People

I'm into cars and once won a new Porsche Boxster in a nationwide drawing.Learn more.

Industry Start Date: 1998

KAR Start Date: 2014

Education: B.S. in Economics from Santa Clara University

Credentials: Series 7, Series 66

Recognition: Randy was named a Five Star Wealth Manager in Orange Coast Magazine for the last three years since 2020, a designation awarded to wealth managers who scored highest in overall satisfaction.

Prior to Joining KAR:
Randy worked as a Vice President-Senior Financial Consultant for Charles Schwab & Co. During his 12 years at Charles Schwab, Randy provided private-client investment-management services to high-net-worth families. Randy was consistently recognized as an elite performer by way of 10 consecutive invitations to the Chairman’s Club from 2004-2013. Before that position, he was a First Vice President-Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley, where Randy spent the first four years of his career. While at Morgan Stanley, Randy was presented with the National Sales Director Award, an honor and distinction awarded to the top one percent of Advisors with the firm.

When Not in the Office:
Originally from Portland, Oregon, Randy lives in Newport Beach with his wife, Erica. They have two dogs, Charlie and Sky, who bring a daily dose of energy, joy and entertainment to their lives. As a former NCAA Division I collegiate athlete, Randy enjoys all aspects of sports and fitness. He also enjoys traveling abroad and has a great appreciation for a variety of performing arts.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job?
Competing and winning are the two most rewarding aspects of the job. This industry is extremely competitive and Randy loves competing for an investor’s business and loves winning their trust over time.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KARWA?
What Randy enjoys most about working at Kayne Anderson Rudnick are the people he works with every day. He believes this group is one of the most thoughtful, intelligent and disciplined bunch of individuals he’s associated with in his career.

How Does KARWA Approach Wealth Management Differently?
Periods of market volatility can really test an investor’s patience and commitment to their long-term strategy. At Kayne Anderson Rudnick, we intentionally structure portfolios to be defensive during difficult markets. One technique that has been particularly effective for us over the years involves blending alternative investment strategies together with traditional stock and bond portfolios to truly benefit from diversification.

What Do You Hope to Achieve For Your Clients?
When a client says “Randy, I trust you,” it is the ultimate compliment and it represents the very stage in a relationship that we hope to achieve with all of our clients. Trust is something that is earned over time and to hear those words form the clients you represent is a special thing.

Darnel J. Bentz

I am an avid golfer and used to play on the University of St Andrews golf team.Learn more.

Industry Start Date: 2000

KAR Start Date: 2013

Education: B.S. from Arizona State University, M.B.A. in Finance & Strategy from the University of California, Los Angeles (selected for the Student Investment Fund).

Credentials: Series 7, Series 63, Series 65, Series 86, Series 87, Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC) license

Recognition:
Darnel was recognized as a 2022 Banking & Finance Visionary by the L.A. Times B2B Publishing, named a 2022 Leaders of Influence for Wealth Management by the Los Angeles Business Journal, and was named a Five Star Wealth Manager by Los Angeles Magazine last year, a designation awarded to wealth managers who scored highest in overall satisfaction.

Prior to Joining KAR:
Darnel worked in equity research for KeyBanc Capital Markets covering the gaming and lodging industries. Before working at KeyBanc Capital Markets, Darnel was a Vice President-Financial Consultant for Charles Schwab & Co. During his seven years at Charles Schwab, Darnel provided private-client investment-management services to high-net-worth families.

When Not in the Office:
Darnel loves spending time with his family. He is married to Tamany Vinson Bentz and they have two children, Blaise and Nora. The Bentz’s support the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation, among other organizations. Darnel also enjoys travel, reading, skiing, golf and basketball. He currently resides in Manhattan Beach, California.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job?
Darnell enjoys the collegial, collaborative environment that we have at Kayne Anderson Rudnick. People of all different backgrounds come together and really work hard to help our clients meet their goals.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KARWA?
He loves what he does at KAR because he gets to see people achieve their retirement goals and dreams, save for their children’s education, support their families, and contribute to charitable organizations. It’s really satisfying to be able to give clients peace of mind and confidence in what they’re doing.

How Does KARWA Approach Wealth Management Differently?
With a 30-year history, we’ve seen the ups and downs of the market and we have great experience managing volatility by investing in only the highest-quality companies, along with fixed income and select alternative strategies. We also have a strong track record of playing great defense during the inevitable difficult market environments. This gives our clients a much smoother return along the way.

What Do You Hope to Achieve For Your Clients?
Darnell wants his clients to experience the highest-quality service, to gain valuable peace of mind and to have trust and confidence that we are doing all the right things to help them achieve the goals that they have for their wealth. He hopes to allow them to retire confidently and not worry about their investments or any market volatility. A comprehensive financial plan paired with a customized investment plan keeps his clients on the path to long term success.

