“True leadership doesn’t come from a title; it comes from trust, respect, vision, hard work and collaboration.” -Jerry Addeo

As Founder of WealthEdge®, Jerry leads the company’s overall strategic direction. He advises multiple personal clients and closely held businesses on all tax and accounting issues, taking into consideration ALL tax implications for every client’s unique situation. Starting in 1985 as a CPA firm, Jerry’s vision and professional know-how has grown into WealthEdge®, a fully comprehensive wealth management firm. WealthEdge® is the culmination of Jerry’s vision to create a client-centric firm that can leverage its tax expertise in delivering custom designed wealth strategies, and thus provide complete independent financial guidance to clients.

Jerry earned his accounting degree from Fordham University in 1979 and has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1984.

“It always seems impossible until it’s done” –Nelson Mandela

Michaelle Antoine works in the Financial Planning department at WealthEdge®, focusing primarily on meeting clients’ overall financial planning needs and goals. She prides herself on her organizational skills, being an attentive listener and multitasking to accomplish all of her clients’ needs. Her fun loving personality makes it easy for people to gravitate towards her, which will help her connect with clients. Michaelle graduated from St John’s University with a B.S. in Computer Science and minors in Mathematics and Business Administration. She received an Accounting Principles Certificate from City University of New York- Baruch College. She has extensive managerial experience and a thorough understanding of financial planning, especially for startup companies. She is Fluent in French and has a basic understanding of the Spanish language as well.

“A person has the right towards action alone and not towards the fruit of action. Let not the fruit of action be the motive for acting.  Also, let there not be any attachment to inaction.” – Bhagavad Gita chapter 2 verse 47

Bhav Basnet joined WealthEdge® in 2011. Bhav’s primary focus is accounting and taxation, including the compilation and review of financial statements, income tax planning and preparation, State & Local Taxes and Payroll taxes. Bhav specializes in working with medical practices, real estate investors and corporate executives.

Bhav has over a decade of diverse experience in the field of accounting and taxation. Prior to joining WealthEdge®, Bhav worked at a boutique CPA firm specializing in small businesses, also as a Mutual Fund Accountant at BNY Mellon, and a staff accountant at a multinational logistic company.

Bhav graduated from City University of New York – Queens College and is a New York State licensed Certified Public Accountant.

“And I have to say it now, it’s been a good life, all in all.” – John Denver

Mary Burke joined WealthEdge® in 2017 and serves as a Communications Liaison. Mary’s primary focus is creating and refining in-house and external communications to enhance WealthEdge’s presence, both on paper and online, through the internet and social media. Mary has corporate experience as a Systems Analyst and real-life experience as a small business owner and manager. Mary graduated from Iona College, Magna Cum Laude, with a BBA in Management Information Systems with a full academic scholarship.

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Rohn

Jennie Chang joined WealthEdge® in 2022 and is part of the Investment Team. She has experience working in portfolio administration support to high-net worth clients’ accounts and a blend of accounting and operations responsibilities at small-sized firms. Her thorough approach and attention to detail make her an asset to the team.

She holds a BBA in Finance from Baruch College, and BS in Biology from Syracuse University.

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs

Jean Gong joined WealthEdge® in 2014 and is part of the accounting team. Her primary focus is accounting and taxation, including financial reporting, preparation, compilation, and review of financial statements and income tax preparation. Jean has over 15 years of diverse experiences in accounting and taxation.  Prior to joining WealthEdge®, Jean worked in both CPA firms and law firms, servicing individuals and small business owners. Jean graduated from City University of New York – Baruch College with a BBA in Accounting and a BBA in Marketing with a Cum Laude Distinction.  She is a New York State licensed Certified Public Accountant.

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”-Albert Einstein

Fahad joined WealthEdge® in 2017 and is part of the investment management team. His focus is on portfolio design, investment strategy, and security analysis.

He has over 16 years of experience in investment and wealth management. Fahad has extensive experience working with corporations and high net worth individuals. Fahad believes that strong investment insight, coupled with clear communication skills, help to provide exemplary client service.

Fahad has a finance degree from James Madison University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) designation.

