Our Team

About Vertical Wealth Management

Vertical Wealth Management is an independent Registered Investment Advisory firm providing investors with conflict-free, custom-tailored investment strategies to meet short and long-term needs. We offer complete transparency in the form of separately managed accounts. Vertical Wealth Management is legally obligated to put our client’s interest first as a fiduciary investment manager. The central principle of our process is discipline, a focus that helps our clients avoid chasing returns and assuming unacceptable risks. We provide comprehensive retirement income planning, financial planning, and wealth management for both private sector and federal employees.

At Vertical Wealth Management, we understand the concerns people face as they plan for their future retirement. Our mission is to help you make wise financial decisions and work toward your long-term goals, combining our experience in financial planning with our disciplined and evidence-based approach to investing.

Rather than fall prey to Wall Street speculations or the hot stocks of the moment, we combine a research-driven investment process with personalized advice to deliver comprehensive financial solutions.

As a fiduciary firm, we are committed to providing you with the best advice we can give without any conflicts of interest. We are required to act with undivided loyalty to you and provide complete transparency and disclosure when it comes to our compensation or investment approach.

If you’re ready to define your goals, commit to a proven process, and work with a team you can trust, we invite you to learn more about our people and services.

Our Team

Mark Shelby, CFF™
FOUNDER & CEO

Welcome and thank you for visiting our website

I am an experienced investment advisor with the passion and expertise to help clients achieve their financial, retirement, and estate planning goals. I focus on education, and I take a proactive and personalized approach to finding solutions for businesses, individuals, and families needing trusted advice.

I founded Vertical Wealth Management in 2010 to provide clients with unparalleled financial advice and investment management. I consider myself a lifelong “math guy,” and I love helping people solve their financial puzzles and create wealth accumulation and income strategies that align with each component of their financial picture.

I began my financial career in college; First, getting my bachelor’s degree in business, and finance, and second, I served as an academic tutor helping students with economics and statistics.

After college, I worked briefly for a large broker-dealer. However, I soon realized that I wanted a more personal relationship with my clients.

As a result, I established Vertical Wealth Management as a Registered Investment Advisor firm, guided by a fiduciary standard of care appropriate for my client’s interests.

When I am not working, I get involved with the community. I currently volunteer as a retirement & finance instructor through the College of William & Mary Christopher Osher Institute. In addition, I enjoy unwinding with family and working out when life permits.

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Meet our Financial Planning Partners

Dana Crosby
Wealth Advisor, CFA, CFP®
SC Capital Advisors

Dana Crosby, Wealth Advisor, CFA, CFP®

Dana’s passion for finance and investing began as a U.S. Air Force Officer trainee in 1987. An instructor, discussing life after training school, encouraged his student trainees to “always pay yourself first” with every single paycheck, invest it, and leave it alone. Following his advice, Dana quickly learned the power of compounding returns and became engrossed in everything financial. While still on active duty, he began a Master’s degree program in finance concentrating on investments, which he completed in 1992.

After serving eight years in the U.S. Air Force, primarily as an instructor navigator, Dana separated from active-duty military in 1992 and began a career as a financial consultant with a major securities firm in 1993 in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Dana has worked with independent, fee-only advisor firms since 1996. He was an assistant portfolio manager and research analyst for seven years with a firm managing $250 million in client assets and serving high-net-worth families and pension and profit-sharing plans. Dana also served as a senior portfolio analyst for four years with a firm providing portfolio management services to a nationwide force of fee-based investment advisors and managing $5 billion in assets. Prior to joining SC Capital Advisors as a partner in 2011, Dana founded Global Portfolio Dimensions, Inc., an advisor practice he merged with SC Capital Advisors.

Throughout his professional life, Dana’s quest for knowledge never abated. He has earned two of the most sought-after certifications in the financial industry, the Chartered Financial Analyst® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ^TM designations. He is a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst Society of Los Angeles and the CFA Institute. Dana is actively involved in his community through the Rotary Club of Rancho Mirage and the Palm Springs Air Force Association. He is a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of the Coachella Valley and serves as chair for the club’s investment committee. He officiates high school football and basketball in southern California’s Coachella Valley.