Lee Willis is a Senior Vice President – Investment Officer and has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. Lee has experienced many different market cycles and successfully developed an unemotional, disciplined investment process to best serve his clients.

By bringing together their 75 plus years of combined experience, he and his partners believe they can truly serve each aspect of their clients financial and investment needs. Lee’s main concentration as PIM Portfolio Manager is to design and manage investment portfolios for clients. The team’s investment process is simple, straightforward and repeatable. They utilize a value philosophy to select companies and supply/demand to select asset class positioning.

Lee transitioned his practice to Wells Fargo Advisors in 2015. Prior to joining the firm, he worked as a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley and its predecessors, Smith Barney and Citi Smith Barney, in Athens, GA. During this time, Lee grew his investment knowledge and built a loyal client base. He also formed a partnership with Jack Halper and Pat Mercardante. Together, they are known as The WHM Group.

Lee’s passion for investing began as a student at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. While attending Furman, Lee played collegiate football for four years and takes many of the lessons learned from playing athletics and applies them to his business today.

Away from the office, Lee spends his free time with his wife, Ansley, and their daughter, Laura Frances, and son, Collier. He enjoys helping cultivate his kids’ love for athletics. Lee also spends his time serving on his church finance committee and volunteering with Ansley in the children’s Sunday school program. When he has the opportunity, Lee enjoys playing golf and attending University of Georgia sporting events.

Jack Halper is a First Vice President - Investment Officer and has more than 35 years of experience in the financial services industry. As a financial advisor, Jack’s focus is on our institutional clients, their unique needs and requirements. This consultancy includes providing services as appropriate beyond basic investment advice. His goal is to listen carefully to the needs of these clients and provide solid and trustworthy expertise.

During his career, Jack has always sought to provide the best financial advice to his clients by understanding their unique and individual needs. He combines his skills developed from investment knowledge with his 11 years as a Special Agent of the FBI, ever striving to present the most appropriate investment management vehicles to those who entrust him with their hard-earned assets.

Jack has been committed to bringing his institutional focus to individual clients as well. His values and concerns are client-centered, and he works attentively to deliver a high level of service in meeting client’s financial objectives.

As an alumnus of Loyola University in Chicago with a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master of Public Administration Degree from the University of Georgia, Jack continues to expand his learning through numerous professional conferences and extensive research.

He is a U.S. Army veteran having served in Vietnam where he was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star commendations.

Away from the office, Jack is an avid golf enthusiast and enjoys all spectator sports, particularly the University of Georgia Bulldogs, where he has served on the Board of Directors of the Touchdown Club as well as the Tip Off Club. He also served as co-president of the Friends of the Museum at the Georgia Museum of Art, with his wife Laurel. He currently serves on the Board of Visitors for the School of Public and International Affairs.  Laurel and Jack have been married for almost 50 years, have one married daughter and one granddaughter.

Pat Mercardente is a First Vice President - Investment Officer and has more than 29 years of experience in the financial services industry. As an Investment Planning Specialist, Pat believes success in achieving important financial goals for individuals and their families starts with a comprehensive wealth strategy. He will help you define what is most important to you, then formulate and execute a strategy that meets your objectives.

Because of the complexity of the financial markets and breadth of solutions available, Pat collaborates with two Financial Advisors, Jack Halper and Lee Willis, who have 35 and 13 years of experience respectively. Together, they make up the WHM Group at Wells Fargo Advisors. Their investment process starts by utilizing a combination of value and relative strength.

Pat and his partners joined Wells Fargo Advisors in the fall of 2015. Prior to joining the firm, he was an Investment Planning Specialist and Branch Manager at Morgan Stanley where he honed his advisor skills during his ten-year tenure. His experience also includes serving as a Complex Manager at Merrill Lynch and a Regional Manager at Wells Fargo & Co. in Boulder, CO. 

Pat graduated from San Diego State University and received a Bachelor of Science in Management. He also has an MBA in Finance from Brenau University.

Outside the office, Pat is a dedicated Georgia Bulldog fan. He’s an active member and Past President of Rotary in Habersham County.  Pat is also past President of the Athens Lions Club. He’s been a counselor at Lee Arrendale State Prison. He’s a board member for the Athens Community Foundation and a Community Advisor with The Center for International Trade and Security at the University of Georgia. Pat has been active in his church holding several positions, including youth director.

Jennifer Yanulavich is a Financial Advisor who focuses on helping her clients plan and prepare for their financial future. Prior to joining the WHM Group, Jennifer spent over 20 years as a pension actuary, consulting with several large corporations on their pension plans and retirement benefit programs. After spending the last four years leading her company’s Atlanta retirement practice, she was looking for a change. She wanted to leverage her extensive retirement knowledge in a career where she could more directly and positively impact individuals. With this in mind, she joined the WHM Group in January 2018. Jennifer is very familiar with the WHM Group’s client-centric process, since she has been a client of the team for over 15 years. She knows that the WHM Group treats clients the ways she believes clients should be treated.

Jennifer’s approach to financial advising is to lead with listening. She wants to understand what people are striving for and what they are most worried about. She enjoys assisting people with establishing their goals, setting a plan and implementing the plan. Her strong experience and background working with pension plan benefits and executive benefits enables her to provide additional expertise to clients with employer benefit plans.

Jennifer grew up in Roswell, Georgia. She graduated with Honors, Summa Cum Laude from Washington & Lee University with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Physics. She is a Fellow with the Society of Actuaries and a Fellow with the Conference of Consulting Actuaries.

Away from the office, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family and doting on her nephew and niece. She is an avid Atlanta Braves fan and has supported them through all their ups and downs. Jennifer lives in Brookhaven, just inside the perimeter of Atlanta.

With more than 20 years of financial services industry experience, Stephanie strives to ensure that our clients’ administrative, trading and operational needs are handled accurately and efficiently. She handles the day-to-day administration of accounts, including opening new accounts, updating existing account information, managing account transfers, and answering questions regarding statements and online access. 

Stephanie lives in Winder and spends her free time with her family. They enjoy nature, walking, biking, concerts, and movies.

For more than two decades, Michelle has helped clients with their financial concerns and administrative needs. With extensive experience in the financial industry, she has dedicated her career to delivering the personalized customer service her clients deserve.

Michelle began her career as a Teller with RBC in Tucker and joined Wachovia Bank, a predecessor firm of Wells Fargo & Co. in 2007. She moved to the brokerage arm in 2014 bringing her high level of customer service to clients and advisors.