Innovative Alternative Strategies Conference Speaker Bios
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
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Jeffrey Gundlach CEO and CIO, Co-Founder DoubleLine Capital LP Mr. Gundlach was formerly associated with TCW where he was Chief Investment Officer and head of fixed income activities. He is recognized as a leading expert1 in mortgage-backed securities and investment asset allocation. His investment strategies have been featured in leading publications including The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Barron's, Forbes, Fortune, Pensions & Investments and Institutional Investor. In 2010, Mr. Gundlach was named to the SmartMoney Power 30 , one of the seventeen most influential people by The Mutual Fund Wire and "Fund Leader of the Year" by Fund Action. In 2011, he was featured as "The King of Bonds" in Barron's, named one of "5 Mutual Fund All-Stars" by Fortune Magazine and named "Bond Manager of the Year" by Foundations and Endowments Money Management. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College summa cum laude holding a BA in Mathematics and Philosophy. He attended Yale University as a PhD candidate in Mathematics. |
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John Mauldin President, Millennium Wave Investments John Mauldin is a renowned financial expert, a New York Times best-selling author, and a pioneering online commentator. Each week, over 1 million readers turn to Mauldin for his penetrating view on Wall Street, global markets, and economic history. Mauldin's weekly e-newsletter, Thoughts from the Frontline, was one of the first publications to provide investors with free, unbiased information and guidance. Today, it is the most widely distributed investment newsletter in the world. Mauldin also offers The Mauldin Circle, a free service that connects investors to an exclusive network of money managers and alternative investment opportunities. |
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George F. Will Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist, Journalist & Author George F. Will is today's most widely read columnist. His newspaper column has been syndicated by The Washington Post since 1974. Today it appears twice weekly in approximately 400 newspapers in the United States and in Europe. In 1976, he became a regular contributing editor of Newsweek magazine, for which he provided a bimonthly essay for 35 years. In 1977, he won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary for his newspaper columns. In 1981, Will became a founding panel member on ABC television's This Week. Will was born in Champaign, Illinois, educated at Trinity |
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Mark W. Yusko CEO & Chief Investment Officer Morgan Creek Capital Management Mark Yusko is the Founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management. Prior to forming Morgan Creek, Mr. Yusko was President, Chief Investment Officer and Founder of UNC Management Company, the Endowment investment office for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from 1998 to 2004. Throughout his tenure, he directly oversaw strategic and tactical asset allocation recommendations to the Investment Fund Board, investment manager selection, manager performance evaluation, spending policy management and performance reporting. |
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Rob Brown, PhD, CFA Rob serves as the Chief Financial Strategist for Eqis Capital Management, Inc. In this role he is responsible for financial product development, asset management strategy, and assessing the prospective macroeconomic and capital market environments. Rob also leads the discussion and debate of these three areas within Eqis, with business partners, and with investors. Prior positions included:
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Mark Green, CFA Oxford Financial Group, Ltd. Mark has spent over 20 years developing traditional and nontraditional investment strategies, including hedge funds, private equity, real estate and illiquid investments. His expertise includes econometric modeling, market analysis, strategic and tactical asset allocation, development of investment policy and guidelines, risk management and manager evaluation and selection. |
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W. Bradford McMillan, CFA,® CAIA, MAI Chief Investment Officer Commonwealth Financial Network Brad oversees Commonwealth's retirement consulting and investment departments. Previously, he founded Dartmouth Realty Advisors, where he advised on more than $2 billion in real estate in 26 states and in Canada. Brad earned an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, an MS in Real Estate Development from MIT, and an MS in Finance from Boston College.
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SPEAKERS
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Jerome Abernathy, Ph.D. Director of Research Jerome leads the research efforts for new and existing products, especially alternative investments. Jerome has 20+ years of experience in the industry, including research, product development and portfolio management. He is also part of Rydex|SGI's quantitative investment and product development/ management teams.
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John Abunassar Mr. Abunassar is a member of the William Blair Fund of Funds Investment Committee and is responsible for providing strategic and tactical guidance on manager research, strategy and portfolio construction for the William Blair Fund of Funds. Prior to joining William Blair in April 2011, he was a Principal at Guidance Capital and a member of the firm's investment committee. Prior to joining Guidance Capital in November 2009, he was President and CEO of Allegiant Asset Management and was also President and CEO of the Allegiant Funds. Prior to joining Allegiant, Mr. Abunassar spent 11 years with Banc One Investment Advisors, where he was senior managing director of institutional asset management, a member of the Board of Directors, and a member of the investment management policy committee. Earlier in his career, Mr. Abunassar was an investment consultant with The Capital Control Group. He began his career as a pension consultant at Hewitt Associates. Mr. Abunassar holds his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business from Lake Forest College and an M.B.A. in finance from Keller Graduate School of Management. |
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Ron Altman Mr. Altman joined M.D. Sass in June of 2009 as a portfolio manager. Prior to M.D. Sass, he was a partner and portfolio manager at MB Investment Partners, Inc. From 1999 to 2005, Mr. Altman was a Senior Managing Director and Director of Research at Victory SBSF. Mr. Altman has more than 40 years of experience in the investment research and money management business in various positions.
