Our Team

Jim Schlager, CFP

Running Point founder Jim Schlager brings more than 30 years of experience in financial planning, asset management, tax, trusts and estates, insurance, and business management to the establishment of a firm dedicated to his long-held vision: that clients are best served by integrating a team of financial services experts under a single roof. Families and families who own businesses are, after all, extremely busy. Jim’s foundational ethos is to make clients’ lives easier, while utilizing a team method to help them secure an abundant, well-planned future.

Clients can come to Running Point and meet with their CPA, CIO, investment advisor, insurance advisor, and even their estate planner, all under one roof in a multifamily office.

Jim’s ability to integrate and execute these offerings is the result of decades of expertise and experience. After co-founding Financial Security Group in Bellevue, Washington, he merged the company with one of the largest public accounting firms in the country, Moss Adams LLP, in 2001. The result of the merger was a wealth management firm ahead of its time—one that offered seamless, integrated services including financial planning, asset management, tax, insurance, and estate planning.

Subsequently, Jim launched and built the Financial Security Group inside the Moss Adams Los Angeles and Northern California offices, moved to Manhattan Beach, California, and grew the group steadily over the course of 18 years. During that time, the two entities fully merged to become Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC.

For many years, Jim helped clients thrive as he worked side-by-side with highly regarded Moss Adams CPAs and consultants in numerous industries and areas of expertise. All the while, Jim’s desire to create his own multifamily office grew.

In 2020, he launched Running Point Capital Advisors to realize his unique vision: a firm that comprises a team of financial experts to help families and family business owners achieve financial prosperity and security.

Jim and his family live in Manhattan Beach, California, where Jim is an active and engaged member of the community. As a resident and business owner, he is committed to community service and actively involved in local institutions. He has served on the boards of the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation and the South Bay Police and Fire Department Memorial Foundation. He is a former planning commissioner with the City of Manhattan Beach, and a member of Manhattan Beach Rotary.

Michael Ashley Schulman, CFA

As chief investment officer and a founding partner of Running Point Capital Advisors, Michael Ashley Schulman is responsible for Running Point’s global macro outlook, research, investment strategies, asset allocation, and portfolio management.

Michael brings to his role more than 20 years of institutional and high-net-worth portfolio management, research, trading, and asset allocation experience across fixed-income, equity, hedge fund, and alternative investment classes. He has built quantitative and fundamental models, implemented wrap and robostrategies, and managed a fixed-income arbitrage and multi-asset fund.

Prior to Running Point, Michael was a partner, managing director, senior portfolio manager, and hedge fund manager at Hollencrest Capital Management; vice president, collateralized debt obligation (CDO)/quantitative analysis specialist at Deutsche Bank; manager at Accenture; director of strategy at Open Ratings; and a portfolio manager at Pacific Income Advisors.

He has also effectively consulted for the World Federation of Exchanges, the Colombian Financial Exchange, and several high-tech firms, and has presented at forums and conferences in California, New York, Malaysia, Argentina, and Spain.

Michael served on the advisory board of an impact fund and is a past president and board member of the CFA Society of Orange County. In his spare time, he enjoys art and adventure travel, most recently island-hopping in Fiji and mountain biking in Mongolia to raise funds for underprivileged Mongolian children.

Tammy Trenta Knowlton, MBA, CFP

Tammy has been helping affluent individuals, executives, business owners, and families develop comprehensive financial strategies for nearly 25 years. Her clients have included entertainment executives, senior managers, engineers, physicians, and small- to mid-sized business owners. Her skill, insight, and experience have helped clients navigate the full range of life events, such as retirement, divorce, death, and business sales and transitions.

As a key member of the Running Point team, she helps clients identify ways to create more personal wealth, reduce income taxes, and maximize the transition of assets through multiple generations.

Prior to joining Running Point, Tammy worked as a Private Wealth Manager for Creative Planning Inc., where she developed and cultivated her own clientele. Prior to that, Tammy built, grew, and managed the financial planning department at EP Wealth Advisors. As the Director of Financial Planning, she consulted with financial advisors and their most affluent family clients on complex retirement, business, tax, and estate solutions. She has also served as a Trust and Estate Advisor in Wells Fargo Private Client Services in Beverly Hills, Financial Planning Specialist with Merrill Lynch, and Investment Advisor at Charles Schwab. Los Angeles Magazine recognized her as a Five Star Wealth Manager in 2015.

