Our People

Simon Arrata is an experienced Investment Professional with a wide range of leadership experiences as Chief Executive Officer, Investment Strategist and Head of Sales and Marketing. He has extensive knowledge of the Capital Markets and served as expert in Industry panels and business media.

Prior to founding Cooperative Financial, Mr. Arrata was the CEO of Harvest USA and key architect of the Company's US business approach and mutual fund strategies. At Harvest USA, Simon was responsible for all sales and marketing activities for Harvest's investment products in the United States. He also led the firm's product development and China educational efforts. Prior to joining Harvest USA, Simon was a Senior Vice President at Fidelity Investments Institutional Services (FIIS) and an original member of the Division's National Accounts Group.

Some of Simon’s accomplishments during his 14 plus years at Fidelity include:

• Overseeing a large sales territory calling upon the firm’s top Registered Investment Advisor, Family Office, and Bank Trust departments (top clients typically had in excess of $1 billion AUM).
• Maintaining subject matter expertise in the firm’s mutual funds and managed money products.
• Managing $3 billion in assets for Fidelity’s high net worth clients prior to joining the firm’s Institutional Division.
• Spoke on Capitol Hill at the request of Fidelity Investments to a group of 60 congressmen and congresswomen. Also returned at the invitation of the Blue Dogs to provide the group with a capital market update.

Mr. Arrata received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Hunter College in 1988 and a Juris Doctorate (JD) degree from New York Law School in 1993 and is a member in continuous Good Standing of the NYS Bar Association for 25 years. Mr. Arrata is a registered representative with series 7, 63, 65 & 24 registrations.

Michael Flores has diverse work experience that includes assistance in the establishment of a 501c3 as well as an entrepreneurial background. Michael has served in a variety of leadership roles including Director of Mergers & Acquisitions and Strategic Partnerships, Chief Financial Officer, and Member of the Board of Directors of Flores & Associates and the HandsnFeet Foundation.

Prior to founding Cooperative Financial with Simon Arrata, Mr. Flores worked for Flores & Associates as the Chief Financial Officer in 2011 and then as Director of Mergers & Acquisitions and Strategic Partnerships. At Flores, Michael oversaw financial operations, participant assets, and strategic growth initiatives.

Some of Michael’s accomplishments during his 8 years at Flores & Associates include:

• Managed Flores' Non-Bank Trustee Application from the write-up of internal procedures to comply with IRS and FDIC requirements, demonstrated Flores' capability to act as an NBT, and successfully received approval to act as a Non-Bank Trustee for Health Savings Account Assets.
• Successfully grew the firm at 20% Y/Y Revenue and EBITDA over his seven-year tenure as CFO. Oversaw EBITDA margin expansion of 25% through collaboration with the CEO, CTO, and Directors of Account Management with a focus on building out economies of scale and developing new revenue streams.
• Successfully located and closed a minority investment by a Private Equity Firm to provide the founder/CEO with liquidity.
• Oversaw the management of $40 million in client ERISA Assets and corresponding Liabilities. Before joining Flores, Mr. Flores spent more than three years as a Research Analyst with Greer & Walker Investment Advisors, where he focused on building customized investment portfolios and investment solutions for high net worth clients. Michael is a CFA® Charterholder and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina Charlotte – Belk College of Business.

Prior to joining Flores, Mr. Flores spent more than 3 years as a Research Analyst at Greer & Walker Investment Advisors, where he focused on building customized investment portfolios and investment solutions for high net worth clients. Michael is a CFA® Charterholder and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from University of North Carolina Charlotte – Belk College of Business.

Anthony Flores joined the Cooperative Financial team during the second quarter of 2020. Anthony brings a diverse analytical skill set, keen sense of the importance of quality control, strong financial analysis skill set, and an expertise in various reporting tools to Cooperative Financial, which were honed during his previous 10 years of work experience at Flores & Associates, a national Third Party Administrator (TPA) Firm of consumer based reimbursement plans. Anthony also brings a strong work ethic, shared importance of client satisfaction and a continual pursuit of improving process and procedures to Cooperative Financial as well.

Prior to joining Cooperative Financial, Anthony worked at Flores & Associates as the Quality Assurance and Business Process Manager. At Flores, Anthony created the new hire training regime, developed an intuitive and easy to use internal dashboard with over 100 internal client and participant account controls and audits, developed external facing reporting, data entry tools, and re-enrollment tools to make the client experience more intuitive, and implemented new processes to streamline actions in pursuit of quality and consistency. This pursuit for quality control and items developed during Anthony's tenure at Flores & Associates, were an integral component of the successful and sustainable growth for Flores & Associates from a regional company with under 500 clients to a national company with approximately 2000 clients during his tenure at the firm.

Prior to working at Flores, Anthony graduated from the University of Chapel Hill – Kenan- Flagler Business School in 2011 where he was accepted early admission into the Kenan- Flagler Business School before arriving at Chapel Hill. Anthony is an Investment Advisor Representative with a Series 65 registration.