Curt M. Biren, CPWA®

I started learning about investing when my best friend in high school told me he got his new car with profits from trading. Decades later I found out he got it from his parents, but I was already hooked.Learn more.

Industry Start Date: 1986

KAR Start Date: 1999

Education: B.A. from the University of California, San Diego, M.A. in Public Policy from George Washington University, M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Credentials: Certified Private Wealth Advisor®

Recognition:
Curt is a member of the Investment Management Consultants Association. He is was named a Five Star Wealth Manager by Los Angeles magazine for the last ten years, a designation awarded to wealth managers who scored highest in overall satisfaction. This resulting list represents less than 2 percent of the wealth managers in the Los Angeles area.

Prior to Joining KAR:
Curt worked as a Financial Adviser at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company.

When Not in the Office:
Curt enjoys spending time with his family. He and his wife, Carolyn, have two daughters, Chloe and Lana. The Birens are involved in several charitable organizations and Curt is an avid golfer, having spent his junior year in college at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He also enjoys reading good books about history, politics and religion.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job?
My primary concern is earning the trust of my clients. Our clients look to us to help them with their investments, their wealth and their financial well-being now and over time. Obviously, trust doesn’t happen overnight, but with the kind of assistance and advice that we give them and the high-level of investment management we provide, we earn their trust over time and that’s what I find most gratifying.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KARWA?
My favorite part about Kayne Anderson Rudnick is the culture. When John Anderson co-founded the firm over thirty years ago, he set the tone. John had enormous success in business, but he came from very humble origins in the Mid-West. He provided an ethic to our culture and our organization that was fantastic. John used to say “Doing the right thing is the right thing to do” and that has permeated our organization since.

How Does KARWA Approach Wealth Management Differently?
In this day and age, there’s a lot of concern and confusion about what’s going on in the investment world. Obviously, the economy and the markets go through ups and downs and with all the distraction and noise out there, it’s pretty easy for one to lose one’s way. We take a lot of pride in helping our clients stay on track, in the sophistication of our investment solutions and in keeping our clients really focused on what’s most important.

What Do You Hope to Achieve For Your Clients?
When assisting my clients with their wealth, I don’t focus solely on their investment portfolio. I also try to assist them with their entire financial well-being. To that end, one of the most important aspects of wealth management is listening to our clients. Each client is different. It’s crucial that we understand a client’s situation, goals and objectives. We take our fiduciary responsibility very seriously and we want to make sure that we understand what our clients’ needs are and what they hope to accomplish over time.

Brian Chang, CFA, CFP®

My family and I were contestants on the game show the Family Feud.Learn more.

Industry Start Date: 2009

KAR Start Date: 2021

Education: B.S., Business Administration, University of California, Berkeley

Credentials: CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst designation), CFP® (Certified Financial Planner)

Recognition: Brian has been recognized in the 2022 InvestmentNews class of 40 Under 40. Selected by a team of reporters and editors out of hundreds of online nominations, these individuals consist of financial advisors and wealth managers and young professionals from the asset management and academic industries who have assembled an impressive list of achievements and goals before turning 40. He has also been featured multiple publications including in Financial Advisor, Wealthmanagement.com, and Citywire.

Prior to Joining KAR:
Brian worked as a Private Wealth Manager at Creative Planning and prior to that he served as a Wealth Advisor at Halbert Hargrove.

When Not in the Office:
When Brian is not spending his weekends teaching CFP courses at UC Irvine, you will find him with his wife and daughter as well as their Shiba-Inu, Friday. He enjoys spending time with family, gardening, traveling, and staying active.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job?
Becoming a Wealth Manager has been a life-long goal for Brian and he is very fortunate to be able to work with his clients. Brian enjoys learning about everyone’s unique situation and developing strategies to help them accomplish their goals. It means the most to him when clients say that they trust him and feel confident in their future. In fact, one of the best compliments that stuck with Brian over the years is that he brings a calm presence to wealth management.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KARWA?
Brian loves the team-oriented environment! We are extremely proud of our honest, cooperative, and transparent culture and everyone has a significant role in shaping this culture. He is constantly in awe of everyone’s knowledge, expertise, friendliness, and willingness to help each other and our clients succeed. Brian feels grateful and proud to be working with everyone here.

What Do You Hope to Achieve For Your Clients?
Brian hopes to help them reach their financial goals in life and give them peace of mind along the way. He believes that combining our investment strategy with our wealth management advice, his clients will never have to worry about money again.

Thomas E. Connaghan, III

My bucket list includes traveling to 100 countries. So far I am at 35.Learn more.

