Alumni News – September 2024

Alex Knight ’07 has nearly 20 years of experience in asset management, but he still looks back on the senior policy class at Roanoke—in which he and other students had to set up a hypothetical company—as one of the most formative experiences of his life.

The past five years in particular have brought back Policy memories for Knight, when he and two partners created a plan and launched their own firm, AssetAlign. Like a matchmaking service for financial advisors and potential clients, the online tool connects users in any asset class with a financial advisor who meets their unique investment needs.

“Over time, your total return on your portfolio, working with an advisor, will be almost three times higher than a do-it-yourself investor,” he said. “That’s a huge advantage that people don’t take advantage of because they think they don’t have the money or the time, or they don’t know who to trust. So we’re basically saying, let’s streamline this process for you.”

AssetAlign now has nearly 200 approved U.S. financial advisors on its platform, many of whom work remotely. These advisors pay a fee to be included in the database and matched with potential clients. Clients can then visit AssetAlign’s website and fill out a short questionnaire to be matched with an advisor. The questionnaire, which was created by a researcher at MIT’s Laboratory of Financial Engineering, includes questions about not only income and desired outcomes, but also investment style and comfort level with risk tolerance.

Knight said he spends about 50 percent of his time researching and due diligence on financial advisors for the platform. AssetAlign also partners with companies to offer its service as a free resource for their employees, including benefits such as tax and will preparation.

“Whether it’s a $5 million account or a $5,000 account, the people who work with us now have access to leading financial advisors,” he said.

Knight earned a degree in business administration from Roanoke, where he was a member of the soccer team and the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. He worked as a charitable planning advisor for Fidelity, vice president of model delivery for Natixis Investment Managers, and a director of WisdomTree Asset Management. He and his wife, Molly Brennan Knight ’07live in Boston with their three children.

“The Policy class was an influential moment because it not only helped me understand what it meant and all the intricacies that you have to understand to start a business, but it also sparked a curiosity in me,” he said. “It’s about all the different levers that you can pull as an entrepreneur.”

Ashley Roop ’23 teaches English as a Second Language to sixth through eighth graders at William Byrd Middle School in Roanoke County, Virginia. Roop earned degrees in Education Administration, Spanish Education, and Art Education from Roanoke.

Caitlin Mitchell ’13 was recently recognized with the top award for civilian attorneys serving in the military. The Civilian Service Achievement Medal was presented by Brigadier General George Smawley for “providing outstanding legal support to more than 215 soldiers undergoing the Disability Evaluation System” in 2023.

Mitchell also received the ICE (Interactive Customer Evaluation) Award 2024, an award for the three best lawyers who receive the most positive feedback from clients.

Mitchell is stationed at Fort Liberty in North Carolina with her wife and their son.

“While the Civilian Service Achievement Medal should be a higher recognition, I felt more honored to receive the ICE Award because it shows I am truly making a difference for so many soldiers and their families,” Mitchell said.

Shirley Smith ’78 had an experience in a small world this summer when she Betsy Garrison Krut ’72 and her daughter Zoe Krut ’20 in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. The women did not know each other before the meeting, but it was Smith’s license plate — “NOKE-LAX” — that caught the Kruts’ attention. Smith, who is from Pennsylvania, and the Kruts, who are from California, were both vacationing in Long Beach Island and staying in houses next door to each other when they struck up a conversation.

“Interestingly, Betsy was also a Phi Mu, as was I,” Smith wrote. “Her daughter Zoe was a Delta Gamma. We had so much fun chatting and sharing stories, and we promised to see each other again at Alumni Weekend.”

Betsy and Zoe Krut (left) with Shirley Smith.

We love hearing about these Maroon encounters. If you run into another Roanoke College graduate on your trip, take a photo together and let us know!

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