advisors. Previously, he spent a number of years on Wall Street with Weeden & Company and Dean Witter Reynolds in institutional trading and sales in both the equity and fixed income markets. Additionally, he was a member of the Commodities Exchange as a floor trader with Paine Webber.

Mr. Sweeny is a recognized speaker on asset class investing and transforming advisor businesses into more efficient models. He speaks at industry conferences and regularly guest lectures at universities. He received his B.A. in Economics from Fairfield University.

David E. Connelly Jr., is a founding partner of Apella Capital. He focuses his time on portfolio management and strategic growth of the firm. In 1994, he also co-founded Symmetry Partners—a national financial solutions and investment management firm focused on serving independent financial advisors. Previously, he was a financial advisor with Dean Witter Reynolds serving high-net worth clients. Prior to Dean Witter Reynolds, he was with Merrill Lynch and Putnam Mutual Funds. He has also worked in the aerospace industry.

Mr. Connelly received his B.S. in Finance from Northeastern University and his M.B.A. from the University of New Haven.

Joshua Pace has more than 20 years of leadership experience, most recently serving as the President of E*TRADE Advisor Services and the President and CEO of Trust Company of America (Acquired by E*TRADE in 2018). Over the course of his career, he has held senior positions in a diverse set of financial, service and technology companies. He served as the CFO of Openwave Systems, a public company with $450m in revenues and 3,000 employees based in Redwood City, CA. He was also CFO of Webroot, a Broomfield, Colorado-based software security company.

Josh holds a BA in Accounting from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, an MBA in International Finance from the University of Colorado and is a CPA (inactive).

In his free time, Josh is an avid cyclist and focuses on a non-profit he co-founded called Bicycles for Humanity.

Meghan Martin Gormley provides operational and client relationship support to Apella Capital’s team of financial advisors. She believes in providing a superior customer service experience to every client. In her last role, Ms. Gormley was employed by Symmetry Partners, Apella’s sister firm, as the Director of Operations. During her 14 years at Symmetry, Ms. Gormley gained experience with billing, trading and customer service. She stepped down from her position at the firm in 2014 to raise her two daughters.

Ms. Gormley lives in West Hartford, CT with her husband and two daughters, Hayden and Winnie.

Director of Financial Planning and Senior Financial Advisor Jason Gentile has been helping clients reach their long-term financial goals for over 15 years. Mr. Gentile joined Symmetry Partners, Apella Capital's sister firm, in 2006, and holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification. In addition to his financial planning responsibilities at Apella, Mr. Gentile is a member of the Financial Planning Association and Board. He also has more than eight years of experience in the qualified plans space. Prior to joining Symmetry Partners, Mr. Gentile was employed by Advest, Inc./Merrill Lynch as a Senior Registered Associate. Mr. Gentile holds B.S. in Business from Eastern Connecticut State University and currently resides in Hebron, CT with his three sons.

Mr. Richards joined our firm in June 2018, after serving as Chief Compliance Officer for a number of registered investment companies and investment advisers over the preceding 15 years. As CCO at Apella Capital, Tim manages all aspects of the Firm’s legal and regulatory oversight programs, including the ongoing development and delivery of the Firm’s compliance program. Mr. Richards also serves as the Chief Compliance Officer for Symmetry Partners, an Apella affiliate.

Christie Bramlett is a marketing professional with more than 20 years of experience in all things marketing. Christie works with business partners and financial advisors to build innovative digitals strategies to grow the company brand and revenue while engaging with people and keeping the company as an influencer in the space.

Previous to Apella Capital, Christie was employed by E*TRADE Advisor services (formerly Trust Company of America) for more than 12 years. While there she led marketing efforts for the company and helped the sales team generate new sales through different marketing strategies.

Outside the office, Christie is a big foodie at heart and enjoys entertaining for family and friends and traveling abroad whenever possible. Ms. Bramlett lives in Denver, CO with her husband and two beagles.

Mr. Scanlan joined Apella in early 2019 and is responsible for all aspects of the firm’s M&A program, including the sourcing, negotiating and integrating of RIA practices nationally.   Additionally, Mr. Scanlan oversees the Finance, Accounting and Human Resources functions within the firm.

Prior to joining Apella, Mr. Scanlan served as the Director of Research for RMC Investment Advisors and began his career as an investment banking analyst focused on M&A, Equity and Debt financing at BMO Capital Markets in the Healthcare coverage group. 

Mr. Scanlan is a CFA Charterholder and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Stonehill College where he was a Moreau Honors Scholar.