SYRACUSE — Disciplined Capital Management, LLC began 2018 with one of its principals now holding the titles of president and CEO.

Adam Gagas, a founder and principal of the firm, assumed the leadership role on Jan. 1.

Disciplined Capital Management (DCM) is an independent SEC-registered investment advisor with nearly $500 million in assets under management. It operates at 220 S. Warren St. in Syracuse. The firm’s clients include nonprofits, foundations, endowments, and institutions. 

When asked who he replaced, Gagas said “we didn’t have anyone in that role.”

Gagas in 2015 launched DCM with Robert (Bob) Ryan, a veteran in the corporate-finance business. At the time, they agreed to “collaborate closely” on matters that needed decisions.

“We just weren’t really focused on having a title. We were more focused on putting our heads together and coming to conclusions and problem solving,” says Gagas.

As time progressed and the partners focused on future growth, “it really made sense to say” that Ryan would focus on philosophy and research and that Gagas would concentrate on “growth and strategy and operational delivery on what we’re doing on the investment advisory side,” Gagas explains.

“Bob will transfer from principal to chief investment officer and I will transfer from principal to CEO,” says Gagas. He spoke to CNYBJ by phone on Dec. 29 from Los Angeles, California where he was visiting family.

Ryan’s firm, RJR Associates, and Gagas’ entity, Breakwall Asset Management, LLC, share equal ownership in Disciplined Capital Management, which will change this year. 

“There’s a transition process that affects the ownership as well,” says Gagas. “Eventually I’ll transition to being a larger owner … in ‘18.”

DCM has four additional employees, besides Gagas and Ryan. They include Craig Buckhout, who is also known for his work with Rockbridge Investment Management, a fee-only registered investment advisory firm that serves individual investors and often runs advertisements on TV. Rockbridge also operates at 220 S. Warren St. in Syracuse.

Besides Buckhout, Ryan is also listed among the employees at Rockbridge. In addition, Ethan Gilbert, a chartered financial analyst, works for both DCM and Rockbridge, according to their websites.

Becoming business partners

Ryan and Gagas became acquainted in 2012 when Gagas joined the board of directors at Oswego Health, an organization for which Ryan provided financial services.

Gagas recalled learning “a lot” from Ryan in their interactions and, in 2015, they decided to become business partners.

“We had lunch one day … We get along. We think alike,” Gagas notes. 

They both believe that nonprofit organizations and boards of directors should be investing “in a way that aligns their mission with the investment philosophy at the same time,” according to Gagas.

They eventually decided to form Disciplined Capital Management, which Gagas described as a “rebranding of RJR Associates,” a firm that Ryan operated.

“It’s focused 100 percent on delivering that investment philosophy and process into the nonprofit, foundation, endowment, and institutional space,” says Gagas. 

Vision for DCM

When asked about his vision for DCM, Gagas indicates that its employees, resources, investment philosophy, and process will remain the same.

He also contends that “there aren’t a lot” of mid-sized investment firms that focus only on foundations and nonprofit organizations.

“We want organizations to think of us as an extension of their own board…” he adds.

DCM likes it when clients will call asking for advice on matters that aren’t related to their investment portfolio, such as developing a capital plan for a project.

“We work so closely with folks that we think that we’re really valuable to them across a whole spectrum of different financial decisions,” says Gagas.

The firm will spend 2018 and 2019 sharing that vision “more and more broadly” and will hope to use technology to offer its services to clients outside New York state, he notes.

Gagas is a 1993 graduate of Hobart College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and Russian studies. In the years that followed, Gagas spent time living in both New York City and in Russia. He later earned an MBA degree with a concentration in finance from New York University in 2008.

UTICA — ConMed Corp. (NASDAQ: CNMD) on Jan. 2 announced it has appointed Todd Garner as its next executive VP and CFO, “effective immediately.” 

ConMed in November announced that Luke Pomilio, who has served as the Utica–based surgical-device maker’s executive VP and CFO for the past three years, had announced his plan to retire. Pomilio, who has worked for the company for more than two decades, will remain with ConMed in the role of advisor to CFO and continue with the company through March 1, 2019 in order to “facilitate a smooth transition.”

Garner brings more than two decades of senior finance and investor-relations experience to ConMed, the firm said in a news release.

That experience includes 15 years at Murray Hill, New Jersey–based C. R. Bard, Inc. (Bard), where he most recently served as VP of investor relations. 

