Meet the Team
at ATB Wealth Strategies
About ATB Wealth Strategies’ Financial Planners
ATB Wealth Strategies started six years ago with the aim of providing financial planning for individuals, couples and families. The principles, Paul, Jim and Michael, possess a passion for helping you grow your wealth — and find successful financial planning rewarding. They each have an accounting background, which combined with the knowledge of all things financial, helps them see the bigger picture.
Once they have a strategy in place for you and the goals are set, they will do their utmost to help you achieve them. Regular reviews keep you on track and focused on the road ahead. It’s horses for courses, and each client is unique — and they appreciate that — customising your wealth strategy to fit your needs.
Get in touch today to find out how our team can assist in your plan for the future.
Paul Rattray – Financial Planner
Paul is a chartered accountant, financial planner and small business specialist. With a strong sense of community and team spirit, he encourages individuals and businesses to succeed. In his own words:
“It’s pretty simple. I like helping people so they can achieve the success they deserve, and I get great satisfaction from it.”
With his optimistic, relaxed attitude, Paul enjoys working hard and being around people.
His strong sense of community comes from his country background, where he grew up reading, watching movies and riding motorbikes. Hungry for more knowledge, Paul completed his master’s degree and joined ATB as a chartered accountant in 2007.
He works alongside his partners, Jim and Michael, whom he has known for 30 years. Although they have differing opinions, they work well together — creating financial solutions using strategies to grow your wealth.
When Paul isn’t assisting clients with their personal financial plans or helping them take control of their business, he enjoys playing hockey, reading, riding his motorbike — and supporting his favourite rugby league team, the Dragons.
Michael Mekhitarian – Financial Planner
Michael is passionate about helping clients gain clarity in their finances so they can choose a strategy to achieve their goals. His proactive approach is infectious, enabling you to believe in and attain more from your wealth creation plan. His philosophy is:
“I believe in opportunity and the role that I can play in creating something bigger and better. I want my children and my grandchildren to live in a better place. I want my friends, family and clients to find success.”
This philosophy is the foundation to each and every interaction with his clients. It’s what keeps him going every day and adds to the passion he feels for his work.
“My first priority is about ensuring my client’s financial success and freedom. My job as a business owner, accountant, financial planner and mentor allows me to have an impact on many, many people’s lives … and that’s a very powerful motivator.”
Michael’s degree gave him the opportunity to pursue his accounting career, before partnering with Jim Vass to form ATB Wealth Strategies. They were driven by a common goal — to create freedom for themselves and their clients through prosperity.
Integrity, trust and leadership are some of the values Michael holds dear. He has a love of motorbikes, shared with Paul and Jim, travelling and reading fiction. He is also excited by new cutting-edge software — and watching the Tigers win. His primary focus is to train and support the ATB Wealth Strategies team, so they too create a winning formula.
Michael Mekhitarian Financial Services Guides
Jim Vass – Financial Planner
After leaving school, Jim enrolled in an accounting course and breezed through the exams. It was at this point he realised that a career in this field would enable him to move forward with many different life plans. He moved on to study accountancy at university — where he also met Paul.
Honesty is the foundation of Jim’s value system — and finding the balance between work and family. He strives to help others succeed and has a willingness to help that goes above and beyond what is expected. In his words:
“I like to help people achieve what they believe is impossible. Too many people aren’t prepared to help other people succeed. I want to help.”
“It’s incredibly satisfying to see clients’ success. To set up goals and opportunities and see those prosper. It’s not just numbers. Looking at how we can improve our own business and improve our clients’ businesses and finances is why I get up in the morning.”
Jim loves to travel, and if he was given the choice of going anywhere else in the world, it would be to Greece. Like Paul and Michael, Jim also has more than a tiny obsession with motorbikes. Taking a ride off the beaten track helps open up his perspectives on life and provides clarity. And, he’s keen to help others — regularly participating in fundraising events for cancer research.
You will also find that Jim has a charming, fun-loving sense of humour. He’s the joker of the team — playing light-hearted pranks at work and at home.
Support Team
Reinforcing the excellent work of ATB Wealth’s partners is a strong team of administrators and facilitators who help make your financial plans effective. With everything under one roof, the team supports you, the client, managing all the paperwork and orchestrating all the major and minor details.
Teamwork is super important to us, and we all pull together to ensure you get the best service we can deliver.
Contact us to discuss how our team can help you achieve your financial goals!
Our Financial Services
