Meet Our
Team

Meet Our Team

Leigh Bivings,

Ph.D., CFP®, CDFA®

PARTNER, CEO

Leigh Bivings

Leigh Bivings,

Ph.D., CFP®, CDFA®

CEO

Prior to founding Artemis, Leigh was a managing director at Stax, Inc., a private-equity focused investment research firm, and a partner at the Monitor Group, a global strategy advisory firm. Her international experience spans Latin America where she was a Peace Corps volunteer and conducted her doctoral work. She has also worked in Canada, Latin America, and Europe and has traveled widely internationally.

Leigh has a Ph.D in applied economics from Stanford University, an M.A. in International Trade and Finance from the University of Sussex and an A.B. in International Relations from Pomona College. Leigh has received a variety of awards, most notably the AAEA National Prize for Most Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in 1993.

Leigh is also a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA®) and has completed specialized training in the financial issues of divorce.

Leigh is very active in the community and currently serves on the finance committee of the YWCA Boston. She is a member of the Boston Economic Club (BEC), Boston Estate Planning Council (BEPC), National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), and the Institute of Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA).

Leigh enjoys tennis, biking, traveling and reading history. She is fluent in Spanish and proficient in French.

In your view, what makes for a successful advisory relationship?

It’s all about trust. The relationship is not going to work if a client doesn’t believe they are working with a truly ethical, high quality advisor who is completely dedicated to their financial well-being.

What’s keeping you excited these days?

I’m particularly excited by (and proud of) the current Artemis team. We are all working extremely well together, we respect and help each other, and the quality of the work couldn’t be better.

What’s the first piece of financial advice you remember learning?

Budgeting! I remember to this day sitting at the kitchen table watching my mother figure out how she was going to make $35 feed the family for an entire week. She knew the cost of every ingredient and would literally budget out every meal before we headed to the grocery store. This obviously made a big impression on me.

What achievements are you most proud of?

I’m very proud to have served in the Peace Corps for two years in the Dominican Republic and still support my very best friend there. I’m also proud to have earned a Ph.D. It took a lot of hard work (and lots of tears). And finally, I’m very proud that Artemis is successful. I started the firm just before my husband had to retire early for health reasons. I can’t tell you how happy I was when I took home my first distribution.

When you are not working with Artemis clients, how do you spend your time?

I am very sporty and enjoy cycling, tennis, skiing and Barre classes. Exercise helps me take my mind off of work, the challenging state of our country and other stressors.

Kathleen McQuiggan

PARTNER, WEALTH ADVISOR

Kathleen McQuiggan

Kathleen McQuiggan

Wealth advisor

Kathleen joined Artemis as a wealth advisor in June 2017. Her specialties are the financial planning needs of women and employing sustainable investing approaches.

Prior to joining Artemis, Kathleen spent over 25 years serving investors, starting her career with Alex Brown in Baltimore, and then on to Goldman Sachs, where she worked for 13 years. In 2009, Kathleen founded Catalina Leadership; a consulting firm focused on investing in women. Through that work, she started an engagement with Pax World Management and developed an expertise in sustainable investing. She later joined Pax as SVP, Global Women’s Strategies, where she was responsible for product management of the Global Women’s Index Fund and ran its Women & Wealth initiative.

Kathleen has a B.S. from Towson University in business administration with a concentration in finance. A longtime advocate for advancing women in leadership, Kathleen currently serves on the board of Forte Foundation.  Kathleen serves on the investment committee of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Association of Relief for Aged Women of New Bedford.  She also serves on the advisory council for Invest for Better.

Kathleen resides in Boston and Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

What’s the first piece of financial advice you remember learning?

Save before you spend. I started working when I was 12 years old by babysitting, and then by 15 I had a summer job, lifeguarding at our local pool. My parents made sure we knew that if we wanted to buy something, we had to save up the money first.

In your view, what makes for a successful advisory relationship?

Communication, trust and listening. Every client’s goals and situations are unique and there is not just one way to help them plan and invest.

Are there any recent industry trends that have surprised you?

Yes. I am surprised it has taken sustainable investing so long to get the traction it has now. You can invest for returns and impact, and I know many people, especially women, who want their investments aligned with what matters to them, and in companies that are thinking about sustainability issues in their business.

Can you explain what it is you do in a single sentence?

I am a financial ally that helps you make decisions with issues that have financial complexity.

When you’re not working with Artemis clients, how do you spend your time?