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Sola Awofala Sola is a Vice President in the Asset Management division of ThinkEquity, a global, growth-oriented, entrepreneurial, full-service investment bank that provides customized money management, investment advisory services, equity research, strategic advisory, placement, underwriting, sales and trading services to corporate, institutional, foundations and high net worth clients. With over 20 years' investment experience sola was previously a VP at Bank of America Investments, Babcock & Brown, Lehman Brother and Morgan Stanley. He was also a corporate Lawyer in London and educated at the College of Law and the City of London Business School and holds a BA in Business Law and a BA Business Studies. |
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Thomas Balcom Thomas Balcom, CFP®, CAIA, MBA is the founder of 1650 Wealth Management. 1650 Wealth Management is a fee-only RIA firm with offices in Miami and Boca Raton, FL. Mr. Balcom is currently serving as the 2012 Chairman of the Financial Planning Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale and as an adjunct professor for the Certified Financial Planner program at Barry University. He was one of five recipients of the 2008 Structured Product Association's Leading Edge Advisor award and currently invests approximately 35% of his clients' portfolios in structured notes. |
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Joseph Barrato Joseph Barrato, CEO and Director of Investment Strategies, is a Founding Member of Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC, the adviser to Arrow Funds. Since co-founding Arrow in 2006, he has overseen the firm's growth from a single mutual fund provider to a boutique asset manager offering a unique lineup of tactical and alternative investments.
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Akos Beleznay, PhD Chief Investment Officer of Alternative Investments, Commerce Advisors, LLC President | Chief Investment Officer, Commerce Asset Management, LLC President, Quantitative Alternative Management, LLC Mr. Beleznay serves as President of QAM and CIO of Commerce Asset Management, LLC, adviser to the Heritage Funds. He serves as the portfolio manager for both QAM and Heritage. Mr. Beleznay served as the Director of Consulting Research for Equitas Capital Advisors, LLC and CIO of Equitas Evergreen Fund LP. He began his career as a trader with ING Baring, led the private banking of the largest Hungarian commercial bank and served as an investment management consultant with Prudential Securities, Inc. He holds an MBA from Tulane University and a PhD degree in Physics from Eotvos Lorand University, Hungary. |
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James Bode Senior Vice President, BOKF Alternative Investments Mr. Bode is Senior Vice President and Manager of Alternative Investments, where he is responsible for all private equity, real estate and hedge fund investments by trust clients. BOK Financial clients have investments in real estate and hedge funds plus commitments to private equity totaling almost $650 million. Mr. Bode is also primarily responsible for the day to day operations of the BOKF Private Equity Limited Partnerships, including selecting and monitoring the underlying investments. He serves on two different private equity fund Advisory Committees. He is also a member of BOK Investment Management's Asset Allocation Committee. Mr. Bode joined BOK in 2001. Prior to that, he was a general partner and co-managed three private equity funds from 1990 to 2001. From 1983 to 1989 he was with the accounting firm of Deloitte Haskins and Sells Mr. Bode also spent one year as Chief Financial Officer of an office products retailer, and worked in Corporate Finance with a regional investment bank. |
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Matthew C. Brown Co-Founder & CEO Matthew C. Brown is a Co- Founder and CEO of CAIS and responsible for overall firm strategy, management and business development. Mr. Brown has over 21 years of experience in financial services with a focus on global marketing and distribution of alternative investment funds and products. Over the course of his career, Mr. Brown has built and managed investment firms and platforms and has represented industry leading investment managers. Prior to forming CAIS, Mr. Brown started and managed Brownstone Advisors in 2001 and Brown Simpson Asset Management (BSAM) in 1995. He began his career in 1991 at Shearson Lehman Brothers. Mr. Brown received his Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Mary's College in San Francisco in 1991. Mr. Brown holds FINRA Series 24, 7 and 63 licenses. |
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Christian Chan Wells Fargo Funds Management Group Christian Chan is the Head of Investments at Wells Fargo Funds Management Group. He is responsible for overseeing the firm's investment managers, developing the firm's investment strategy, and managing a suite of multi-strategy portfolios. Christian joined Wells Fargo Funds Management in 2002. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, he served as a Director of Investments at mPower Advisors, an investment advisor, where he specialized in evaluating investment managers and constructing portfolios for institutional clients. He has earned the right to use the CFA designation. |
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Ron D. Cordes Co-Chairman of Genworth Financial Wealth Management Ron D. Cordes has enjoyed a 25+ year career in the investment industry, having co-founded and then sold AssetMark Investment Services to Genworth Financial in 2006. He is currently co-chairman of Genworth Financial Wealth Management, which is responsible for over $24 billion of assets under management for individual and institutional clients. Cordes speaks and writes extensively in the field of impact investing, and chairs the Executive Committee for ImpactAssets, a new initiative to catalyze capital for impact investments formed in partnership with the Calvert Foundation. |
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Eric Cott As Director, Financial Advisor Education, of The Options Industry Council, Eric Cott endeavors to help advisors and their firms use options more effectively. Mr. Cott is responsible for expanding OIC's outreach to financial advisors. Additionally, he participates in conference panel discussions, presents advisor-oriented educational seminars.
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Gil Crawford Mr. Crawford is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of MicroVest. He is responsible for leading the company's investment operations and strategy since MicroVest's founding in 2003. As MicroVest's CEO, he led the launch of MicroVest I, LP, the first commercial private equity vehicle focused on microfinance in North America. Mr. Crawford has 25 years experience with microfinance institutions and capital markets across the globe. Before helping to found MicroVest Capital Management, Mr. Crawford worked for the Latin American Financial Markets Division at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and focused on investments in microfinance institutions. |
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Brian Cunningham Brian Cunningham is President, CIO, and an owner of 361 Capital. He is responsible for managing the investment and oversight of macro-economic research, portfolio construction and portfolio management. He has over 27 years of experience in investment management and has personally provided investment advisory services to numerous institutions and high-net-worth individuals.
