S2K Financial Holdings -- the holding company for S2K Financial, an independent wholesale broker-dealer, and S2K Servicing, an operations platform supporting the needs of institutional managers -- today named Melissa A. Socci Chief Marketing Officer of S2K Servicing, effective immediately. In this newly-created position, Ms. Socci will report directly to Neil Cohen, President of S2K Servicing.
An executive with more than 25 years of financial services industry experience, Ms. Socci most recently served as SVP and Head of Marketing at LPL Financial, where she developed and implemented brand strategies to facilitate the growth of the Independent Broker-Dealer (IBD) Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) and financial institutions businesses of LPL, the nation's largest independent broker-dealer.
Neil Cohen, President of S2K Servicing, said, "As the financial advice industry enters a new fiduciary era, the S2K organization is positioned to redefine financial product structuring and distribution with a priority placed on what best serves the retail investor. Melissa's addition to our team enhances our mission to connect the highest caliber product sponsors and solutions with retail investors across the country through IBDs and RIAs."
Ms. Socci said, "In this post-DOL environment, there is an unprecedented opportunity for a product agnostic, third party distributor such as S2K to act as a change agent in driving financial product innovation that is in the best interest of retail investors. IBDs and RIAs are hungry for investor-centric financial products, and I look forward to building out the firm's marketing capabilities and supporting its future growth as we meet this rising demand."
Prior to LPL Financial, Ms. Socci's roles included senior marketing positions at UBS Wealth Management, Ryan Beck, Gruntal & Co. as well as Prudential Securities.
Ms. Socci's hiring is part of an ongoing expansion at S2K, including the recent appointment of David Fred, formerly head of Due Diligence for Cetera Financial Group, as SVP of Due Diligence at S2K Servicing, as well as the addition of Brendan McLaughlin, Kurt Gunderson, Felix Vera and Michael Roman, to the S2K nationwide wholesaling group.
This expansion also includes the January, 2017 hiring of Megan Smith, who previously served as Executive Vice President and National Accounts Manager at KBS Capital Markets, as the S2K Director of National Accounts.
About S2K Financial Holdings
S2K Financial Holdings is a New York City-based financial services organization encompassing S2K Financial and S2K Servicing. The organization's S2K Servicing entity provides due diligence, operations, administrative and marketing services to institutional investment managers.
The organization's S2K Financial subsidiary is an independent wholesale broker-dealer focused on delivering retail investor-focused financial products through innovative third party distribution strategies that support IBDs and RIA firms across the country.
S2K Financial is committed to attracting top institutional product sponsors into the retail space, and is supported in this mission by its deep bench of senior leaders, who have experience with institutional capital markets, retail financial product manufacturing and retail financial advice. For more information, please visit http://s2kfinancial.com.