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” -George Bernard Shaw

Liam Hibbits joined WealthEdge® in 2022 as part of the Investment Team. As a registered Investment Advisor Representative, his primary focus is portfolio management and maintaining client relationships. Liam also spearheads trading activity for WealthEdge’s client base and is a portfolio analyst on a U.S. Growth Equities SMA strategy. He has passed Level 1 of the CFA examination and is currently preparing for Level 2. Prior to WealthEdge, Liam graduated with a degree in Economics from Virginia Commonwealth University. At VCU, Liam was a member of the baseball team and in 2019, was named a Division 1 Baseball All-American.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein

Stan Kagan joined WealthEdge® in 2009 and serves as the Director of Taxation. Stan leads the Tax and Accounting Team, working closely with business owners, corporate executives and medical practices, helping them proactively plan for all tax situations. Stan also has extensive experience in counseling clients on business structure planning, mergers and acquisitions, individual and closely-held business succession planning, and IRS and state audit representation. He prides himself on his comprehensive and thorough approach to tax planning, which gives clients the freedom to focus on their core business, knowing that their accounting needs are fully met. Stan received his BBA in Public Accounting at Pace University and is a NY State licensed Certified Public Accountant.

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” Alan Lakein

Yandie Liautaud had a working collaboration with WealthEdge® since 2015. She leads the Financial Planning team, offering comprehensive wealth management solutions to clients. She assists clients at all stages of their financial journey – through their wealth accumulation, protection, distribution, and transfer stages. Yandie uses a family office approach, where her team works closely with her clients’ professional advisors to develop personalized financial planning roadmaps, helping them achieve their personal financial goals. She prides herself on being an attentive listener and a reliable source of support for clients experiencing various life events. Yandie received her MBA from the Zicklin School of Business – Baruch College and is a Certified Financial Planner®. She also has a strong interest in sustainable and impact investing, a passion for music and dance, and is fluent in French and Spanish.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

JiaYin Lu joined WealthEdge® in 2018 as an accounting intern. Her primary focus is accounting and taxation, including financial reporting and preparing financial statements.

JiaYin is a detail-oriented professional in the field of accounting as she brings forth her knowledge from her two years of prior internship experience.

JiaYin graduated from the City University of New York – Baruch College with a BBA and Masters degree in accounting.

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius 

Leora Peysakhova joined WealthEdge® in 2023 as part of the Tax and Accounting Team. Her primary focus is accounting and tax, including financial reporting and preparing financial statements. Prior to joining WealthEdge®, she worked four years at an independent tax and business advisory firm, providing service in the areas of tax and financial reporting to public and private companies.

Leora graduated from City University of New York – Brooklyn College with a BS in Accounting and a MS in Taxation from St. John’s University. She is currently working towards becoming a Certified Public Accountant.

“It ain’t so much what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
– Mark Twain

John Preston created and manages the Preston Disruptive Stock Strategy, a stock portfolio that focuses on emerging and established growth companies. John has been managing and refining this strategy for more than 15 years.

Prior to joining WealthEdge, John was a portfolio manager at Watts Capital and Beech Hill Advisors. John spent 15 years as a financial advisor at Smith Barney, then Merrill Lynch. John began his career at Kidder Peabody.

John earned his BA degree at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where he played varsity basketball. John resides with his wife Trish in New York City. John remains an avid basketball fan.

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” – Abraham Lincoln

Francis Secoquian joined WealthEdge® in 2021 as part of the Accounting and Tax team. His primary focus is on financial reporting and financial statement preparation. Francis has a strong disposition to learn and master, which greatly influences his work ethic especially in the accounting and tax field.

Francis graduated from Baruch College with a BBA in accounting. In conjunction with his undergraduate studies, he also volunteered as a tax preparer under the VITA program in his local community.

“We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.” – Warren Buffett

William is part of the investment management team and has over 12 years of professional experience. Previously, he was a partner and Director of Analysis at WNG Capital LLC, a private equity firm focused on aviation-related investments. At WNG Capital, William trained and managed a team of analysts, was a member of the Investment Committee, and invested in over $1 billion USD of assets. He also worked in corporate finance for two S&P 500 companies and as an outsourced CFO for private companies. William earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Northeastern University, where he was the captain of the table tennis team.

“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.”-Mark Twain