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Anthony Davidow, CIMA As managing director and portfolio strategist, Mr. Davidow's primary focus is to provide strategic viewpoints on financial markets for Guggenheim Investment's ETF business. In this role, he is also responsible for developing, marketing and positioning the firm's ETF strategy and training key sales personnel on the use of these products.
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Edward Egilinsky Managing Director, Head of Alternatives at Direxion Ed leads product development, messaging, training, and support for Direxion's suite of alternative strategies. Previously he served as Managing Director of Alternative Strategies at Rydex Investments; he provided leadership for alternative strategy initiatives, expanded distribution channels, and effectively branded Rydex as a recognized provider of alternative investments.
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Scott Egner Scott Egner joined TD Ameritrade Institutional in January 2010 and is responsible for business development of our Managed Account Solutions in the marketplace. Prior to joining TD Ameritrade he has spent 20+ years in the financial services industry mostly recently leading Placemark Investments North American Sales team in promoting unified managed accounts within the wirehouse/regional, independent broker dealers and RIA marketplaces. He has spent the past 15 years in a variety of wholesale distribution roles with asset management firms. He graduated from Lake Forest College with a double major in business and psychology and has his MBA from the Kellogg School of management. He is a CIMA certificate holder. |
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Jed Emerson Jed Emerson is Chief Impact Strategist with ImpactAssets, a nonprofit financial services firm creating impact investing products to bridge the asset owner/impact fund market; Senior Fellow with the Center for Social Investing at Heidelberg University (Germany); and Senior Advisor to two family offices (RS Group/Hong Kong; IML Group/Chicago). He has held faculty appointments at Harvard, Stanford and Oxford Business schools. He is internationally recognized as a thought leader, originated the concept of Blended Value and has presented his work at the World Economic Forum, The Clinton Global Initiative and other events around the world. His various papers/research may be found at www.blendedvalue.org and is co-author of the Nautilus Gold award winning book entitled, Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference. |
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Kenny Feng, CFA Kenny Feng, CFA is the President and CEO at Alerian, an independent provider of objective indices, data sets, and analytics for the Master Limited Partnership (MLP) sector. Over $8 billion is directly tied to Alerian's indices, including the leading benchmark of MLP equities: the Alerian MLP Index (AMZ). Mr. Feng is a former Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at SteelPath Capital Management LLC, a Dallas-based MLP investment manager. Prior to his experience at SteelPath, Mr. Feng covered MLPs, Electric and Gas Utilities, and Diversified Gas Companies at Goldman, Sachs & Co., in the firm's Global Investment Research Division. Mr. Feng graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. He also serves on the advisory board of Midstream Business, a monthly publication addressing the need for business market intelligence on North American midstream energy infrastructure. |
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Doug Fincher, CEO BIO: Doug Fincher is the President and CEO of Rock Maple Services, LLC a registered investment advisory firm focused on alternative strategies. The firm was founded in 2002 and currently oversees $850 in assets. Mr. Fincher is an investment committee member and serves as a portfolio manager for the Wilmington Rock Maple Alternative fund, a multi-manager, multi-strategy hedged mutual fund. Prior to Joining Rock Maple, he was employed by CIBC World Markets, where he served on the firms U.S. Executive management committee. He worked in a trading capacity for a number of Wall Street firms, including Lazard Frères and Kidder Peabody. Doug graduated from Lafayette College in 1986 and chairs the investment committee for the Christ & Holy Trinity endowment fund. |
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Tom Florence Tom Florence is CEO and an owner of 361 Capital. He is responsible for the general management of the firm. Mr. Florence has over 26 years of experience in the financial services industry having been exposed to all facets including investment management, sales and marketing, operations, and general business management.
