We are an award-winning, client-driven wealth management firm with clients spanning the globe. We’re a small team, but we’re partnered with the Commonwealth Financial Network, which means we offer the best of both worlds. We don’t have a lot of internal hierarchy, so we’re focused on our clients and their business, instead of our own. And yet we have the resources, expertise and comprehensive range of services of a much larger company.
We pride ourselves on being professional and are very, very good at what we do. We also love what we do, and we aren’t afraid to show it. We’re headquartered in Gig Harbor because it’s an incredible place to live, and we love being an active and engaged part of our community.
Let’s meet the team.
Ed is originally from Whitefish, Montana, and moved to the Northwest to attend Pacific Lutheran University, where he graduated magna cum laude. Each summer he worked as a whitewater guide where he learned what it meant to be a partner on someone else’s journey. He entered the world of finance soon after and gained experience and confidence to start his own firm in 2001.
The vision for Summit was to create an independent wealth management firm focused on the client. Not just their finances, but the whole person, their dreams, their fears, their emotional well-being and happiness. That’s what being a fiduciary looks like, and it’s worked. Ed has been named a 5-star wealth manager since the award’s beginning in 2012. Summit has clients throughout the world and, perhaps most tellingly, has a 92% retention rate.
Ed and Anna-sara live in Gig Harbor with their six amazing children. Part of the legacy he wants to leave is a lasting impact on his community, so he’s deeply committed to volunteering and serves on multiple nonprofit boards. Ed has served for the past 29 years on other local boards and organizations including Point Defiance Zoo Society, where he served as board President, and the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, where he also served as board President. In May of 2021, he completed nine years of service to the Board of Regents for Pacific Lutheran University, where he served as the Chair during his last four years.
Molly was born and raised in Columbus, Montana and also came to the Northwest to attend Pacific Lutheran University. She started at Summit in 2005 as an intern while she was still in school but earned her place in the firm with her integrity, dedication, and passion, and lucky for us, she hasn’t left since.
As Vice President, she’s in charge of the management of personnel, office operations, and, most importantly, client service, for which she received Commonwealth Financial Network’s national award of Staff Person of the Year. She holds her FINRA Series 6, 7, and 63 licenses. Ed will freely admit that Molly’s attention to detail and genuine care are the key elements to Summit’s success.
Molly lives in Port Orchard with her husband, Dustin and their adorable children, Pepper and Dexter.
Not unlike many of our clients, Lillie is a Midwest transplant to the West Coast. She was born and spent her early years in Kansas and then moved to the Gig Harbor/Tacoma area. Lillie considers both Kansas and Washington as home.
She joined Summit because of the personal connection she made with the team and the way Summit has a culture of care for our clients and our community.
She comes to work excited every day to meet new people and help Summit serve. Lillie lives in Tacoma with her favorite person, her four-year-old son, Noah.
Anna-sara was born and raised in Gig Harbor, Washington, graduated from Gig Harbor High, and received her Masters of Arts in Teaching. She spent several years in the classroom before joining Summit Wealth Management.
As our operational support person, she runs our bookkeeping operations and ensures our clients and staff are well cared for. She helps to create a fun but professional environment and her influence can be felt throughout the organization.
Anna-Sara lives in Gig Harbor with Ed and their six wonderful kids. She and Ed are committed to having a positive impact on their community. She loves being with her family, poetry, the outdoors, and travel.
Steve was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Tacoma, Washington, making him a Red Sox and Seahawks fan. He is a cum laude graduate of Rocky Mountain College and received his law degree from the Willamette University College of Law. He was first licensed to practice law in 1996 and started out as an Associate Attorney at a Seattle firm, founded his own firm with a few partners, and most recently has practiced in Seattle and Gig Harbor as a solo practitioner.
Steve served as general counsel for nearly 100 businesses and nonprofits of all sizes, assisting with business formation, governance, contract and lease negotiation and review, employment issues, real estate and commercial transaction, as well as any and all related litigation. Steve has served in this capacity for Summit since 2012.
Steve is a member of numerous associations, foundations, and councils, and commits a substantial amount of his time volunteering for pro bono legal services organizations and serving on charitable boards. He has worked with the Washington State Bar Association’s Lawyer-to-Lawyer program, Washington Lawyers for the Arts, and Lawyers Helping Hungry Children. He is a pro bono attorney for the King County Bar Association’s Volunteer Attorneys for People with HIV/AIDS program, Washington Attorneys Assisting Community Organizations, the Pierce County AIDS Foundation, and Chair of the Board at Judson Park. In addition, he serves on the Board of Trustees of the Harbor History Museum, here in Gig Harbor.
Summit Wealth Management is a significant cog in the multi-billion dollar boutique that is Commonwealth Financial Network.
Commonwealth is the largest privately held broker/dealer in the country, with offices in Waltham, Massachusetts and in San Diego, California. We partner with them because of their independence, which means there is no pressure to promote a particular product or strategy as there are no shareholders to please, so we are free to act solely in the best interests of our clients.
While Commonwealth helps greatly with the buying and selling of securities for our clients, we rely on them for much more. They have an incredible team of investment research specialists with whom we regularly confer about trades and the market, and a team of advanced planning specialists who help us with strategies to help plan for our clients’ futures.
Our partnership with Commonwealth Financial Network®, a leading independent broker/dealer, provides us access to a team of investment research specialists who assist us in our efforts to provide you with the best possible service. Each of the professionals on this team brings a breadth of experience in the industry and within his or her own specialization.
Learn more about the Commonwealth research team here.
Our partnership with Commonwealth Financial Network®, a leading independent broker/dealer, gives us access to a team of advanced planning specialists who can help us provide you the best possible service.
Learn more about the Commonwealth planning team team here.