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How Not Being Scared and Taking a Chance Paid Off with Monica Jalife at Pinnacle Associates

Monica Jalife is the Principal of the Private Client Group at Pinnacle Associates, where she leads the group’s investment committee and co-manages the dividend and globally diversified growth strategies. She is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts, CFA Institute, and the Financial Planning Association of New York. In addition to her role at Pinnacle Associates, Monica is a Principal and Wealth Advisor at Withum Wealth Management. As an active member in her community, Monica conducts financial literacy courses in English and Spanish for women victims of domestic violence and for the Hispanic community. She has also participated in half marathons to raise funds for children with terminal diseases and volunteers her time at summer camps for terminally ill children.



“I moved about 20 years ago from Mexico to New York with an industrial engineering degree, and I was determined to stay in New York..


As you may know, there's not a lot of engineers in New York City, but that didn't stop me. I kept looking and ended up with an interview at this wonderful company called Pinnacle Associates, which by the way, I'm still there 20 years later. They took a chance with me even though I had very little finance background. I started from the bottom and it's been such a great journey. There has been a lot of learning not only academically, but from the wonderful people that I've been working with over the years … never settle; always keep learning and thinking and evolving.


A third thing that really makes me happy and gives me a lot of personal satisfaction is mentoring and helping those that are not as fortunate. I love to get involved with the Hispanic community and I love when I'm doing sessions in Spanish. I was teaching people to read and write in Mexico many years ago when I was still in college. Here, I help with financial planning for women, either those who are victims of domestic violence or women that are going either themselves or a family member through cancer. And I partner with a few different organizations, which are really also wonderful because they are the ones that are helping connect these different groups of people. It’s really rewarding.”


Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Logo

Monica Jalife, Principal

212 - 652 - 3250


Pinnacle Associates, Ltd. is an independent registered investment adviser that has over $7.3 billion dollars in assets under management*. Pinnacle has been providing investment advisory services to affluent individuals and institutions for over 35 years.

* As of September 30, 2021



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