Tammy and her husband, Ryan—an architect and custom homebuilder—live in Manhattan Beach with their young son, Jack. Tammy is an avid runner who also enjoys skiing, yoga, and cooking big Sunday dinners for friends and family.

Liz deSousa, CFP, CDFA

As a senior financial advisor, Liz provides financial planning and advice, working with clients to develop strategies unique to their financial and personal goals. She coordinates all aspects of wealth management and collaborates with Running Point’s team of cross-disciplinary professionals to provide options and solutions for individual situations.

Liz began her career in the financial services industry in 2000 at Barclays Global Investors (now BlackRock) in the Consultant Resource Group. In 2002, she began working at Duckworth Wealth Advisors as part of a team of tax and financial planning professionals providing wealth management and personal office services to high-net-worth individuals and families. Liz was a client advisor and principal at the respected firm, which she helped to grow. In 2017, Duckworth was acquired by Mercer Advisors, where Liz continued working as an advisor with existing and new clients.

Liz is a Certified Financial Planner and a member of the Financial Planning Association. As a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA), one of Liz’s specialties is working with women experiencing a life transition, such as divorce or the death of a spouse. She wants clients to feel in control of their lives and their finances, freeing them to focus on enjoying life.

She also serves as a trustee for the Friends of the Girl Scouts Trust, an endowment fund created by the Girl Scouts of Orange County, and is a board member of WISE, a philanthropic educational organization that provides girls and women opportunities to learn about investing and personal finance.

Liz lives in Newport Beach with her husband and two boys. She is active in her children’s school and chaired its PTA Reflections Art Program for three years. Liz is also a member of Friends of CASA (FOCASA), a fundraising group dedicated to supporting CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Orange County. She has always enjoyed working with and helping young people, and is particularly passionate about giving at-risk children a chance to succeed in life.

Daniel Kerr, CFP

As a senior financial advisor, Daniel Kerr is responsible for managing client relationships as well as supporting the rest of the Running Point team. He specializes in financial planning as well as educating and serving clients with expert recommendations.

Daniel has been in the financial services industry for seven years, all working with registered investment advisor (RIA) firms. These included firms that ranged in size from $100 million to
$2 billion in assets under management. Drawing on that background, Daniel is able to provide personal, tailored advice to clients that utilizes the best processes of both smaller and larger firms.

Prior to Running Point Capital, Daniel was an associate advisor at Mission Wealth; financial advisor, associate advisor, and paraplanner at Moss Adams Wealth Advisors; and a paraplanner at LJCooper Wealth Advisors.

In his spare time, Daniel is often found on a golf course or exploring Ventura’s food and brewery scene with his wife and friends.

Josh Mudse, CFP

Josh has been guiding clients to live confident financial lives for more than 20 years. He helps them clarify their intentions and create a customized plan to achieve their desired outcomes—and to adjust when their family dynamic or the financial rules change.

His experience includes managing the Toledo, Ohio, branch for Charles Schwab as vice president and financial consultant, where he served 250 families and was responsible for more than $350 million in invested assets. He has worked as an advisor for two of the largest insurance companies in the United States, focusing on long-term care planning and multigenerational estate planning. As a member of the Investment Committee at Camelot Portfolios, Josh helped oversee more than $400 million under management.

Josh met his wife, Malena, while attending Bradley University and the couple have been married for 23 years. An involved parent for his three children, Josh has coached more than 30 youth teams including baseball, softball, and basketball. He has been an active volunteer with Junior Achievement and is past president of the Sylvania (Ohio) Area Community Improvement Corporation. Josh is an active member of Kingdom Advisors and the Purposeful Planning Institute.

Susan Lash, CPA

As the firm’s tax partner, Susan Lash heads up Running Point Tax and Consulting LLC. She specializes in working with closely held businesses and their owners in the areas of real estate, personal services, entertainment and sports, and high-net-worth tax planning. Over the years, Susan has worked with several family groups, handling multigenerational issues and tiered businesses. She also brings years of experience working with clients in the areas of estate planning and trust and estate administration, including the related tax-compliance work.

With a well-rounded background in income and estate taxation, Susan is skilled in helping clients and their business advisors optimize their income tax position toward preserving the wealth they have created. For more than two decades, Susan’s expertise in income tax and estate planning has helped clients reach their goals and achieve a well-planned transfer of their wealth.