Trying to get my rescue dog Pearl tired. Spin class. Torturing my nieces about wealth literacy.

Mark Haser,

M.B.A, CFP®

PARTNER, WEALTH ADVISOR

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Mark Haser,

M.B.A, CFP®

Wealth advisor

Mark joined Artemis in March 2018. He is dedicated to helping physicians and high-income families to optimize their cash flow, minimize taxes, and build a plan for long-term financial success.

Prior to joining Artemis, Mark worked with a variety of organizations, including venture-backed startups, Fortune 500 companies, and the federal government. He began his career with The Vanguard Group, where he advised clients on asset allocation and how to construct a diversified portfolio with index funds and ETFs.

Mark is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). He earned his B.A. in Economics from Wake Forest University and M.B.A. from Boston College, where he was President of the Graduate Management Association. He has completed the Wake Forest University Certificate in Financial Planning Program and he is also an active member of the Boston Estate Planning Council (BEPC).

Mark is intrigued by all aspects of personal finance and writes regularly about the latest research in the areas of retirement, estate, education, tax, and investment planning. You can find most of his writing on his LinkedIn page. He also leads the firm’s Basics of Personal Finance curriculum.

Mark resides in Needham, MA, with his wife and two sons.

What do you like about working at Artemis?

The best part of my job is working directly with our clients—helping them to solve complex issues that often go beyond the purely financial. I’ve been able to develop many long-lasting relationships and see the positive impact of my work firsthand. What could be better than that?

What’s keeping you excited these days?

I think it’s an exciting time for the financial planning profession. Just a few decades ago, financial planning was almost entirely product and sales-oriented, with the big brokerage firms dominating the industry. The movement of independent fee-only financial planners has really shifted the focus towards providing sound advice rather than pushing products. I think we’ve made tremendous strides to elevate the profession and I’m excited to see the evolution of the industry continue in a positive direction.

What’s the first piece of financial advice you remember learning?

Maybe not the first piece of advice I learned, but I can remember sitting in my new hire class at Vanguard back in the mid-2000s and learning all about asset allocation and how you can use index funds to construct a diversified, low-cost, and tax-efficient investment portfolio. You could say I drank the Kool-Aid, but I’ve been an advocate for taking a passive, index-based investment approach ever since then. It was certainly a formative experience.

Do you have a particular approach when it comes to your work?

I take a holistic approach to financial planning. This means really getting to know my clients—their family situation, career trajectory, health status, viewpoint on wealth and investing, and so forth—so that I can best help them achieve their goals. I believe financial planning is about more than just building and protecting wealth, it is about maximizing happiness.

When you’re not working with Artemis clients, how do you spend your time.

I spend as much time outdoors as I possibly can, especially before the long winter hits us here in Boston. We have great hiking trails around us so I’m always exploring. I also spend a lot of my time biking with my son and playing tennis with my wife and friends.

Maria Faleyev

Portfolio Associate

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Maria Faleyev

Portfolio Associate

Maria joined Artemis as a Portfolio Associate in August 2022.

 

Prior to joining Artemis, Maria was a Performance Analyst at Meketa Investment Group where she worked on developing client reports as well as supporting the manager research due diligence process. Prior to Meketa, she interned at New York Life where she undertook market and investment research for client portfolios.

 

Maria has a B.S. from Bentley University in Economics-Finance where she was a part of the Center of Women’s Fellowship. She is a previous winner of the American Fine Arts Music Festival and is fluent in Russian. Maria is currently pursuing the Charted Financial Analyst (CFA) certification and is a Level II CFA Candidate.

 
Maria currently resides in Somerville MA.

WHAT’S THE FIRST PIECE OF FINANCIAL ADVICE YOU REMEMBER LEARNING?

My parents taught me from an early age the importance of budgeting. From my first job at 16, I had a certain allocation toward savings, wants, and necessities. This practice has continued in my life and was very useful to start to build these habits early on.

What’s keeping you excited these days?

I’m very excited to be a part of the Artemis team and to continue to build my career and knowledge in Wealth Management.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR CLIENTS WHO ARE NEW TO WORKING WITH FINANCIAL ADVISORS?

Being open and having strong communication is extremely important when working with a financial advisor. Advisors are there to be able to help you with your concerns and needs. Being able to build a trusting relationship will help put you at ease and help you grow toward meeting your financial goals.

When you’re not working with Artemis clients, how do you spend your time?

I enjoy reading, going on walks, and spending time with friends. My weekends are usually spent exploring new areas of the city.