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Graham E. Fuller Managing Director Head of Alternative Investment Strategies, SunTrust Banks, Inc Mr. Fuller has approximately 20 years of experience in successfully advising sophisticated investors on alternative investment strategies and progressive portfolio construction. His responsibilities include managing alternative investments research, due diligence, and investment manager relationships across hedge fund, private equity, real asset, managed futures, and other non-correlating assets for the benefit of SunTrust investment clients. Mr. Fuller earned a double major in Political Science and Communications Studies and received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, studied at the Essec Graduate School of Business in Paris, France, and received his MBA from Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management. Mr. Fuller also successfully completed the Harvard Business School/CFA Institute Investment Management Workshop certificate program. |
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Terrell F. Gates III Terrell F. Gates III is founder and CEO of Virtus Real Estate and is ultimately responsible for all strategic decisions. Mr. Gates is a third generation commercial real estate investor and operator who began his financial career in 1992. Since then, Mr. Gates has held numerous principal level positions in real estate, law and finance. Prior to founding Virtus, Mr. Gates was Director of the GGS Private Banking group at Merrill Lynch. Since establishing Virtus in 2003, Mr. Gates has been responsible for the sourcing, underwriting, and oversight of Virtus' 35 real estate investment funds and partnerships that have invested in more than 120 commercial properties with a combined acquisition cost of nearly $1.65 billion. After completing his undergraduate work in economics and Spanish at the University of Texas, Mr. Gates earned a law degree from Southern Methodist University Law School. He is a licensed attorney. |
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Clint Gharib, C.F.E. Director of Managed Products & Insurance J.P. Turner & Company Clint is the Director of Managed Products & Insurance for J.P. Turner & Company. As a Certified Financial Educator with 20+ years of industry experience he advises both clients and financial representatives. He's been quoted in numerous media outlets including Dow Jones and WSJ.com as well as appeared on an ABC news affiliate. |
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Ryan Glaspell For the majority of Mr. Glaspell's professional career, he has worked as an independent financial advisor and has extensive financial services experience. Licensed in 1997, Mr. Glaspell spent time working with non-profit firms and entities to provide tax-sheltered planning strategies for their employees. Mr. Glaspell currently works in the National Accounts role at Sterling Trust. Ryan specializes in partnering with financial professionals to maintain tax efficient strategies in working with alternative investments including: hedge funds, commodity pools, private placement offerings from venture capitalists, real estate, oil and gas exploration as well as precious metals. |
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Rick Harper Head of Fixed Income & Currency Rick Harper serves as the Head of Fixed Income & Currency for WisdomTree Asset Management, where he oversees currency, cash and fixed income products developed through our collaboration with the BNY Mellon Corporation. Rick has over 18 years investment experience in strategy and portfolio management positions at prominent investment firms. Prior to joining WisdomTree in 2007, Rick held senior level strategist roles with RBC Dain Rauscher, Bank One Capital Markets, ETF Advisors, and Nuveen Investments. At ETF Advisors, he was also the portfolio manager for some of the first fixed income exchange-traded funds. He is a graduate of Emory University and earned his MBA at Indiana University. |
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Jim Herrell, CFA Director of Investments Jim brings a wealth of investment management experience to Partnervest, having spent 21 years in the asset management industry. He specializes in alternative assets, particularly hedged and absolute return strategies. A 1988 graduate of UC Santa Barbara, Jim honed his knowledge of hedged strategies as a trader at Kayne, Anderson in Los Angeles. In 1991, he became a partner and head trader at Strome & Co. in Santa Monica. Management expertise coupled with opportunistic investing across a broad spectrum of global markets enabled the fund to grow its assets from $50 million to more than $1.1 billion by the end of 1994. Prior to joining Partnervest Jim helped develop and manage a quantitative multi-strategy hedge fund for the Santa Barbara Market Neutral Fund. |
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Richard Horowitz Richard Horowitz has represented both registered investment companies, including open-end and closed-end funds, and private funds, such as hedge funds and private equity funds, for more than 15 years. He has particular experience with structuring hybrid funds, such as '40 Act registered hedge funds that can be offered to an unlimited number of investors. Mr. Horowitz has advised some of the largest companies in the U.S. mutual fund industry, including Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and Dreyfus Family of Funds. He regularly advises mutual funds on the full range of Investment Company Act issues, including disclosure under the new summary prospectus, affiliation issues, funds, and other compliance issues. Over the years, he has worked on numerous fund merger transactions. He has obtained no action relief on behalf of clients on a variety of issues, including the ability of mutual fund wrap fee programs to charge deferred sales loads and '40 Act issues associated with a three-tier registered fund of hedge funds structure. |
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Matt Hougan Matt Hougan is the president of ETF Analytics and global head of editorial for IndexUniverse. In that role, he serves as editor-in-chief of IndexUniverse.com and the Exchange-Traded Funds Report (ETFR), and senior editor of Journal of Indexes. Widely quoted in the financial media, Hougan is co-manager of CNBC ETF Portfolios and a columnist for RealMoney.com
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Aaron B. Izenstark Managing Director, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer Mr. Izenstark is a Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of IRON Financial. He is responsible for the oversight of IRON's investment management, research and trading capabilities. Mr. Izenstark's focus has been on designing specialized Fixed Income and Equity strategies that seek to reduce portfolio volatility and downside risk while earning competitive returns through full market cycles.
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Arjun Jayaraman Arjun Jayaraman, PhD, CFA Head of Quantitative Research, Portfolio Manager Dr. Jayaraman is a director and quantitative portfolio manager of Causeway. He joined the firm in January 2006 and is head of the quantitative research group. He has been a portfolio manager since January 2006. Dr. Jayaraman has a PhD from New York University (Stern School of Business), a BA in Economics from Columbia University, and is a CFA charterholder.
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Timothy J. Keating Timothy J. Keating is the CEO of Keating Capital, Inc. (KIPO), a publicly-traded business development company that specializes in making pre-IPO investments. Previously, he held senior management positions at Bear Stearns, Nomura and Kidder, Peabody. He is a 1985 cum laude graduate of Harvard College with an A.B. in economics.
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Greg King Greg King manages the Credit Suisse ETN platform and is responsible for creation and distribution of structured investments and exchange traded products to financial advisors. He has been involved with ETNs since their inception in 2006. Mr. King received his MBA from the University of California, Davis and is a CFA charterholder.
