Community

People

Our Story

Our Story

In 2012 we set out to create a team which builds relationships and advances families lifestyles through generations. Rather than focusing on satisfying needs with appropriate products, we started working on fixing problems in peoples’ finances, building plans that have specific life goals, and making managing assets and resources to those specific goals an experience. The financial well-being of the families we serve is at the center of everything we do.

Our team joined Morgan Stanley in 2012, after fourteen years with bank-based wealth management practices. While working with HSBC Financial, we began forming a team and the process that, we thought, best serves the clients we felt we were the right fit for. A focus on private client services crystalized our ideas about the need for a true boutique family office for successful business owners and professionals, that is not reserved just for ultra-high net worth clients. Starting Culov Wealth Management as a practice was a result of our need to have the independence necessary for dedicating our time and focus to our process and growing with our clients.

We believe the Wealth Management industry will grow and change with the new ways people communicate and live, and its products will be fully commoditized while good advice and guidance will always be valuable. We will adopt to the changes, embrace new technology that improves the experience, while continuing to always be Helping Families Excel In Life.

Why a Peacock?

The peacock is a possessor of some of the most admired human characteristics, and is a symbol of integrity, guidance, protection, watchfulness, wisdom and the beauty we can achieve when we endeavor to show our true colors. It is the meaning of the peacock and what it portrays as to why we at Culov Wealth Management chose this as a symbol to represent who we are as a team and as people. The idea of the peacock as a symbol first came to be when Emir was visiting Toronto University with his son. They were shown Toronto University, Robarts Library, whose building was built in the shape of a peacock to represent the meaning of the knowledge held inside it.

Meet Our Team

Emir Culov

Partner, Senior PIM Portfolio Manager

Emir is firmly committed to long term relationships and strives to deliver exceptional service. He listens carefully to client’s goals, values, aspirations and concerns and works to help them in achieving their financial objectives.

Emir grew up in Sarajevo, Bosnia, the city that he loves and that he as a young adult, helped defend through-out its long siege during the Bosnian War. After the war was over, he hung up his uniform and decided to continue his education in the United States. He transferred from the School of Economics of Sarajevo University to State University of New York. As an alumnus of State University of New York, College at Brockport with a double-major in International Business and Political Science, Emir continued to expand his learning by completing his MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a concentration in Finance.

Emir’s interest in the risk management side of the banking and investment industry kept him employed at different positions in regional and global commercial banks in Rochester, NY during his studies. While working in Wealth Management firms of large commercial banks, he developed a background that enables him to provide wealth plans that include access to lending services through Wells Fargo affiliates, cash management, estate planning strategies, and customized investment strategies. As a member of the financial industry since 1998, Emir has advised and helped his clients to plan their future. In 2015, Emir earned his certificate in risk investment management from the Yale School of Management-EDHEC-Risk Institute in Risk and investment management. Emir is firmly committed to long term relationships and strives to deliver exceptional service. He listens carefully to client’s goals, values, aspirations and concerns and works to help them in achieving their financial objectives. He is an avid boating and motorcycling enthusiast. In his words, his family time is best spent traveling, skiing or on the water. Emir lives in East Aurora, NY with his wife Amela and their two boys.

Amela Culov

Partner, Family Wealth Advisor

Early on in her career Amela became fascinated and inspired by the personal finance aspect of the financial industry. While working at a regional bank, Amela recognized her passion for helping people make the right, well informed, choices so they can be financially independent and seek to create and preserve the legacy they envisioned.

Amela was born and raised in Bosnia, where her parents and sister still live. She attended Dental School of Sarajevo University and then transferred to State University of New York, after the war in Bosnia ended. Amela received her Bachelor degree in International Business and Political Science from College at Brockport. She then began her studies in finance at Rochester Institute of Technology and received her Master's in Business Administration.

Early on in her career Amela became fascinated and inspired by the personal finance aspect of the financial industry. While working at a regional bank, Amela recognized her passion for helping people make the right, well informed, choices so they can be financially independent and seek to create and preserve the legacy they envisioned. Her focus on comprehensive wealth planning involves the development of a holistic and disciplined approach to client's balance sheet, to help ensure that each client's individual needs and goals are met. Amela's extensive knowledge and experience in wealth planning, focusing on retirement and estate goals, complements our investment management and allows our group to help provide wealth planning to our clients.

She lives in East Aurora, NY with her husband Emir and sons, Mirza and Amar. Amela's hobbies are skiing, traveling, fashion and politics.

Matthew T. Richards, CFP®

Partner, Private Wealth Financial Advisor

As a partner at Culov Wealth Management, Matt currently focuses on helping to develop a holistic approach to retirement, and estate planning strategies in order to pursue his client’s financial aspirations.