Prior to that, he was VP, controller (division CFO) of Bard’s medical division, director of the company’s corporate financial reporting, and controller for the company’s Reynosa operations in Mexico.

Before joining Bard, he served as controller and acting CFO at Pleasanton, California–based Echopass Corp., which Daly City, California–based Genesys later acquired. Garner, a certified public accountant, also previously worked as a value planning manager at Clearfield, Utah–based Futura Industries Corp. 

ConMed is “very excited to welcome” Garner to its executive team, Curt Hartman, president and CEO of ConMed, said in the release.

“During his distinguished career, he has made significant contributions to building and transforming finance teams, implementing innovative reporting processes, as well as executing large-scale capital allocation and merger and acquisition strategies. Todd’s deep experience and senior leadership skills will be instrumental in continuing to advance our achievement of the company’s growth and profitability goals,” said Hartman.

About ConMed

ConMed provides surgical devices and equipment for minimally invasive procedures. Surgeons and physicians in several specialties, including orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery and gastroenterology use the firm’s products, ConMed said. It has a direct selling presence in 17 countries, and international sales constitute about 50 percent of the company’s total sales. The firm currently employs about 3,100 people.

As the new year launches, it’s time to think about how to make 2018 a financial success for you and your loved ones. Though there is little consensus about their origins, we know that Americans have been making New Year’s resolutions since at least the 1770s.

Some of my last minute and realistic resolutions for 2018 are: 

• Create emergency savings: Life is full of unexpected emergencies, and some extra cash can help a serious illness, home repair, or other sudden financial need from derailing your finances. Prepare for unpredictable expenses by putting aside six to eight months of expenses in an easily accessible cash-equivalent account.

• Maximize your retirement-plan contributions: Tax-managed retirement accounts are one of the most powerful ways to save for a more comfortable retirement. Make the most of them by contributing as much as you can each tax year. We usually recommend maxing out employer-sponsored plans first to take advantage of any matching contributions your employer may offer. 

• Protect your credit identity: Identity theft and financial fraud are serious threats that can compromise your financial wellbeing. Protect yourself by reviewing financial statements and bills carefully for unauthorized activity.                

Richard W. Paul is president of Richard W. Paul & Associates, LLC (www.rwpaul.com) and author of “The Baby Boomers’ Retirement Survival Guide: How to Navigate Through the Turbulent Times Ahead.” 

DeWITT — The property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry contributes more than $40 billion annually to New York’s economy, an industry group said in a recently released report.

The report by New York First, Inc. also said the industry will support more than 152,000 jobs annually, produce over $200 billion in output, and pay more than $66 billion in wages and salaries over a five-year period between 2016 and 2020.

“The property-casualty insurance industry underpins the New York State economy,” Richard MacDonald, co-chair of New York First, said in a news release. “This report shows just how important it is to the state’s job market, tax base, and financial security.” 

MacDonald also serves as board chair of DeWitt–based Big I New York, the state’s oldest insurance-producer trade association, and is VP and director of sales at Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Inc. in Salina.

Big I New York is the former Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York, Inc. (IIABNY). Big I New York provided details about the report in a news release issued Dec. 4.

Formed in 2004, New York First is a coalition of insurance companies licensed to do business in New York that support the independent-agency system. Through industry research, legislative and regulatory advocacy on common issues, New York First says it “advances issues to support the independent agency system…”

Report findings

Goss & Associates and the Goss Institute for Economic Research, both headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, prepared the report.

It estimated that the P&C industry will produce $202.9 billion for the state economy between 2016 and 2020. It will provide $66.3 billion in wages and salaries and $7.8 billion in self-employment income.

Productivity growth in New York’s insurance sector has been 2.33 times that of the insurance industry nationwide.

New York P&C firms supported wages per job of $85,270 in 2016 — about 45 percent above the state average. The industry will support an average of 152,775 jobs per year between 2017 and 2020, the report found.

Every 1,000 New York P&C jobs support 1,550 non-P&C jobs in the state.

Between 2006 and 2015, P&C companies’ purchases of New York municipal bonds reduced the bonds’ interest rates by 0.45 percent, saving state taxpayers $153.6 million annually, for a total savings of $1.5 billion, the analysis found. The P&C industry invests one-third of its fixed-income investment portfolio in state and local municipal bonds.

The industry produced $2.4 billion in state and local taxes in 2016. It will generate another $9.5 billion between 2017 and 2020. Each P&C industry job creates almost $41,000 in state and local taxes annually.