Industry Start Date: 1992

KAR Start Date: 2011

Education: M.B.A., Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, B.A., Classics from the University of Notre Dame

Credentials: Registered Investment Adviser Representative, Series 65, Certificate in Financial Planning (the UK FSA qualification)

Recognition: Tom was named on the Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” list for 2018-2021.

Prior to Joining KAR:
Tom worked as Vice President in the Institutional Group for Fisher Investments, a global wealth manager based in Woodside, California. During his nearly 10 years at Fisher Investments, Tom provided private client as well as institutional investment management services to high-net-worth families, public, corporate and multi-employer relationships in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. His depth of knowledge in global capital markets and portfolio management has helped clients make informed decisions regarding their specific financial plans. Tom also served as a Director in the Financial Services Group at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and was responsible for providing strategic public finance services to state and local governments.

When Not in the Office:
Tom enjoys spending time with his family around San Francisco’s Bay Area. He is married and has four children. The Connaghans support the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation, Pathways Home Health and Hospice, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, St. Raymond’s Catholic Church among other organizations. Tom spends any free time outdoors, as he likes to golf, surf, bike and coach his children’s teams. He also enjoys trying new cooking recipes, recording and playing music and is a loyal fan of Notre Dame Football and Soccer. Additionally, Tom is involved with ProVisors, a network of top-rated professionals that enable Tom to provide his clients with very helpful and knowledgeable referrals.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job?
One of the most rewarding aspects of Tom’s job is working with successful individuals who have incredible life stories. Tom partners with them to develop a plan to help them with financial freedom so they can live the lifestyle they want.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KARWA?
Tom enjoys working at KAR because of the variety of clients he gets to work with. We work with individuals who are in the early stages of their careers and are looking to grow their assets, as well as individuals who are at or nearing retirement and are looking for capital preservation and diversified income streams. We also work with individuals and families who are thinking about the most efficient way to pass on their wealth to future generations.

How Does KARWA Approach Wealth Management Differently?
We do things differently here at Kayne Anderson Rudnick. For over thirty years, we have been solely focused on high-net-worth individuals and investment management. With over a quarter of our employees focused on research, we can offer access to both proprietary strategies not widely available to the general investing public as well as external managers offering best-in-class strategies.

What Do You Hope to Achieve For Your Clients?
Tom hopes to help his clients achieve financial freedom and security. He recently worked with a client who was anticipating a big windfall from his professional endeavor. They worked together to create a plan for when that event would happen – working on income, potential lifestyle changes and how to invest that money tax- efficiently – so that he and his family could enjoy the lifestyle they had worked so hard to achieve.

Dustin Gale, CFP®, CPWA®

I rode a 2-day, 200-mile bike ride to benefit cancer researchLearn more.

Industry Start Date: 2005

KAR Start Date: 2015

Education: B.S. in Business Administration and Finance from the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management.

Credentials: CFP®(Certified Financial Planner), CPWA®(Certified Private Wealth Advisor), Series 7, Series 66, California Health and Life Insurance licenses.

Recognition: Dustin was recognized as a 2022 Banking & Finance Visionary by the L.A. Times B2B Publishing. Dustin was named a Five Star Wealth Manager by Los Angeles Magazine for the last three years, a designation awarded to wealth managers who scored highest in overall satisfaction.

Prior to Joining KAR:
Dustin was a Vice President, Private Banker for Wells Fargo’s Wealth Management Group, where he provided investment management services to high net worth individuals, their families and their businesses. Before that position, he was a Premier Client Manager-Assistant Vice President with Bank of America, where Dustin spent the first four years of his career.

When Not in the Office:
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Dustin currently lives in Encino with his wife and two sons. Dustin is the immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors at Project ECHO, a non-profit which organizes annual at-risk youth High School Entrepreneurship and Business Plan Competitions on campus at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management among other organizations he works with in Los Angeles. Dustin is an avid surfer, golfer, reader, snowboarder, and traveler.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job?
I’m passionate about what I do because I get to work with my clients, my friends and my family in order to help them find peace of mind. In this day of age, with access to smartphones, social media, information on the Internet, there is a ton of noise out there. This noise can be disseminated extremely quickly, which can be overwhelming to individual investors. When we set a strategic plan for our clients, we know that we’re setting a disciplined approach to allow our clients to go out and enjoy their lives without paying too much attention to the daily noise.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KARWA?
I enjoy working at KAR because of the culture. Every team member knows that at the end of the day the clients’ interests come first. Mr. John Anderson said it best; “Do the right thing.”

How Does KARWA Approach Wealth Management Differently?
We approach wealth management differently in that we aren’t just focused on two-asset portfolios of stocks and bonds. We look at alternative strategies in order to help protect our clients on the downside but also capture up-market swings. Having a background in financial planning, I look at both sides of my clients’ balance sheets, along with their goals, to make sure we’re taking a holistic approach to their financial needs. From there, we create customized asset allocation strategies.

