Our Team

Judson Maillie combines a formal education in business and law with over thirty years experience in providing financial and investment advice to individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.

As the agency Investment Specialist for New England Securities, Jud oversees various aspects of securities and investment programs, with particular emphasis on investment reviews, risk profile assessment, portfolio analysis and asset allocation.  He is a proponent of passive investment strategies using Modern Portfolio Theory, as well as an advocate of rigorously screened active managers in special situations.

Jud began his financial services career with Prudential Insurance in 1975.  With degrees from the University of Kansas in Business Administration (B.S., 1975) and Law (J.D., 1979), Jud has extensive experience in financial planning, and served on the 2006-07 Board of Directors of the Illinois Chapter of The Financial Planning Association.

STEVEN A. NITZKIN, CLU^®, ChFC^®

Steve Nitzkin has been a financial professional since 1977.  Over the past 30 years, he has created a highly service-oriented financial services practice.  He has successfully worked with professionals of varied disciplines and has developed a reputation for integrity, honesty, and problem solving ability.   Prior to 1977, he was a financial analyst for a Fortune 100® company, helped operate a family-owned retail dry goods business, and was a key employee involved with the opening of what became one of the nation's largest do-it-yourself building materials/home center chains.

Steve attended Roosevelt University where he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Degree, majoring in finance and minoring in accounting.  He also attended DePaul University Law School.  He obtained his CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter) designation in 1984 and his ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultant) designation in 1999.  He is a member of the Million-Dollar Round Table, The Chicago Estate Planning Council, The Chicago Association of Life Underwriters, The Society of Financial Professionals, The North-West Builders Association and other industry organizations.  Steve continues to be a dedicated student of the financial services industry.

Steve's professional expertise lies in the areas of estate planning strategies, business succession strategies, employee benefits consulting, and retirement plan design, implementation, and benefit distribution.  He also works with senior citizens, advising them on long-term care issues, wealth preservation and wealth distribution to heirs and charitable planning strategies.

 LEONARD G. SIMON, CLU^®, ChFC^®, CLTC

Len Simon is a graduate of the University of Michigan, School of Public Health.  He also has a B.S. from the University of Cincinnati, a Masters Degree from the University of Michigan, and is a graduate of the Chicago Gestalt Institute.  He spent eight years as a public health educator and executive director in various community health agencies, e.g., Council on Alcoholism, National Tuberculosis; and the American Heart Association.

Len entered the life insurance industry in 1964 as a management trainee, specializing in business succession plannng and estate planning with the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (CIGNA).  He was appointed as an agent manager in Toledo, Ohio in 1971; from there he grew the agency to 16 agents and four staff personnel.

In 1986, Len was appointed Director of Advanced Marketing with the Pacific Mutual Agency in Chicago; from there he went on to become Co-Director of Advanced Marketing with Chicago's Mass Mutual Agency in 1989.  At this agency he helped establish a fee-based financial planning program.  Four years later, Len joined Prudential as an Advanced Marketing Specialist.

Len has been associated with New England Financial since 2002 when he joined to spearhead a training program in business succession and estate planning for a select group of NEF representatives.

JEFFREY S. SOPHIAN, CLU^®, ChFC^®, CLTC

Jeff Sophian has been in the financial services industry since 1993.  Over the last 13 years, he has helped his clients to identify problems, challenges and opportunities in their business and personal planning, and to design solutions to best accomplish their goals.  He has vast experience with family businesses and closely held corporations, having acquired first hand knowledge of the dynamics of family-owned businesses during the many years he spent running his father-in-law's chain of retail drug stores.

Jeff graduated from the University of Illinois where he obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration.  He went on at Illinois to complete his MBA in Marketing.   Jeff earned the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designation in 2004 and the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation in 2006.

Jeff has also been a member of the Million-Dollar Roundtable, the Society of Financial Services Professionals and served seven years on the Board of Directors of the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce.

JERI ANN GADDINI

Jeri Gaddini is the Business Manager for BOAG. She has a background in insurance and real estate, and extensive experience as a law firm administrator.  A lifelong resident of Chicago, Jeri also functions as the day-to-day operations liason for BOAG's activities on behalf of its clients in the areas of investment advisory services and insurance.