Our Team
Our group includes Jerry Starr and Bill Barth as well as an experienced team of financial specialists at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC. The Firm's roots trace back to 1832, and previously held the second oldest membership of New York Stock Exchange. Starr | Barth Wealth Management was formed in 1999 and holds a combined 47 years of service in the financial industry.
A core belief held by each member of our group is the importance of comprehensive financial planning. As part of our planning process, we focus a great deal of time and attention on the entire client relationship, from establishing and prioritizing goals, to making and implementing recommendations, to reviewing performance and measuring progress. All with the single purpose of helping you achieve your definition of financial success. This client centered approach to financial planning truly separates our wealth management group from other financial advisors.
Jerry Starr makes sure he understands his clients’ goals and priorities before making investment recommendations. Jerry provides personalized investment advice and specifically works to keep his clients’ financial goals in mind when making recommendations within the portfolio.
Jerry joined Parker/Hunter, now Janney Montgomery Scott, in the Wexford branch in 1995. In 2009, Jerry merged his practice with Bob Herman and Bill Barth to form the Herman, Starr & Barth Wealth Management Group. Upon Bob Herman's recent retirement, Jerry is proud to carry on his legacy under the newly formed Starr | Barth Wealth Management group.
In 2008, Jerry received the prestigious AWMA® certification from the Wharton School of Business and the College for Financial Planning at the University of Pennsylvania. This certification is aimed at enhancing the wealth management knowledge of investment consultants with courses on the accumulation, preservation and transfer of wealth.
A Pittsburgh native, Jerry received his bachelor of science degree in finance from Clarion University in 1989. He was a four-year letterman on the football team and Senior Co-Captain. A graduate of Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School, he stays active in Alumni and Reunion Committees. Jerry served for many years on the Board of Trustees for the DePaul School for Hearing and Speech, where he continues to support their charitable mission. He holds FINRA Series 7, 63, 65 licenses and is also licensed to offer Life, Health and Accident Insurance, as well as Variable Annuities to his clients.
Jerry has three daughters and resides in Gibsonia with his wife, Kitt.
After attending Robert Morris University, Cassie worked as a business manager in the hospitality industry for many years. She joined the Herman, Starr & Barth Wealth Management Team, now Starr | Barth Wealth Management, in 2019. She is now a Registered Private Client Associate, holding her Series 7 and 66 licenses. Cassie also served as the Chairperson of Janney’s chartered PCA Council for 3 years. She is proud to support our clients’ financial planning initiatives as well as provide exceptional, personalized service.
Cassie resides with her son in Saxonburg, where she’s active in supporting the community through the local Rotary chapter and various athletic organizations. They enjoy spending the majority of their time outdoors.
Jackie joined the team in 2023. She acts as an administrative liaison for clients to provide them with vital aspects of client services, addressing topics such as scheduling, online services, distributions, and general client questions and concerns. Jackie enjoys spending most of her spare time gardening, kayaking, and hiking with her dog as well as friends & family.
We collaborate with other Janney specialists, as needed, who have in-depth experience in specific disciplines. Together, we can assess your unique situation, analyze difference strategies, and develop a plan fit for your unique needs and goals.
Greg Drahuschak joined Janney in 1991. He has over 45 years of economic experience and provides daily, weekly, and monthly market commentary, with a particular focus on the equity market, to Janney and our clients.
Prior to joining Janney, he worked as a retail broker with—and eventually transitioned into the research departments of—Butcher & Singer and Wheat First Securities. He was also an instructor at Robert Morris College and the University of Pittsburgh.
Greg has written articles for several newspapers and websites, and has been the featured financial professional on many live radio broadcasts.
He earned his B.A. in fine arts from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, as well as certificates from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and from the New York Institute of Finance.
Guy LeBas is Janney’s Chief Fixed Income Strategist, as well as Head of Fixed Income for Janney Capital Management. As Strategist, he is responsible for providing direction to the Firm’s clients on the macroeconomic, interest rate, and bond market investing climate.
Guy authors bond market periodicals, which provide relative value recommendations across the fixed income spectrum. With Janney Capital Management, Guy is responsible for overseeing the Firm’s discretionarily managed bond portfolios, which take a client-tailored approach to generating consistent income across interest rate environments.
Guy joined Janney in 2006. Prior to joining Janney, Guy served as Interest Rate Risk Manager for U.S. Trust’s bank asset and liability portfolios, a role in which he oversaw risk and return on $20 billion of bank assets and derivatives.
Guy is also a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg TV and Fox Business News, as well as a regular speaker at financial industry conferences. He received his education from Swarthmore College, holds an M.S. in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University, and is a CFA Charterholder.
Jay Guyer serves as Vice President, Senior Financial Planner in Janney Montgomery Scott’s Wealth Planning Department. He focuses on supporting the advanced financial planning efforts for the Firm’s Western region. In his role, Mr. Guyer serves as a resource for Financial Advisors working with complex client-planning needs to assist clients with meeting their goals and objectives. Mr. Guyer is based in Janney’s Pittsburgh, PA office.
Mr. Guyer has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. He joined Janney from M&T Bank/Wilmington Trust, where he served as a Senior Financial Planner supporting their Western Pennsylvania and New York branches. Prior to M&T Bank, he spent time as the Director of Financial Planning with Omega Bank in State College, PA. He also served as a Financial Planner with The Vanguard Group.
Mr. Guyer is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®) and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®). He also holds his Series 6, 7, 24, 63 and 65 securities licenses and earned the Pennsylvania Life, Accident & Health, Fixed and Variable Annuity licenses. Mr. Guyer received his JD and LLM in Tax Law from Taft Law School and has a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Juniata College.
