Michael Krisko
Michael Krisko is a founder and managing partner of Lignum Wealth Management. He is a lifelong resident of Massachusetts’s North Shore, where he resides with his wife, Carolyn, and two girls, Gabriella and Alexandra. Locally, Michael and his family enjoy being outdoors whenever possible and are regulars to the shore’s many beaches. The family’s true passions lie outside of the borders of Massachusetts and in their travels both near and far.
Michael and Carolyn’s adventures have taken them through the Indian and Pacific oceans, where they visited Australia and Fiji in 2009—an amazing experience they would love to replicate with their two girls. Their travels have also taken them to Africa to celebrate Michael’s sister and brother-in-law’s wedding. They spent time in Kenya and Tanzania on safari, where they were able to take in the vast expanses, amazing scenery, and exceptional wildlife of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Most memorably, Michael and Carolyn spent several weeks in Hungary in 2015. It was there that they first met their daughter Alexandra. Holding a special place in their hearts, Hungary is where they finalized their adoption and added to the beautiful family they are today. Most recently, they took the girls to San Francisco and Maui for some rest and relaxation. The family also enjoys weekend trips to Maine in the summer, with the occasional visit to Florida. Not surprisingly, there seems to be an annual trip to Disney World these days, where Gabriella and Alexandra soak it all in!
After graduating from Babson College, where he studied business management and finance, Michael spent 10 years with Ameriprise Financial Services developing his client-first approach to wealth management practices. He prides himself on having an intimate understanding of his clients’ unique needs, concerns, and goals, which allows him to implement thoughtful and strategic planning to address each. "I don’t believe every client need has the same solution. Planning for people’s financial future is truly a partnership between myself and my clients, which allows us to find the right solution for their needs.” Michael brought his decade of experience in portfolio management, wealth creation, retirement planning, education funding, and protection advice to help found Lignum Wealth Management in 2013. 
He has been working hand-in-hand with clients to plan, execute, and realize their long-term financial goals ever since. While Michael’s experience and expertise encompass a full range of financial services, today Michael’s main areas of focus are in helping clients with retirement income planning and long-term wealth creation.
Professional Certifications/Qualification and Recognitions:
FINRA Series 7 and 66 securities registrations
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional
Professional and Certified Retirement Planning Consultant
Christopher Wakeman
Christopher Wakeman is a founder and managing partner of Lignum Wealth Management. After growing up in Westchester, New York, Chris planted his roots in the area in 1997 when he attended Northeastern University. He thanks the university not only for his education but also for introducing him to his wife, Anne. After 20 years and counting of marriage, they have two beautiful children, Vivian and Carter.
Family is everything to Chris, and today they live in Boxford, Massachusetts, which they have called home since 2010. Chris has had the opportunity to give back to the community where his family has grown. Six years ago, Chris started on Boxford’s finance committee and is now vice chair of the committee and liaison to the elementary school and fire department budgets. Chris enjoys giving back to his community and finds the delicate balance of providing the best town services while limiting taxpayer impact an extremely rewarding goal.
Outside the Lignum and Town Hall offices, Chris enjoys anything that gets him outdoors. He loves spending time gardening around the house and hiking with his children through the many trails in the Boxford State Forest. Chris has recently been able to move his father into their new home in Boxford to join the family as they watch Vivian and Carter grow.
Chris also loves anything with two wheels. He is a motorcycle enthusiast and owns road and off-road bikes. He commutes to work in the summers and has done many rides throughout the country. Some of these include riding from Scottsdale, Arizona, to the Grand Canyon with a stop in Sedona, and traveling all the way up the coast of California from San Diego to San Francisco on a Harley Davidson.
After graduating in 2002 from Northeastern University, where he majored in business and finance, his passions led him to pursue a career that incorporated both investments and entrepreneurship. Because of this, he searched out American Express Financial Advisors and then Ameriprise Financial, where he spent 10 years gaining invaluable experience and building a client base that he would eventually bring to his own private practice.
In 2013, Chris and his four partners felt it was time to create Lignum Wealth Management, which would give them the flexibility and independence to offer the best products and services to clients. Chris believes in a tailored approach, and that successfully reaching your retirement and investment goals should always start with a strong plan, which provides a blueprint for success. #PlanToAchieve
Mark Felt
Mark Felt is a founder and managing partner of Lignum Wealth Management. Mark was born and raised in Massachusetts and has called Waltham home all his life. Today Mark is lucky enough to live in the very neighborhood he grew up in, allowing him to recount great childhood memories while making new ones living with his fiancé, Kelly, daughter, Livia and golden retriever, Brady. Living in Waltham for his whole life has allowed Mark to develop a strong sense of community, relationships and trust. All of which he prides himself on incorporating into his work with each one of his clients.