What Do You Hope to Achieve For Your Clients?
My goal is to help my clients find peace of mind while achieving their previously established goals. I don’t want my clients worrying about their investment portfolios or current financial condition. If the expectations and stage are set properly, routine reviews should be the only times that my clients are focusing on their investments. After all, that’s why they’re hiring a professional wealth advisor.

Kevin O'Regan, CFP®, CIMA®

Once took a road trip from Utah to Maine using the book “Eat Your Way Across the USA” as a map.Learn more.

Sam Waltman, CFA, CFP®

I love sci-fi - I have watched every episode of every Star Trek series.Learn more.

Industry Experience Start Date: 2003

KAR Start Date: 2016

Education: M.B.A., Cornell University, Johnson School of Management, B.A., Technical Sales, Weber State University

Credentials: CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst designation), CFP® (Certified Financial Planner)

Prior to Joining KAR:
Sam was a Vice President, Private Banker for Citi Private Bank and a Vice President, Private Client Advisor for JPMorgan.

When Not in the Office:
Sam lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with his wife, Amy and their five children. Together, they enjoy spending time in the mountains and doing things like mountain biking and skiing. Sam enjoys a variety of sports and he is a regular participant in local and regional squash tournaments.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KARWA?
I love connecting with my clients on a personal level and being in touch with them frequently as they make important decisions for themselves and their families. I enjoy working with my colleagues at KAR and I have a firm belief that we are all trying to do what is best for our clients.

How Does KARWA Approach Wealth Management Differently?
KAR is different from many other wealth management firms in that we have the flexibility to build a customized portfolio for each and every one of our clients. Sam believes that this leads to better outcomes in the long run and a higher level of client satisfaction. He wants clients to feel like he knows them as individuals and that he is not just trying to fit them into a pre-determined “bucket” or allocation.

What Do You Hope to Achieve For Your Clients?
First and foremost, Sam hopes to earn clients’ trust over time by demonstrating that he cares about their personal and financial well-being above all. Sam wants clients to feel like they understand the value that we provide at KAR and that he listens to them and their individual wants and needs. He wants clients to feel confident that they are on the right path to achieve their most important financial objectives and to protect their hard-earned wealth.

Grace Apuy, CFP®, CDFA™

I am an active volunteer at NKLA animal shelter in West LA. In 2020 I fostered ten dogs (not all at once)!
Learn more.

Carina Berlin, CFP®

Oren is an outdoor enthusiast and has camped in 10 national parks so far.Learn more.

Industry Start Date: 2013

KAR Start Date: 2021

Education: B.A. in Political Science from Rollins College, Winter Park, FL

Licenses: CFP® (Certified Financial Planner), Series 65

Prior to Joining KAR:
Carina worked at Capital Group for the past eight years, most recently as a Client Relationship Specialist

When Not in the Office:
Carina enjoys hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains and staying active. She recently joined the Pickleball craze that is sweeping the nation! She is also very passionate about animal rescue and has been volunteering consistently with Best Friends Animal Society here in LA for the past six years. She assists in providing regular care and exercise to animals in their adoption facility, has also done a great deal of transport, adoption support, and fostering.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job?
Carina enjoys helping clients make some of the biggest decisions of their lives! Whether it’s purchasing their dream home or retiring a few years early, she has shown clients projected outcomes that have given them a level of comfort as they embark on something new. Carina considers it her job to raise both benefits and concerns of any given decision to ensure that they are making a sound financial decision or investment.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KARWA?
There is a tremendous level of collaboration and respect between colleagues at Kayne Anderson Rudnick. Each client has a dedicated team, but behind the scenes we are constantly sharing ideas and best practices. Our clients truly benefit from the knowledge and expertise of the entire firm.

How Does KARWA Approach Wealth Management Differently?
Investing in quality is one of the tenets of the investment philosophy at Kayne Anderson Rudnick. Our analysts do in-depth research on each company in which we invest, ensuring that each company has top-notch management, competitive protections, strong fundamentals, and profitable growth. Not only is quality our investing philosophy but it’s also our people philosophy and plays an important part in how how we approach culture.

What Do You Hope to Achieve For Your Clients?
Carina wants all the clients she works with to have an investment strategy, solid portfolio, and financial plan in place that they understand and feel good about. She want them to know that they are being smart with money and have a trusted advisor who leading the way in terms of their portfolio and other financial decisions.

Oren Cabir, CFA

I spend all my free time riding my horse, Cambridge, preparing him for the show ring.Learn more.

