Jeffrey and Brian werdesheim

THE SUMMA GROUP, OPPENHEIMER & CO, LOS ANGELES ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT: $1.5 BILLION

For the last 25 years, the Werdesheim brothers have cultivated a power roster of clients in l.a.’s entertainment and athletic circles.

Calling in favors from their network is key. When a client’s father was having heart problems, brian phoned a doctor pal and helped him jump a months-long waiting list at ucla medical Center for a ten-hour quadruple-bypass surgery. a former nfl owner confessed he didn’t know how to help his struggling teenager, so the brothers called in a college-prep advisor and identified a learning disability. The teen was then enrolled at a high school for musically gifted students and attends usc’s Thornton school of music on a scholarship.

It is in life’s twists and turns, rather than the stock market, where the Werdesheims deliver true alpha. “We’re not usually going to make a difference in someone’s life because of a percentage point here or there,” says brian. “We’re trying to solve the problems that keep them up at night.”