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Audrey R. Kinsman Audrey R. Kinsman is a senior managing director and Partner of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors. She is responsible for family office and institutional relationships and is head of the Denver office. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2004, Ms. Kinsman was an analyst with Goldman, Sachs & Co.'s Healthcare Investment Banking Group in New York and San Francisco. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Ms. Kinsman was an associate with Kayne Anderson's Private Investors growth capital private equity group. Ms. Kinsman earned a B.S. in Applied Economics from Cornell University, where she graduated magna cum laude. She graduated with a Masters of Accounting from the University of Southern California in 2004. Ms. Kinsman is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Colorado and a member of the California Society of CPAs (inactive). She is a member of the Rocky Mountain YPO, sits on several not-for-profit boards, and is a certified sommelier. |
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Joe Labella Joe is the Director of Investments for Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp, the registered investment Advisory firm, for Diefendorf Capital Planning Associates. Prior to joining Diefendorf Capital, Joe spent seven years with Morgan Stanley serving in various roles related to portfolio management. He went on to become Sr. Portfolio Strategist with UBS Wealth Management for five years. His specialty is portfolio construction with special attention to alternative investments. Joe has attained the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation as well as the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) certification. Joe has his Series 7, 63 and 65 licenses and is a Registered Fiduciary (RF). He has a B.A. in Economics from Fairfield University. |
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John W. Labuszewski John W. Labuszewski is Managing Director of Research & Product Development at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange where he is responsible for the Exchange's product development efforts. Before coming to the CME in 1998, Mr. Labuszewski was General Manager of Nikko International's U.S. Asset Management Division where he was responsible for the development and operation of managed futures and hedge funds. He has also worked for Virginia Trading Company, a subsidiary of Kleinwort Benson; Refco, Inc. and the Chicago Board of Trade. Mr. Labuszewski is the author of several books regarding financial markets including The CME Group Risk Management Handbook (2010); Investing in Government Securities: Fundamental and Technical Analysis, Portfolio Management and Arbitrage (1994); Trading Options on Futures: Markets, Methods, Strategies & Tactics (1988); Trading Financial Futures: Markets, Methods, Strategies & Tactics, (1988); and, Inside the Commodity Option Markets, (1985). |
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Haodong "Victor" Li Portfolio Manager at EJF Capital LLC Dr. Li rejoined EJF Capital in 2010 after spending two years as a portfolio manager for China Southern Fund Management, Ltd, where he managed the Global Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund, the first QDII mutual fund in China. Between 2001 and 2007, he was the primary hedge fund portfolio manager for the EJF Healthcare Fund and FBR Life Sciences Funds.
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Florence Lombard Florence Lombard is CEO of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, taking the leadership position in January 2011. Florence has been part of the association since its very beginning, as a co-founder with professor Thomas Schneeweis and as an inaugural member of the board of directors. As CEO, she will focus on expanding the CAIA Association's global reach and continuing to increase its relevance and stature as the international gold standard for alternative investment professional and educational development. |
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Christopher D. Long President and Co-Portfolio Manager - Palmer Square Capital Management Chris is responsible for co-managing Palmer Square's alternative investment platform which includes a multi-strategy, open-end mutual fund of funds, an emerging manager partnership fund, and multi-strategy partnership funds. Chris also directs the firm's due diligence effort and sits on the firm's Investment Committee. Chris' previous work experience includes serving as a Managing Director and Investment Committee Member at Guilford Capital which was sold to Mariner Wealth Advisors and serving as a Managing Director and Investment Committee Member at Prairie Capital where he was one of the team members responsible for investment manager due diligence, and the firm's proprietary alternative investment products including numerous hedge fund of funds and private equity fund of funds. |
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Kevin D. Mahn Kevin D. Mahn is the President and Chief Investment Officer of Hennion & Walsh Asset Management. Mr. Mahn is responsible for all of the Wealth and Asset Management products and services offered at the Firm including the SmartTrust® platform of unit investment trusts (UITs). Mr. Mahn is the author of the quarterly "ETF and CEF Insights" newsletter as well as one of the co-authors of the book, Exchange Traded Funds: Conceptual and Practical Investment Approaches. Mr. Mahn is also a frequent contributor to the Forbes Intelligent Investing and Advisor Intelligence blogs and the Seeking Alpha website. Prior to Hennion & Walsh, Mr. Mahn was a Senior Vice President at Lehman Brothers where he held several senior management positions during his eleven year tenure with the Firm. |
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Dan Mercer Mr. Mercer serves as a National Real Estate Director for KBS Capital Advisors. His extensive experience with institutional real estate investments, as well as impaired assets, allows KBS to deliver timely real estate expertise to clients. Prior to joining KBS Capital Advisors, Mr. Mercer was with Grubb & Ellis as Senior Vice President in the Financial Services Advisory Group. Actively involved in the industry for 39 years, he has managed direct investment origination, underwriting, securitization, asset management, hedging and secondary marketing of all real estate asset classes. Mr. Mercer earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Arizona. |
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Thomas Meyer Thomas Meyer is Chief Executive Officer for Meyer Capital Group, a fee only investment management and financial planning firm dedicated to helping their clients build wealth through a consistent, disciplined investment process. This firm, founded in 1963 by his grandfather, has been providing sound financial advice for over five decades. Tom Meyer joined the firm in 1982 and began his career constructing investment portfolios and managing client assets. In 1987, he assumed the position of president and while continuing to focus on providing clients with outstanding customer service, he began preparing the company for change. Tom also had the foresight to see the potential growth of alternative investment strategies in a 40 act structure and how this could provide significant benefits to individual investors while reducing investment risk. |
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Kirk Michie Kirk Michie has been in the investment and wealth management business for more than two decades. Having worked with clients at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., Inc., Bessemer Trust, and Merrill Lynch, Kirk has been involved on a daily basis for twenty three years with all facets of wealth management, including investments, financial and estate planning, asset allocation, retirement income planning, banking, insurance, and family office services. Having been a member of senior management at Wells Fargo and Kayne Anderson Rudnick, Kirk has been integrally involved with strategy, platform development, acquisitions, investment policy, pricing, vendor relations, and compliance. Kirk is also a member of the Financial Advisory Board of Tiburon Strategic Advisors, and is a frequent speaker and panelist at investment and wealth management industry conferences. |