Industry Start Date: 2012

KAR Start Date: November 2022

Education: M.B.A., UCLA Anderson School of Management, 2020
B.A., Economics, UCLA, 2012

Credentials: CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst designation), Series 7, Series 63

Prior to Joining KAR:
Prior to joining KAR, Oren was an Associate Portfolio Manager at City National Rochdale where he was responsible for managing $1 billion in assets under management for high-net-worth individuals and their families, foundations, and trusts. Oren specialized in portfolio construction designed to fit clients’ personalized risk-return profiles. He managed trading, asset allocation decisions, and portfolio re-balancing of diversified equities, fixed income, and alternatives investments.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job:
Oren enjoys developing close and personal relationships with his clients. He believes that he is contributing positively to clients’ lives by managing and advising on their wealth. He spends a tremendous amount of time and effort to understand what clients are trying to accomplish, and then ensures he and his team are managing and monitoring those goals.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KARWA:
Oren loves working with so many talented individuals. He feels the team is thoughtful, collaborative, and extremely intelligent. KAR prides itself on always doing what is right for the client!

What Are You Involved in Outside of Work:
Outside of work, Oren enjoys spending time outdoors hiking and camping. He is an avid soccer fan and supports Real Madrid FC. He stays active playing soccer on a weekly basis and loves traveling with his wife Shantelle and their son Liran.

How Does KARWA Approach Wealth Management Differently?
KARWA truly takes a holistic approach when managing wealth for our clients by taking the time to understand clients’ specific goals and objective.

What Do You Hope to Achieve For Your Clients?
I hope to provide my clients with peace of mind, knowing that someone is advocating for their best interest and is caring for their financial health.

Bridget E. Costello, CFP®

My fiancé and I grew up in the same hometown. We went to the same junior high, high school and college. But somehow we didn't start dating until our late 20s! Learn more.

Tyler Sterk, CPA, CFP®

In my last year of college, my landlord was a Four Seasons Chef. We had an arrangement that I would handle all of his personal finances in exchange for meals. Learn more.

Industry Start Date: 2018

KAR Start Date: 2022

Education: B.A. in Business Economics with an Accounting Emphasis, University of California, Santa Barbara

Credentials: CFP (Certified Financial Planner^TM), CPA (Certified Public Accountant), Series 66

Prior to Joining KAR:
Tyler worked as an Associate Wealth Advisor at a boutique wealth firm called Brown Wealth Management (BWM), where he specialized in tax saving strategies for high income earners and building customized investment portfolios to help clients achieve their financial goals. Before working at BWM, Tyler spent two years as a Associate Wealth Advisor at Merrill Lynch, after starting his career as a Tax Accountant for business owners and professional athletes at Hamilton Tharp.

When Not in the Office:
Tyler enjoys being active and outdoors, whether it’s at the beach, on the slopes, or on the golf course. He’s the youngest of three, and has four nieces and one nephew living nearby. He’s also a loyal fan of the San Diego Padres and LA Chargers.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job?
The most rewarding part for Tyler is developing personal and trusting relationships with his clients. It’s a great privilege and responsibility to be a key decision maker in the financial affairs of so many bright, successful individuals.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KARWA?
Tyler loves the passion and commitment to excellence that his colleagues at KAR embody everyday. Our firm takes great pride in the long-lasting relationships we’ve developed with our clients and strives to create a culture built on loyalty, honesty and trustworthiness.

How Does KARWA Approach Wealth Management Differently?
Our investment management team is committed to quality. We diversify our risk not by owning a bunch of average companies, but by carefully selecting top business with consistent earnings, low debt, and strong cash flow. These are the companies most likely to produce great results no matter what the market environment.

What Do You Hope to Achieve For Your Clients?
Tyler loves putting in the time to truly understand how clients think and feel about money, so he can ultimately create a sustainable financial plan that will help them use money as a tool to do all the things in life that are most meaningful to them.

Thomas Pontius, CFP®

Financial Planner

Industry Start Date: 2016

KAR Start Date: 2021

Education: UCLA Anderson School of Management M.B.A, Finance Concentration – Expected 2023, B.B.A. Accounting, Finance Minor, Temple University, Fox School of Business

Credentials: Series 65, CFP^®(Certified Financial Planner)

Prior to Joining KAR:
Thomas worked as a Wealth Planner for Wells Fargo Private Bank, providing tax and estate planning advice to high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients. Prior to Wells Fargo, Thomas worked as a tax accountant for EY, and Anderson in their Private Client Services groups during tax compliance, and consulting for individuals, trust, partnerships, S-corporations, and estates.