Kim Beil serves as Director of the Managed and Insured Solutions Group in Janney Montgomery Scott’s Wealth Management department. In this role, Ms. Beil oversees the daily activities of the Managed and Insured Solutions Group and is responsible for promoting both advisory and insured solutions for the firm.
Ms. Beil is an active member of the Firm, the industry, and is involved in several community organizations. At Janney, she is a member of the Firm’s Women’s Interactive Network (WIN). She is also a founding member for Girls on the Run Philadelphia, a non-profit program that encourages preteen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running. Currently, she volunteers with the Neucrue Cancer Foundation.
A graduate of Drexel University, Mrs. Beil holds a B.S. in business administration, and has over 15 years of financial services industry experience at Janney. She is an Accredited Wealth Management Advisor℠ (AWMA®), holds an insurance license, and is a LEADERSHIP Philadelphia Fellow.
In her spare time, Ms. Beil enjoys running and challenging herself in half marathons.
Mark Luschini is the Chief Investment Strategist for Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, leading the Investment Strategy Group. In that capacity Mark is responsible for establishing the Firm’s broad outlook relating to conditions in the capital markets and the economy and to develop investment strategies that align with the best interest, goals, and objectives of individual and institutional clients. He also establishes the Firm’s asset allocation models used for portfolio construction and financial planning.
As Chief Investment Strategist, Mark serves as the Janney's investment spokesperson, offering national market commentary and developing asset allocation models and investment strategies. He chairs the investment committee and actively interfaces with both current and prospective clients.
Additionally, Mark directs Janney Capital Management, the Firm’s discretionary investment management division. Under his leadership, Janney Capital Management has delivered competitive investment results across multiple strategies. The total assets under management has grown to more than $4 billion, with nearly $3 billion in traditional equity and fixed income assets, and over $1 billion in various strategic and tactical asset allocation strategies utilizing exchange-traded solutions and mutual funds. Mark served on the Board of Managers for Janney, and currently serves as a Trustee for the Firm’s Pension & Profit Sharing Plan. He is a member of the Janney Wealth Management Department’s Mutual Fund and Alternative Investment Committees.
In Janney Capital Management, Mark chairs the Investment Committee which sets asset class and sector policy and directly participates in managing the equity, fixed income, and asset allocation strategies under its advisory. Mark has spent more than 30 years in the investment industry. He utilizes that experience to speak on topics related to macroeconomics and investment management at seminars and conferences.
His comments and written articles have been circulated in numerous publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal and Barron’s to the New York Times, USA Today, Financial Times, and Money magazine. He has appeared in various media outlets including CNBC, Bloomberg Television, Fox Business News, and CNN.
He has a BA and MBA from Gannon University and holds the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designation from the Market Technicians Association
Martin Schamis is responsible for the strategic direction of the Wealth Planning Team, supporting more than 850 Financial Advisors who advise Janney’s private retail client base.
Martin joined Janney from the Vanguard Group where he spent the majority of his 11-year tenure as Senior Manager of Financial Planning and Advice Services. Prior to Vanguard, Martin worked as a Financial Advisor for Morgan Stanley. Martin graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Art from the University of Delaware and received an MBA in Finance from St. Joseph’s University.
Mike Halloran serves as an Equity Strategist in Janney’s Investment Strategy Group. Bringing over 20 years of financial service experience to Janney’s established team of professionals, Mike analyzes all asset classes with particular emphasis on equity research.
Prior to Janney, Mike was Vice President of Market Strategy for BPU Investment Management Group, and was responsible for the development of the firm’s global outlook and implementation of numerous investment strategies. His previous experience includes performing equity research for large cap core and growth mutual funds, and working in PNC’s investment banking organization supporting M&A, high yield, private placement, loan syndication, and derivative security transactions. He is also an adjunct finance professor and former aerospace research engineer.
Mike received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, M.B.A. from Carnegie Mellon University and his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
Shurdonna is a Vice President and Director of Janney’s High Net Worth Consulting Group, where she leads a team focused on delivering a comprehensive wealth management experience for individuals, families, business owners, executives, professional athletes, and other clients with complex financial needs. She partners with Financial Advisors to bring together the firm's specialized resources and expertise, delivering tailored solutions aligned with clients' long-term objectives. By coordinating specialists across investment management, estate and trust planning, tax strategy, asset protection, charitable giving, lending, business owner solutions, executive services, and alternative investments, she helps provide integrated guidance designed to address the evolving needs of high-net-worth clients and their families.
Shurdonna brings more than 18 years of experience in investment management and wealth planning. Prior to her current role, she served as Assistant Vice President and Wealth Strategist, supporting advanced planning initiatives across Janney's Mid-Atlantic region. In that capacity, she partnered with Financial Advisors and their clients on sophisticated planning matters involving estate and wealth transfer planning, asset protection, retirement planning, tax planning, and charitable giving.
Before joining Janney, Shurdonna served as a Financial Advisor with Vanguard Personal Advisor Services®, where she managed investment portfolios and served as the primary advisor to high-net-worth individuals and families, providing comprehensive wealth management guidance across investment strategy, financial planning, and long-term wealth stewardship. Earlier in her career, she was a Financial Advisor Associate within Vanguard Asset Management Services, supporting many of the firm's most complex ultra-high-networth clients through portfolio construction, investment analysis, and comprehensive financial planning. She also participated in Vanguard's Accelerated Leadership Development Program, completing rotations in the firm's International Client Services, Retirement Plan Services, Education Savings Group, and Retail Investor Group.
Shurdonna is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional and holds FINRA Series 7 and Series 63 licenses. She earned her J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law and a B.S. in Finance from Morgan State University’s Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. Shurdonna is an active leader in her region's nonprofit community, serving on the board of Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens and participating in its finance, DEI, and strategic planning committees. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, an international service organization.