Susan holds a CPA license in California. Prior to joining Running Point, Susan worked for more than 25 years as a tax principal and senior tax manager in large regional and local public accounting firms in Southern California.

Joshua Forrester, CPA

As a senior tax manager at Running Point Tax & Consulting, Joshua focuses on proactive tax planning for high-net-worth individuals as well as privately held companies and their owners. He brings more than eight years of public accounting experience to his main emphasis—developing innovative tax planning strategies to reduce the overall tax burden for clients. This includes tax planning for ongoing business operations as well as development of key strategies related to entity formation and structure, exit strategies, and succession/estate planning. He also has extensive experience representing his clients before the Internal Revenue Service and various state and local governmental jurisdictions.

Joshua received his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from California State University, Long Beach.

Todd Stern, CPA

Todd focuses on strategic planning and compliance services to privately held businesses and their owners, specializing in partnership, LLC, and S-corp taxation. He has been helping middle market companies in the manufacturing, technology, apparel, and food and beverage industries since he launched his public accounting career with Moss Adams in 2015. Todd also has experience in strategic tax planning, analysis of tax accounting methods, and federal and state tax credit incentives.

Todd is a Marine Corps veteran, having spent five years as a counterintelligence analyst and Dari linguist. His experiences in the military instilled a credo that careful planning and leveraged expertise will accomplish any mission. He practices these values in his service to clients, which allows them to focus their energy and ambitions on their businesses, trusting that their tax matters are dutifully handled.

In his spare time, Todd enjoys life with his twin daughters and backpacking in the wild.

Jerry Schnaus, JD, CPA

As Running Point’s Tax & Succession Strategist, Jerry Schnaus focuses on the tax aspects of estate planning, including gift and generation-skipping taxes, children’s trusts, life insurance trusts, foreign trusts, and charitable giving. Jerry is also an attorney for Jerry Schnaus Law Firm, LLP, practicing tax, estate, and trust law. In his capacity with Running Point Capital Advisors, LLC, and its affiliates, he acts as an independent consultant only and does not practice law or accounting for Running Point Capital Advisors, LLC, and its affiliated companies.

Jerry assists Running Point clients with their trust administration matters, helps families continue their legacy while reducing taxes, and guides pass-through entities in their dissolution through merger, acquisition, or succession planning. He has also assisted numerous domestic and foreign clients in the private equity, real estate, construction, manufacturing and technology industries analyze, plan, model, and document partnership transactions.

Prior to starting his law firm, Jerry was a tax managing director at BDO, where he led private client services in Los Angeles. At a boutique law firm in Irvine, he advised on transaction structuring to acquire and finance various real estate ventures in a tax-efficient manner; drafted estate plans for high-net-worth individuals and their families; and worked on trust administration for various clients.

Melissa Rhys Moore

Melissa Rhys Moore brings more than three decades of accounting experience to the Running Point team, where she manages a staff of skilled bookkeepers and accountants. She actually began her working life as an associate producer in the entertainment industry (remember Jane Fonda's workout videos?) before finding her calling as an accountant and business manager. She launched her own business, Moore Money, in 1986 and ran it successfully until she joined Running Point in 2020.

Melissa is fiercely dedicated to arming business owners with top-notch bookkeeping services and helping them thrive. She also takes pride in helping newer businesses prosper, and extends a warm, personal touch to all of her Running Point clients. In addition to expertise in bookkeeping and reporting, she is adept in assisting clients with such challenging business functions as payroll taxes, health and disability insurance, vacation and sick pay, profit-sharing participation, and workers compensation coverage.

In addition to her skill with numbers, Melissa is the supermom mother of three sons, and in her off time can be found relaxing with a good book or seeking out bargain spa treatments.

Tina Conaway

As Running Point's Senior Accountant, Tina applies her 15-plus years of accounting and management experience to everything from financial budgeting and planning to daily accounting operations. She also oversees Running Point's bookkeeping team.

Rossy Flores

With more than 14 years of accounting experience, Rossy brings keen organization skills as well as a great attitude to the Running Point team. She also puts her talents to use as a teacher for the Torrance Unified School District.

Reneé Green

With a background in business management, Reneé brings a strong set of skills that provide Running Point clients with efficient bookkeeping and financial planning information. She is adept at maintaining accurate payable and receivable accounts, payroll, and daily financial entries and reconciliations. She's also talented in the kitchen, whipping up new recipes in her free time.