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Lon Morton, President & CEO In 1981 Lon Morton founded Morton Capital Management and became a Registered Investment Advisory firm in 1983, specializing in the practice of tactical asset allocation on a fee only basis. Over 100 of Morton's clients today pre-date 1992, with some having been clients as early as 1969. The firm totals over 600 client relationships with assets of over one billion dollars. Barron's has recognized Lon, for 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. He has been ranked as one of the top 100 independent financial advisors in the nation. In June 2006 Pacific Capital Bancorp, a 47-branch bank holding company (operating as Santa Barbara Bank and Trust), acquired Morton Capital Management. He is currently the chief investment strategist of Pacific Capital Bancorp and President & CEO of Morton Capital Management. |
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James Murchie James Murchie founded EIP in 2003 and is the portfolio manager for all of its funds which focus on energy-related master limited partnerships, income trusts and similar securities. Previously, Mr. Murchie served as head of Lawhill Capital, and he was also a managing director at Tiger Management. He was also a principal at Sanford C. Bernstein where he was a top-ranked energy analyst. Before joining Bernstein, Mr. Murchie spent 8 years at British Petroleum. Mr. Murchie has served on the board of Clark Refining and Marketing Company and as President and Treasurer of the Oil Analysts Group of New York. |
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Erikson Nystrom Erikson is a Managing Partner of Sage Trail Advisors a boutique alternatives-only investment service firm responsible for supporting Baceline's advisory relationships nationwide. Previously Erikson co-founded multiple distribution companies and played critical roles in the launch of recognized platforms for Bank of America, ING, and Dividend Capital. Erikson honed his leadership skills as an Infantry Captain during Operation Desert Storm and as an instructor of the U.S. Army's Ranger School. He has been awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Meritorious Service Medal. |
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Steve Oristaglio Steve Oristaglio As President and co-CIO of SCS Financial, Steve sets the firm's overall investment direction, strategic portfolio asset allocation, and risk management. Prior to SCS, he held leadership positions at Bridgewater Associates, Putnam Investments, Swiss Bank, and Salomon Brothers. He earned a B.S. in Accounting from Bucknell University and an M.S. in Food Economics from the University of Delaware.
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Dominick Paoloni, CIMA® President & CIO of IPS Strategic Capital Dominick Paoloni is the Chief Investment Officer and Founder of IPS Strategic Capital, a derivatives based asset management firm that builds custom structured products and hedge strategies for pensions, endowments and financial advisors. He teaches practical derivatives based strategies at the University of Denver and the University of Colorado at Denver. As a Certified Investment Management Analyst with over 25 years of industry experience he is proficient in the techniques of hedging tail risk. His strategies have been featured in leading investment journals such as Financial Planner, Morningstar Advisor and Investment News. |
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Keith Pettus, CAIA Keith Pettus, CAIA joined SQN Capital Management in July 2010. Most recently a Proprietary Trader with Assent, LLC, Mr. Pettus began his career in finance in late 2002 with American Express Financial Advisors. He previously worked with the SQN team at the largest independent, privately-held equipment finance company in a fundraising capacity. Mr. Pettus received his B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University, is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, CFA Candidate (Charter Pending) and holds FINRA Series 7, 24, 55 & 66 Licenses. He is an active member of the CAIA Association, CFA Society of San Francisco, CFA Institute, FPA and FPA of San Francisco. He resides in San Francisco with his wife Cathy, and young son Colby. |
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Dick Pfister, CAIA® Executive Vice President, Managing Director, Altegris Investments Dick Pfister has 18+ years of alternative investment experience. He is an Executive Vice President, Managing Director of Altegris Investments, where he leads global sales and consulting. Dick is also a Director of the Altegris Funds and is a member of the Altegris Investment Committee. Dick holds a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of San Diego. |
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Howard Present Howard Present is Co-Founder, President and CEO of F-Squared Investments. Prior to F-Squared, Mr. Present was Managing Director and member of the Executive Committee at Evergreen Investments. He ran global product management and strategy, led the successful multi-billion dollar launch into closed end funds, and managed the Alternative Investments, Managed Accounts, VA, and 529 businesses. Before joining Evergreen, he was a Managing Director at Putnam Investments. Mr. Present earned a BS in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Emory University, where he was awarded the Robert W. Woodruff Fellowship for academic excellence. |
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Gerhard Pries Gerhard Pries, Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Sarona Asset Management Inc. Gerhard Pries is Founder and Managing Partner of Sarona Asset Management Inc. and the Sarona funds; Founding Director and Vice-Chairman of MicroVest General Partner Holdings, and Investment Committee member and chairman of several MicroVest funds. He previously served as CFO of MEDA, Founding Chairman of MicroCap Capital Management and Latin America Challenge Investment Fund, Founding Director of International Association of Micro Finance Investors, and as Director of numerous companies in the financial services and agribusiness industries. He cut his teeth equally at PricewaterhouseCoopers and at the feet of Mother Teresa. |
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Jim Pupillo Jim Pupillo has been involved in the investment-management advisory business for twenty-five years. He is a partner and managing director at HighTower Advisors, a Scottsdale-based investment consulting firm. Pupillo graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Administration and Marketing from Indiana University in Bloomington. He began his career with E. F. Hutton's Consulting Group in 1987, before moving to Lehman Brothers Holdings the following year. He joined Citigroup Global Markets in 1993 and then Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in 2009. In 1997, Pupillo earned his Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) designation and his Investment Strategist Certification, both offered by the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA). As a leader in the financial industry, he has served as president of the Association of Professional Investment Management Consultants (APIC) and the Institute for Certified Management Consultants (ICMC). He has also published articles and contributed to several books on the subject of investment strategies and has won multiple awards within the industry. |
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David L. Reichart David L. Reichart, CFA is a Portfolio Advisor with Principal Management Corporation. As a Portfolio Advisor, he is responsible for the day-to-day monitoring and rebalancing of the underlying strategies of the Principal Global Diversified Income Fund, Diversified Real Asset Fund, and Global Multi-Strategy Fund. He also serves as head of Business Development for Principal Funds.