When Not in the Office:
Thomas enjoys checking out everything Los Angeles has to offer. Whether it’s the beach, mountains, or desert, he enjoys them all. He also enjoys going to shows, and concerts to see historic venues and theaters in the city. To stay active, he plays squash golf, rides his bike and is attempting to take up tennis.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job?
Thomas really enjoys hearing our about our clients lives, what’s important to them, and values that drive their decisions. Being early in his career, their insights provide a lot perspective into what is important to different people. Thomas feels that he learns just as much from our clients as our clients learn from him.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KARWA?
Working with a great group of highly motivated individuals. There is a strong sense of community and pride within the organization and that makes it very easy to come to work everyday. The collaborative nature of the group also supports that sense of community and helps better the work and advice we provide to clients.

How Does KARWA Approach Wealth Management Differently?
The advisor team at KAR has some of the best relationships Thomas has seen between clients and their advisors. The attentiveness and care the advisor team approaches their clients with is second to none. He believes the clients at KAR feel very close with their advisors and appreciate that relationship

What Do You Hope to Achieve For Your Clients?
At a high level, Thomas hopes to provide them financial peace of mind and be a professional they can trust to help them make complicated financial decisions.
He also hopes to provide the advice that allows our clients to go forward and achieve their financial goals. Many of our clients are at a point in their lives where they have achieved their career goals. Now its time to understand what their other goals are and what it takes financially to achieve them.

I'm an avid soccer fan and play weekly in my spare time. I also enjoy traveling domestically and internationally to games and stadiums to experience it all as fan firsthand.
Learn more.

Rosalie Haglund, CFP®

Wealth Advisor Associate

Industry Start Date: 2006

KAR Start Date: 2017

Education: B.S., Business Administration, University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business

Licenses: CFP® (Certified Financial Planner), Series 65

Prior to Joining KAR:
Rosalie was an Assistant Vice President for Oakwood Capital Management. Before that position, she was a Client Operations Associate with Fisher Investments. She has also worked in international finance as an intern with various banks such as Bank of America and Union Bank.

When Not in the Office:
Rosalie enjoys traveling, soccer, the beach and giving back to the community.

What Do You Most Enjoy About Your Job:
Rosalie enjoys helping people and developing very close and long-lasting relationships with clients and their families. She strives to bring attentiveness, initiative, and enthusiasm to ensure our clients are engaged in a high-touch client service experience.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KAR?
Rosalie enjoys working at a firm that promotes idea-sharing and a culture of innovation and initiative. Being part of a collaborative environment allows us to grow individually and as a whole, in order to provide effective and customized wealth management solutions to our clients.

How Does KARWA Approach Wealth Management Differently?
Our firm cares and acts in the best interests of the client at all times. We consistently provide unique resources on an individual and firm-wide level to our clients such as: webinars, podcasts, insights, and client events, so that our clients are up to date on all topics ranging from the economic outlook to legislation changes and how it directly impacts their portfolio.

What Do You Hope to Achieve For Your Clients?
Rosalie’s goal is to rise to the occasion at all times and provide an exceptional and invaluable level of service so that clients feel that they can trust, delegate, and achieve that financial peace of mind that they’re looking for.

I have been all over the world on bicycle.Learn more.

Research Experience Start Date: 1999

KAR Start Date: 2002

Sector Coverage: Small and mid-capitalization financials and information technology sectors

Todd Manages: Small Cap Core, Small Cap Sustainable Growth, Small Cap Quality Select, Global Small Cap

Education: B.S., Finance, Northern Arizona University
M.B.A., University of Southern California

Prior Work Experience:
Associate Analyst, Equity Research – Prudential Securities
Equity Research Associate – RNC Capital Management

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job:
I love learning about different kinds of very interesting companies—what makes good business and how it can differentiate itself from its competitors. I enjoy the combination of developing an understanding of a business’ unique attributes with the intellectual challenge of investing and the requirement of cultivating a view that is oftentimes different from prevailing wisdom.
Also, the experience of coming into the industry in 1999, when things were pretty euphoric in the market and then living through the market downturns in 2002 and 2008 has given me a lot of perspective in seeing the highs and lows of investor emotions. I believe this helps me maintain objectivity in times when emotions can run high.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KAR:
The most enjoyable part about working at KAR is having the freedom to find investments wherever they may be. I am empowered to manage the portfolio in a way that I truly believe and I am supported by strong analytical resources to help me in this endeavor.

What Are You Involved in Outside of Work:
When I’m not working I like to spend time with my kids coaching their sports teams. My two sons play baseball and I feel like I am reliving my youth with them when I get out there on the field and coach their teams.

I am also involved in helping the public education system in Los Angeles. I am on a Young Professionals Board of the largest charter school organization in the city and we help thousands of inner-city kids get a better education.

I was born in the American Hospital... in Paris! Learn more.

Julie Biel, CFA

I am a huge baseball fan (Dodgers!) and own over 20,000 baseball cards.Learn more.

