The Team
A small, deeply experienced team. Over a century of combined experience across hedge funds, private equity, family offices, and financial services. All in your corner.
Vivek “Vic” Verma
CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER
Vivek “Vic” Verma spent his career at some of the most demanding investment environments in the world. At Patriarch Partners and Mason Capital Management, he worked inside multi-billion dollar funds managing significant capital across multiple market cycles. He then served as a Portfolio Manager at American Alpha Advisors, where he managed assets for ultra-wealthy families. Along the way he completed credit training at Goldman Sachs and S&P Global, grounding him in both equity and fixed income strategies at the highest level.
Vic holds an MBA in Finance and Economics from Columbia Business School and an engineering degree from India, where he graduated with First Division honors.
After two decades inside institutions that reserved their best strategies for the ultra-wealthy, he founded AQS because he believed that same discipline, rigorous, data-driven, and unsentimental, could be built around real people navigating real decisions. Not just portfolios.
His clients are not account numbers. Many of them are women managing wealth on their own for the first time, executives who have spent decades building something significant, or families at a crossroads. He treats every one of them the way he would want someone to treat his own family: honestly, patiently, and with the full weight of everything he has learned.
Outside the office, Vic is an avid traveler and nature enthusiast. Those who know him say it shows in how he invests: with a long view, a calm disposition, and unmoved by short-term panic or euphoria. Every decision at AQS follows a defined process rooted in data, not instinct. He has seen enough market cycles to know that discipline, not prediction, is what protects wealth over time.
David Wagner
SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER
David is a seasoned Senior Portfolio Manager at AQS, boasting an impressive 36 years in the realm of investment management. Specializing in equity strategies, he has established a robust career, which includes a noteworthy 26 years as a developer of proprietary active management strategies. His professional history traces back to 1987 at Prudential Bache Securities, followed by Wachovia Securities, a decade of independent brokerage, and ultimately serving as a Registered Investment Advisor from 2014 to 2022.
David’s robust education complements his expansive career, with a BA in Mathematics from Wabash College and an MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management. He also holds Securities License Series 63 demonstrating his commitment to professional excellence. Now residing in Orlando, Florida with his wife, David utilizes his rich knowledge and experience to develop effective financial solutions for clients at AQS, reinforcing his reputation as a dedicated and knowledgeable financial professional.
Greg Syler
COMPLIANCE COUNSEL
Greg Syler serves as a Compliance Counsel for AQS, specializing in regulatory interactions with government agencies such as FINRA and SEC. He provides comprehensive compliance guidance to AQS across all operations.
With a formidable career spanning over 25 years in the Financial Services industry, Greg has an extensive background working with major broker-dealers and Registered Investment Advisors. His repertoire of roles includes Operations Manager, Compliance Manager, and Chief Compliance Officer. He boasts dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Finance and Banking from San Francisco State University.
Living in his dream city, San Francisco, California, Greg shares his life with his beloved wife Monica and their two children. Passionate about the great outdoors, he actively participates in camping, biking, and skiing. Greg also contributes significantly to his community, coaching youth basketball and baseball teams. Furthering his commitment to his community, Greg co-founded a local group dedicated to renovating and revitalizing playgrounds in San Francisco.
Anil Gulati
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT
Anil brings a wealth of knowledge to AQS, advising on growth initiatives. His professional journey spans over 25 years, during which he has become an avid student of business, consistently learning what fuels them, how to manage, grow, or acquire them. However, he emphasizes that the art of motivating individuals towards a common goal supersedes the science of business. He believes people and trust form the bedrock of any successful venture, although this is often overlooked by many management teams.
For the past 15 years, Anil has been implementing “buy and build” strategies within the lower-middle-market through both non-control and control transactions. His first decade in the industry was spent implementing growth and operational improvement initiatives at Global 2000 companies, both domestically and internationally.
Anil is an athlete and a dedicated fan of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. His academic credentials, much like his contemporaries, include an undergraduate degree in Accounting, a CPA, and an MBA in Finance and Operations. His athletic history is marked by being a member of a D-3 NCAA Tennis Team and a hitting-partner for a top-10, D-1 NCAA Tennis Team during his graduate school years. Now, he stays fit by focusing on the sport of triathlon.