As a graduate of Mercyhurst University, Matt earned a B.A.A. in Finance and Management as well as competed for a national title with the Men’s Soccer Team. In 2007, Matt began his career in the Investment Planning industry, where he developed his skills as a Relationship Manager for high net worth clients. Matt joined Morgan Stanley as a Financial Advisor in 2012 and achieved his Certified Financial Planner® certification in 2013. His continued drive for success, intellect, and competitive nature creates the proper foundation to pursue a career as a financial advisor as well as the ground work for opening a private Wealth Management Practice with his partners. As a partner at Culov Wealth Management, Matt currently focuses on helping to develop a holistic approach to retirement, and estate planning strategies in order to pursue his client’s financial aspirations. Partnering with one of the top tier firms gives his clients the opportunity to remain at the forefront of trends, changes, and best practices shaping the financial services industry.

Matt currently lives in Clarence, NY, with his wife and two children, where they enjoy spending time with family and friends. Matt is an avid boater and water sport enthusiast. Aside from boating, Matt’s hobbies include playing soccer, golf and brewing his own craft beers.

Mary Makin

Client Service Manager

Mary takes pride in working with our clients on the things that mean the most to them and she is eager to learn and develop lasting relationships.

Mary comes to us with great enthusiasm and a smiling voice on the other end of the line. She has over 15 years of experience in customer service relations. Mary takes pride in working with our clients on the things that mean the most to them and she is eager to learn and develop lasting relationships.

Mary resides in Hamburg, NY with her husband and 2 sons. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and adventuring. She has spent the majority of her life in the fire service and continues to serve the community in the most compassionate of ways.

Michael Davern

Registered Portfolio Associate

Michael lives in the Town of Tonawanda with his fiancé and enjoys spending time with his family and friends. Michael still keeps up with his golf game and loves pulling for the area's beloved Bills.

Before beginning his career, Michael grew up locally in the Town of Tonawanda and enjoyed playing hockey, baseball, and golf. That passion for sports led him to Canisius College where he graduated with a dual major in Finance and Economics while being a member of the Division I Golf program. In his time at Canisius, he found his passion for market research. He began translating the results of that research into consumable information improving decisions on current and future investments. From there, not wanting to stop doing what he enjoyed, he got a job at Citi Global Markets as a trading operations analyst where he covered the ETF trading desk and other institutional business lines that exposed him to valuable market knowledge.

Slide 1: Emir Culov profile

Slide 2: Amela Culov profile

Slide 3: Matthew T. Richards profile

Slide 6: Michael Davern profile

Slide 5: Mary Makin profile

Who We Work With

How Do I Know If Culov Wealth Management Is Right For Me?

We know choosing a wealth management practice may be one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. Wealth planning is a deeply personal decision that will affect your future and therefore it is a responsibility we do not take lightly. Culov Wealth Management commits to our clients to stay unconflicted in our work and to remain uncompromising in our values. Therefore, in order to execute comprehensive and well-established plans, there are several guidelines we recommend considering when evaluating if Culov Wealth Management is right for you:

  1. You are comfortable using one wealth management advisory practice for all your wealth planning. In order to properly execute your personalized investment strategy and mitigate risk, it’s important we have the visibility and discretion to help you achieve your life goals by being your sole advisor.
  2. You are willing to entrust us to build a personalized goal-based wealth plan and use it as a guide to investment strategy. This includes giving us the discretion to act as your proxy to change allocations, adjust the plan as necessary, and work with your accountants and attorneys to execute against your overall financial strategy.
  3. Open communication is a prerequisite so as to provide a comprehensive plan. It is difficult, if not impossible, for our practice to make comprehensive recommendations with only a partial picture of your financial standings.
  4. You have $500,000 or more of investable assets. These assets need not all reside with Culov Wealth Management (such as those in 401Ks, IRAs, and the like), however portfolios below this amount may be cost prohibitive for the level of wealth management advisement afforded by the practice.

If the above guidelines are consistent with your needs in selecting a wealth management advisory practice, we invite you to contact us to schedule an initial evaluation so that we can further ensure Culov Wealth Management is right for your individualized needs.

Let’s Talk!

Grow With Us

Attributes we most value in our colleagues are:

Integrity

Integrity

The quality of being honest, trustworthy, loyal, reliable, and having strong moral principles.
Judgement

Judgement

Thinking strategically, articulating what you are trying to do, you make wise decisions, identify root causes and get beyond treating symptoms, you separate what must be done well now, and what can be improved later.
Positive Impact

Positive Impact

Passionately striving to accomplish great results, excited to make a difference while making clients and colleagues feel they can rely on you.
Curiosity

Curiosity

Having the will to grow, learn, and advance your career and knowledge about the business, contributing effectively even outside of your specialty, seeking to innovate and improve processes and services.
Caring

Caring

Protecting and safeguarding information and future of our work family and families we serve, celebrating every win along the way.
Grow With Us