Research Experience Start Date: 2008

KAR Start Date: 2013

Sector Coverage: Small and mid-capitalization information technology and health-care sectors

Julie Manages: Small-Mid Cap Sustainable Growth, Long-Short

Education: M.B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., Economics and Psychology, New York University

Prior Work Experience:
Equity Research Associate – Imperial Capital
Equity Research Associate – Merrill Lynch

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job:
Julie loves our process and philosophy and will tell anyone who listens about it. Most investors have to have an opinion on every stock, because if it’s cheap enough, you should buy it. You can sometimes get into stocks with businesses you’re not quite sure about because they’re cheap. At Kayne, if she comes across a business and can be pretty sure it will never reach our quality standards, she doesn’t need to do any more work. She doesn’t need to agonize that at some magic price, we should buy it. This gives her so much more time and headspace to just focus on understanding the quality businesses we own, and new candidates we could invest in.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KAR:
Julie feels really lucky to work with such humble people who really try to take the emotion and ego out of investing. Some of our PMs have records anyone would dream of, but you can go into their office and the first thing they’ll tell you is all the mistakes they’ve made. Most PMs, you could spend an hour talking to them about how things are going lately, and you wouldn’t really be able to tell if they’re having a good quarter or bad quarter just by their moods. The long-term focus and a conviction in quality really shines through the team. The temperament of our team, patient, thoughtful, and thorough, is what really sets us apart.

What Are You Involved in Outside of Work:
Outside of work, Julie rides and competes horses in show jumping. The competitions are based on jumping the fences cleanly and quickly. It’s a huge rush of adrenaline, but it is also about the relationship you build with an animal without words. It satisfies both a need to compete, as well as a chance to connect. It’s also so expensive, she’ll never be able to retire from KAR 🙂

Jon K. Christensen, CFA

I lived six years in Germany as a child, and I eat my fries with mayo.Learn more.

Research Experience Start Date: 1995

KAR Start Date: 2001

Sector Coverage: Small and mid-capitalization health-care and industrials sectors

Jon Manages: Small Cap Core, Small Cap Sustainable Growth, Small Mid Cap Core and Mid Cap Core

Education: M.B.A., California State University, Long Beach, B.S., Mathematics/Applied Science, University of California, Los Angeles

Prior Work Experience:
Portfolio Manager and Senior Research Analyst – Doheny Asset Management

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job:
Jon really loves investing. It is an exciting profession to be in because you are always learning something new—a new business model, a new technology, a new consumer product, a new way to conduct business. It can be very humbling, but the beauty of the profession is that you are learning every day that you come into the office.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KAR:
One of the things Jon enjoys most about working at KAR is the people. Working with a great group of people that continually challenge you intellectually.

One of the other things he truly enjoys is that he fundamentally believes in our high-quality approach to investing. Every day we are examining really great businesses, really digging in and challenging each other as to why these are or are not great businesses. As a result, we all make each other better as investors. That makes coming to work every single day a truly enjoyable experience.

What Are You Involved in Outside of Work:

While Jon thoroughly enjoys work, family is by far the most important thing to him. Jon has two kids that keep him very busy. He has coached their sports teams since they were three years old. They learn from Jon but, most importantly, Jon learns from them as well and that helps him be a better parent.

Outside of that, he reads and loves being active. Jon runs, skis and plays tennis. He is also am very involved in his church.

Hyung Kim

I can’t live without humor. I adore Mark Twain. On special occasions, I write humorous poems for friends and family.Learn more.

Julie Kutasov

I like to go on hikes with my kids and follow Boston sports teams.Learn more.

Richard Sherry, CFA

I enjoy photography and have pictures from my travels around the world. I have also been the company fantasy football champ four times and counting.Learn more.

Research Experience Start Date: 1998

KAR Start Date: 1995

Sector Coverage: Large-capitalization communication services, energy, financials, and utilities sectors

Richard Manages: Large Cap Quality Value, Global Dividend Yield, Equity Income

Education: M.B.A., Finance, University of Southern California, B.A., Economics, University of California, Los Angeles

Prior Work Experience:
Marketing Analyst – Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management
Operations/Marketing Supervisor – Pilgrim Asset Management

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job:
Richard enjoys the fact that there is always something new to learn. It could be a new business that we have never looked at in the past or it could be re-examining a business that we have haven’t looked at in a number of years. We are constantly getting new pieces of information that give us more knowledge. He loves learning about new things and you really get to satisfy your curiosity with this job.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KAR:
Richard loves working at KAR because it is a very collegial and open company. We are not the kind of place where everyone shuts their door and stays to themselves. We work together and we talk about things all the time. From that, you get different perspectives and you learn more than if you are just off on your own. We spend a lot of time together educating each other. Richard believes this leads to more knowledge and, therefore, better investment results for our clients.