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Jay Rollins Jay Rollins is Managing Principal and Co-Founder of JCR and is responsible for leading the firm and setting JCR's overall strategy. From 1999 to 2005, Mr. Rollins was Managing Director at GMAC Commercial Mortgage, where his team focused on making opportunistic loans to transitional multi-family, retail, office, land and industrial properties. Mr. Rollins was also the President and Founder of Eastern Realty Corporation, an "RTC era" real estate investment company. As General Partner, Eastern Realty resolved, repositioned and sold distressed notes and REO. These disposition efforts included debt restructurings, bankruptcy, litigation and development, as well as note and property sales. |
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David Schulz, CFA President - Convergence Investment Partners David Schulz is the president of Convergence Investment Partners. Previously, he served as the president and chief investment officer of M&I Investment Management Corporation, a $17 billion investment advisory, where he was instrumental in forming proprietary mutual funds, securities lending and asset allocation programs for the firm. He also served as the director of fixed income for M&I and is a former Morningstar Five-Star Manager. David has patented one quantitative investment process and has another patent pending. David is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has a bachelor's degree in finance and accounting from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He is a member of the Security Analysts Society and a former trustee of Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee. |
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Stephen Scott Stephen Scott is a portfolio manager at Van Eck Global, responsible for management, research, due diligence, manager selection and asset allocation for Van Eck's Multi-Manager Alternatives strategies. Prior to joining Van Eck, he was a founding member and principal of Explorer Alternative Management, a hedge fund manager search and selection firm.
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Kenneth L. Settles, CFA Ken is a member of the RS Hard Assets and RS Value Teams, and is involved in the management of the RS Global Natural Resources strategies. Prior to joining the firm in 2006, he was a senior energy analyst at Neuberger Berman where he also co-managed the Premier Energy Portfolio. Previously, Ken was a financial analyst at Salomon Smith Barney. Ken holds a B.A. in economics from Williams College. Ken is a CFA Charterholder.
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Evan Simonoff Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Director Financial Advisor and Private Wealth magazines Evan Simonoff is editorial director of Financial Advisor and Private Wealth magazines and is a founding partner of Charter Financial Publishing Network (CFPN). He has spent more than 20 years as an editor and reporter covering the financial services industry. Simonoff is a widely recognized expert on personal finance and investments. |
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Bob Sinnott Bob Sinnott is president and CEO of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, a $16.5 billion alternative money manager, headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Denver, Houston, New York and Chicago. Eighty-five percent of Kayne's business is in energy investing, principally in the MLP and upstream oil and gas space. It invests through hedge funds, private partnerships, closed end funds and separately managed accounts. Kayne is the largest investor of MLP Equities, Debt and PIPEs. Kayne's MLP team includes over 35 investment professionals, including the former head of energy for UBS/Paine Webber who co-managed the IPOs of most of the original MLPs, the ex-lead analyst for MLPs from Citibank, and five ex-CEOs of MLPS who are directors of Kayne's public funds. Kayne's resources also include five in house petroleum engineers. |
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Steven H. Solys Managing Director, Legacy Private Capital, LLC Steve is the co-founder and managing director of Legacy Private Capital, LLC (a multi-family office) which specializes in sophisticated estate, business, and charitable planning, financial engineering of life insurance and wealth management for highly affluent families. In his 20 years in wealth creation and preservation field, he has worked with many families accomplishing their financial goals as the manager of their objectives. LPC's planning, design and implementation has helped many families: minimize estate taxes, maximize their wealth to heirs and charity and manage their portfolio's using a wide variety of asset classes. |
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David Smith Co-Founder and Group Publisher Financial Advisor and Private Wealth magazines David Smith is a founding partner of Charter Financial Publishing Network (CFPN), a publisher, marketer and distributor of information for the financial services industry. He is co-founder and publisher of Financial Advisor and Private Wealth magazines and other CFPN publications.