With deep roots grounded so close to Boston, it is not surprising that Mark is an avid Boston sports fan. Whether it is the first pitch in April, a Celtics tipoff in December, or the Patriots making another Super Bowl push in February, Mark will be watching. His biggest Boston sports thrill came when he attended the clinching game 7 ALCS victory in Yankee Stadium in 2004. With baseball as his passion, Mark has coached the Waltham Little League Youth Baseball Reds for the past nine years.
Through those years, he has served on the program’s Board of Directors as the director of local sponsorships. Mark’s efforts and the sponsorship money are funneled toward many league improvements including equipment, field maintenance, and registration assistance.
In addition to his work with the little league, Mark spearheads the Michael J. Soly Memorial Scholarship Fund, which he created in memory of a late friend, as well as the Robert P. Felt Scholarship Fund in memory of his brother, a Waltham firefighter. In both cases, Mark is largely involved in the fund-raising, selection, and distribution of a yearly scholarship for a Waltham High School graduating senior to help offset the costs of furthering his or her education. The scholarship has distributed more than $85,000 in funds to deserving students over the years.
Mark also enjoys snowboarding, playing his guitar, working out, and spending weekends at his home in York, Maine, with his family. Mark is an avid golfer and one of the few who can claim to have a hole-in-one under his belt.
After graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2002, he began working at Ameriprise Financial Services. After 11 years focusing on providing clients with exceptional services and expert advice on investment, retirement, tax, estate planning, and other wealth management issues, he branched out and founded Lignum Wealth Management with his partners. Today, Mark brings his expertise, experience, focus on relationships, and trustworthiness to his clients to help them not only reach their financial goals but also to help them feel confident about their future.
Nathan O'Loughlin
A native New Englander, Nathan O’Loughlin grew up in Dunstable, Massachusetts. Sticking close to his roots, Nathan pursued his higher education at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, where he graduated with a dual major in finance and entrepreneurship. This experience can be considered the genesis of Nathan’s current role as founder and managing partner of Lignum WealthManagement in Wakefield, Massachusetts.
Nathan is much more than your experienced wealth management professional, however. Beyond the walls of Lignum Wealth Management, he enjoys spending time with his family and working within his community. Nathan resides in Bedford, Massachusetts, with his wife, Tara, and three young sons: Liam, Finn, and Tate. Tara enjoys her time as a Barre instructor and running her lifestyle blog while the boys keep busy being boys. Never a dull moment there! Together they enjoy going to the beach, hiking, biking, skiing, going to the movies, and spending time with their friends and family.
When he can find a moment for himself, Nathan likes to get out on the golf course, hit the slopes, keep an eye on the Boston sports landscape and think about real estate opportunities. One of his great passions is classic cars and motorcycles. Something that he has been involved with since he was a child, today Nathan is lucky enough to share those passions with his three boys. Giving back to the community where he and his family are growing is also very important to Nathan. He is an active member in the Bedford Rotary Club where, besides from the day-to-day activity he is involved in, he and his family are able to volunteer and participate in such events as Meals for Kids, the Kids Helmet Giveaway, and Breakfast with Santa.
Prior to founding Lignum Wealth Management in 2013, Nathan honed his expertise at Ameriprise Financial Services, where he spent 11 years focusing on charitable giving, education planning, retirement income strategies, estate planning, and investments. When working with and advising a client, Nathan likes to base decisions around Family, Occupation, Recreation, and Money.
Nathan’s approach is to focus on the money aspect of this equation allowing his clients to optimize their family, occupation, and recreation. These beliefs and approach have not only allowed Nathan to help his clients realize financial stability now and into the future for the last five years at Lignum Wealth Management but also build solid relationships based on communication, understanding, integrity, and trust. Today, Nathan applies his 16 years of experience focusing mainly on retirement income planning and business planning.
Professional Certifications/Qualification and Recognitions:
- FINRA Series 7 and 66 securities registrations
- (2x) Boston Five Star Wealth Management Award*
- Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor
*Based on 10 objective eligibility and evaluation criteria, including a minimum of 5 years as an active credentialed financial professional, favorable regulatory and complaint history, accepts new clients, client retention rates, client assets administered, education, and professional designations. 1,707 Boston wealth managers were considered for the award; 655 (39 percent of candidates) were named 2014 Five Star Wealth Managers. (The criteria provided reflect the most recent year for which advisor received the award. The criteria used, the number of wealth managers considered for the award, and the percentage of those who receive the award may vary from year to year). These awards are not indicative of the wealth managers' future performance. Your experiences may vary. For more information, please visit www.fivestarprofessional.com.