With over fifty years of collective experience Strategic Asset Alliance principals have backgrounds in the banking, thrift, investment, life/health and property/casualty insurance industries.
Our first priority is to see that our clients are successful and profitable. We continue to assess our talents in order to meet our clients’ investment needs and strengthen our partnership by adding value to their bottom line.
Alton Cogert President and Chief Executive Officer
Alton Cogert, CFA, CPA, President, founded Strategic Asset Alliance in 1994 as the first investment consulting firm that exclusively serves insurance companies. He is a former member of the Board of Directors and former chairman of the Investment Committee of the National Alliance of Life Companies. He has served as a technical advisor to the NAIC Invested Assets Working Group and the Model Investment Law Working Group. He has been a guest lecturer at the University of Texas, and is editor of Insurer Investment Strategies.
Mr. Cogert has written several articles for BestWeek, including: “Piercing the Seven Deadly Myths of Insurance Investing,” “Insurance Investment Management Shifts to the WIRE Paradigm,” “Achieving Higher Risk Adjusted Returns,” “Outside Money Managers Performance Depends Upon How Well They’re Managed,” “The Search for a Truly Customized Investment Benchmark,” and “The Roller Coaster Ride Of Interest Rates: How To Protect Against Falling Off The Track.” His articles about the regulatory process include, “After 125 Years, the NAIC Needs to Get Back to Basics.”
Mr. Cogert has more than twenty years of financial institution experience, with more than half of that time in senior financial management. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst, Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Altenative Investment Analyst. Mr. Cogert holds a BS from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
Alton Cogert President and
Chief Executive Officer
Daniel Smereck Managing Director
Daniel Smereck, Managing Director, has over twelve years experience in investments, corporate finance, statistical analysis, and information technology. He most recently was Senior Vice President, Investments and Information Technology for a $1.2 billion medical malpractice insurer.
Mr. Smereck has an MS in finance from Boston College and an MBA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Daniel Smereck Managing Director
Michael C. Koetters Managing Director
Mr. Koetters has recently retired as Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of WellPoint, Inc., after 12 years of service. WLP, a licensee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a publicly traded company on the NYSE and provides health care administration for some 25 million members. Prior to joining WellPoint, he was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Cincinnati Microwave, Inc., a publicly traded NASDAQ company. CMI was a direct marketer and manufacturer of consumer electronics. Prior to that, Mr. Koetters was Vice President and Treasurer of Armco Leasing, Inc. and Vice President and Treasurer of Armco Insurance Companies, Inc. Both of these companies were subsidiaries of Armco, Inc. a worldwide manufactures of steel, oil and aerospace products and provider of financial services.
Mr. Koetters is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and has a MBA from Xavier University. He served in the United States Army Finance Corp as Lieutenant. He held teaching positions at both Miami University and Sinclair College. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the CFA Institute. He has served and is serving on community and corporate boards: Boy Scouts of America, American Red Cross, National Chapter of Multiple Sclerosis, DCL Medical Laboratories, Inc., the Tri-Health Hospitals, Inc., and Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