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Kenneth E. Steben President & Chief Executive Officer, Steben & Company, Inc. Ken Steben is President and Chief Executive Officer of Steben & Company. A pioneer in the managed futures fund business, Ken founded Steben & Company in 1989. Since that time, he has introduced hundreds of financial advisory firms to managed futures. Steben & Company serves over 23,000 investors with assets in excess of $2 Billion. Steben & Company is registered with the CFTC and SEC, and is a member of the NFA and FINRA. |
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Jennifer Stevenson Vice President & Portfolio Manager GCIC US Ltd. Jennifer Stevenson joined GCIC in 2010. She brings more than 20 years of experience in the energy sector. In addition, Jennifer has a wealth of energy investment banking experience. A well respected oil and gas professional, she began her career with positions at leading Canadian oil and gas producers as well as suppliers Amoco Canada and Petro-Canada. Jennifer has an Advanced Certificate in Petroleum Land Contract Administration, a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Marketing & Finance from the University of Calgary. |
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Clifford W. Stanton, CFA Chief Research Officer & Portfolio Strategist, Envestnet | Prima Mr. Stanton is the Chief Research Officer & Portfolio Strategist for Envestnet | Prima. In this role, Mr. Stanton directs all investment research and manager due diligence efforts, covering both traditional and alternative strategies. In addition, Mr. Stanton serves on the investment committee responsible for developing capital market assumptions and asset allocation strategies, and he is directly responsible for formulating and implementing various multi-asset class, multi-manager portfolios. Prior to joining Envestnet | Prima, Mr. Stanton was a Principal, Consultant and Director of Research for Innovest Portfolio Solutions, LLC, where he consulted to endowments and foundations, retirement plans and high net worth families. Previously, Mr. Stanton held positions as Senior Analyst with INVESCO Private Capital, Inc. and Director of Research with Portfolio Management Consultants, Inc. |
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Kevin Sullivan Senior Vice President and Director of National Sales for Jefferson National. Prior to joining Jefferson National in January of 2012 Kevin was a Senior Vice President at Northern Trust. During his 12 years at Northern Trust Kevin had various roles and responsibilities including the development and management of a portfolio construction desk focused on Northern Trust's high net worth clients, management of the third party sales and distribution teams, key account management and strategic planning for distribution efforts. Prior to joining Northern Trust Kevin spent time at both Stein Roe & Farnham and Calamos Investments. Kevin is a graduate of DePaul University and holds his Series 24, 7 and 63. |
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Mark Sunderhuse Founder & Managing Partner Red Rocks Capital Mark Sunderhuse is a Founder and Managing Director of Red Rocks Capital. Prior to forming Red Rocks Capital in 2003 he was a Partner and Portfolio Manager at Berger Financial Group (now Janus Capital Group). Prior to Berger, Mr. Sunderhuse co-founded Crestone Capital where he managed institutional small cap growth equity products and headed the investment committee at United Banks of Colorado (now Wells Fargo). Mr. Sunderhuse is a governing board member of the Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado with assets in excess of $4 billion and sits on various other boards, including Energy Outreach Colorado. Mr. Sunderhuse has over 30 years of professional investment experience. |
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Michael Underhill Founder & Chief investment officer at Capital Innovations, LLC. He is author of the Handbook of Infrastructure Investing (recommended by the CFA Institute), a professor at EDHEC University teaching Infrastructure Investing and remains one of the world's most provocative, respected financial analysts and an award winning real assets portfolio manager.
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Brian Watson, CFA (Portfolio Manager and Director of Research) Brian serves as Portfolio Manager, Director of Research and as a member of the Investment Committee for SteelPath. Mr. Watson was previously a portfolio manager and led the MLP research effort at Swank Capital LLC. Brian also covered the MLP and Diversified Energy sectors for RBC Capital Markets and worked for Prudential Capital Group, helping to analyze, structure, and invest in debt private placements issued primarily by companies involved in the energy industry.
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Michael Weil President & Chief Operating Officer, American Realty Capital Weil was appointed President of American Realty Capital in February 2012, upholding the company's industry best practice standards and basic principles of risk diversification specific to net lease strategies, which targets real estate triple net leased, long-term, to primarily investment grade and credit worthy tenants. Prior to assuming the helm of RCS, Weil served as Executive Vice President of American Realty Capital.
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Allen Williamson, CIMA® Managing Director, RI A, Strategic Partnership Group, Variable Annuity Allen Williamson is a 30-year veteran in the asset and wealth management industry and joined the firm in March 2009. Prior to Guggenheim Investments, Mr. Williamson served as president of Nuveen Investments' managed asset group, where he developed and led a consultativebased, multi-disciplined product and services platform and built the industry's first advanced wealth management training team for advisors. He also served as a key player in the execution of Merrill Lynch's fee-based wealth management strategy-he was responsible for sales and marketing of all Managed Solutions Group products at the firm. Mr. Williamson earned a B.A. in international studies from the University of South Carolina and a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) certificate from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is series 7, 24 and 66 registered. |
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Robert L. Worthington, CFA President, Hatteras Funds Mr. Worthington is responsible for day-to-day management and oversight of Portfolio Management and Risk Management, including investment products, personnel, and joint venture partner relationships. Through his investment management experience, his strong relationships in the investment advisor community, and his understanding of alternative investment structuring, Mr. Worthington will also drive new product development and management. Additionally, Mr. Worthington serves as a member on the investment committee for several Hatteras funds. Prior to joining Hatteras, Mr. Worthington was a Managing Director at JPMorgan Asset Management in the Firm's Institutional Advisory business. Mr. Worthington joined JPMorgan Asset Management in 2004 after its purchase of Undiscovered Managers, LLC, where he had been President from 2001 and a Managing Director for the three years prior. |