What Are You Involved in Outside of Work:
Time outside of work is spent with family. Richard has two boys and they keep him busy, whether it is helping them with their homework or shuttling them to different activities. They also like to go to the park to play ball and love to hike. If he has any free time, he loves to read history, financial books and if he totally wants to escape, he’ll read some Stephen King.

Craig Stone

I served 6 years in the Marine Corps Reserve as an anti-tank assaultman.Learn more.

Craig Thrasher, CFA

I knew I wanted to work in finance after my 5th grade class did a stock picking challenge. Learn more.

Research Experience Start Date: 2004

KAR Start Date: 2008

Sector Coverage: International small cap, emerging markets small cap portfolios

Craig Manages: International Small Cap, International Small-Mid Cap, Emerging Markets Small Cap, Global Small Cap

Education: M.B.A. , University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business, B.S., Business and Public Administration, concentration in Finance, University of Arizona

Prior Work Experience:
Equity Analyst – Kirr, Marbach & Company

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job:
What Craig enjoys most about investing is that it involves solving a wide range of very complex problems. When you do your work on an investment, you conduct a lot of research and analysis and then you form a hypothesis about the investment you are either going to make or not make. When you do this over a number of companies over a number of years you get to test your investment hypotheses over time. Through this process, you get to learn a lot and Craig finds that to be very fascinating and rewarding.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KAR:
One of the best things about working at KAR for Craig, is that the firm’s investment philosophy is the same as his own personal investment philosophy. There are a lot of different ways to approach investing, but he believes that if you are going to excel you really need to believe in what you are doing. Craig spends a lot of time studying and thinking about investing and really does believe that the most important aspect of any investment decision is the quality of the business. There aren’t a lot of other firms out there that place as much emphasis on business quality as we do here at KAR and that makes it very satisfying to come to work every day.

What Are You Involved in Outside of Work:
Outside of work, Craig really enjoys traveling. He has traveled to over 40 countries outside of the U.S. and enjoys visiting new places, observing different cultures and seeing how people live throughout the world.

Another thing that he finds fulfilling outside of work is participating in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Craig has been a Big Brother for over seven years and his little brother and he have been able to do things together that he’s not sure he would have had a chance to do if it were not for the program. Some of the things they have done together include taking him to see snow for the first time, teaching him to ride a bike and to swim. It has been very rewarding for Craig to be a part of these activities with him.

Chris Wright, CFA

Growing up, I spent 7 years attending a music school in addition to regular schooling. I am a big fan of music and singing -- you can likely find me at any local karaoke spot! Learn more.

Ekaterina Advena

I like to surf, ski and run with the hope that staying active will promote an enduring vigor to keep up with my wife and daughter.Learn more.

Sean Dixon

Learn more.

Noran Eid

I ran track in college and hope to run a marathon in the next year.Learn more.

David Forward

I enjoy taking multi-day hiking trips either close to home in the Sierras or in other mountain ranges in the U.S. and abroad. Learn more.

Sean Pompa

I love written and spoken word. I learned English when I moved to America as a child mostly from reading books and performed in school productions in my teens.Learn more.

Research Experience Start Date: 2016

KAR Start Date: 2021

Sector Coverage: International and emerging markets small cap portfolios

Education:
M.B.A. University of California, Los Angeles
B.S.B.A., Finance, West Virginia University
B.A. Political Science, West Virginia University
One-Year Certificate Program, Mandarin Chinese, Zhejiang University

Prior Work Experience:
Research Analyst – Weitz Investment Management, Inc.
Research Analyst – First Pacific Advisors, LP
Associate National Bank Examiner – Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job:
The analyst role is multifaceted and combines a lot of Sean’s interests. One of the main goals is to find the best businesses around the world at attractive valuations, but to do that you have to approach the work like a business strategist, an investigative journalist, a forecaster, and an odds-maker among other things. While it’s secondary to our bottoms-up process, covering international and emerging markets means you also have to be aware of where macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions are prone to deteriorate, remain stable, or improve and Sean really likes that added layer of complexity.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working at KAR:
Sean feels fortunate to work with a fun, collaborative group that shares an investing philosophy that mirrors his own. By focusing on business quality first and defining that term in a broadly similar way, he believes it helps us cut through a lot of the noise in the market, elevate the debates that we have on individual companies, and it improves the odds of long term investing success. The philosophy is the north star, but as individuals on a team, we also have a lot of flexibility to keep improving the more granular aspects of the research process and decide what to prioritize our time on.

What Are You Involved in Outside of Work:
Sean enjoys anything related to the outdoors, traveling to new places, movies, cooking, and playing guitar.

Arthur Su, CFA

Research Analyst

Adam Xiao, CFA