Examining the Domestic Equity Markets

Adrian K. Sancho, MBA
Vice President, Equity Analyst
Inverness Counsel

Nicholas J. Paul, CFA
Institutional Portfolio Manager
MFS Investment Management

Nicholas J. Paul, CFA, is an investment officer and institutional portfolio manager at MFS Investment Management® (MFS®). He serves as a member of the US Equity Growth team, participates in the research process and strategy discussions, assesses portfolio risk, customizes portfolios to client objectives and guidelines and manages daily cash flows.

Nicholas joined MFS in 2010 and most recently served as an investment product specialist, covering a wide range of strategies and asset classes for the firm, before being named to his present position in 2018. Prior to joining MFS, he spent nine years at Putnam Investments as a vice president and investment product manager. In this role, he was responsible for communicating portfolio positioning and strategy to both institutional and retail clients and prospects, developing and launching new products and gathering market intelligence on trends in the global marketplace. He began his career in financial services in 1999.

Nicholas earned an MBA from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, where he graduated with honors, and a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University. He is a CFA charter holder and a member of the Boston Security Analysts Society.

Our portfolio managers are supported by our entire team of investment professionals in nine worldwide offices. The team employs a proprietary investment process to build better insights for our clients. The core principles of our approach are integrated research, global collaboration and active risk management.

Owen Fitzpatrick, CFA
Principal, Managing Director, Lead Portfolio Manager
Aristotle Capital Management

Owen Fitzpatrick is the Lead Portfolio Manager and a Senior Research Analyst at Aristotle Atlantic. Prior to joining Aristotle Atlantic, Owen had multiple roles at Deutsche Asset Management, including Managing Director and Head of the U.S. Equity Platform. As Head of U.S. Equities Owen oversaw all active U.S. equity strategies, and as a Portfolio Manager, he managed the Large Cap Growth and Large Cap Core portfolios. Prior to Deutsche Asset Management, Owen managed equity portfolios for Chemical Bank, where he was also responsible for research coverage of the consumer cyclical sector. Additionally, he served as a Portfolio Manager at Manufacturers Hanover Trust.

Owen earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and his MBA from Fordham University. He is a CFA® charterholder.

Are Value and Small Cap Investing Dead?

Kurt Wood
Director of Client Service
DePrince, Race & Zollo, Inc.

Mr. Wood joined DePrince, Race & Zollo, Inc. in 2004. Mr. Wood is a Partner of the firm and serves as the Director of Client Service for all investment disciplines. Prior to joining DePrince, Race & Zollo, Inc., Mr. Wood was a Partner for an institutional consulting and marketing firm. Mr. Wood began his career at SunBank Capital Management and was responsible for institutional marketing and client service. Mr. Wood is a past Board Member and President of the Association of Investment Management Sales Executives. Mr. Wood received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Clemson University.

Tucker Walsh
Head of Team, Portfolio Manager & Analyst
Polen Capital

Mr. Walsh joined Polen Capital in 2017. He is head of the Small Company Growth Team and lead portfolio manager of the firm’s U.S. Small Company Growth strategy. Prior to joining Polen Capital, Mr. Walsh spent ten years as CEO and Head of Portfolio Management at Copper Rock Capital Partners and nine years as Managing Director and Head of Small Cap Growth Team at State Street Research. He also spent seven years working in research for Cowen & Co., Merrill Lynch & Co., Cowen Asset Management and Chilton Investment Company. Mr. Walsh received a B.A. in Economics from Washington and Lee University.

William J. Adams
Global Investment Strategist
Mellon

Bill is a global investment strategist for the firm’s equity, Small Cap Value, Non-US and Emerging Markets investment disciplines, responsible for communicating the teams’ strategies to clients, prospective clients and consultants. He is a critical interface between client-facing staff and investment teams and guides the messaging and positioning of these investment strategies.

Before joining the firm, Bill was an associate at Deutsche Bank, where he was responsible for European equity research sales. Previously, he was a senior account officer at Putnam Investments, where he managed 401(k) relationships, and a senior account administrator at State Street Research and Management Co. Bill has been in the investment industry since 1995.

Bill earned a BA in political science from Boston College and an MBA in finance from the University of Maryland.

A Review of Active & Passive Investing

Lynn Blake
Executive Vice President 
State Street Global Advisors

Lynn is an Executive Vice President of State Street Global Advisors and CIO of Global Equity Beta Solutions. In this capacity, she oversees a team of 70 portfolio managers globally, and more than 1,600 portfolios with assets in excess of $1.6 trillion across all equity index and smart beta strategies. She also oversees State Street Global Advisors’ ESG Investments and Asset Stewardship Team as well as the Company Stock Group which manages fiduciary transactions and company stock investments, including company stock ownership and 401K plans. In addition, she is a member of the State Street Global Advisors Fiduciary Committee, the Investment Committee, and the IT Steering Committee. Lynn also serves as a member of State Street Global Advisors’ Executive Management Group.

Prior to her current role, Lynn was head of non-US markets of passive equities, responsible for overseeing the management of all non-US equity index strategies, as well as serving as portfolio manager for several equity index portfolios. She joined State Street Global Advisors in 1987.

Lynn has a Master of Business Administration in finance from Northeastern University, and a Bachelor of Science from the Boston College Carroll School of Management. She earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the Boston Security Analyst Society. Lynn serves on the Board for the Posse Foundation Boston, a non-profit organization that partners with top colleges and universities to recruit and sustain outstanding young leaders from diverse backgrounds. She also is a member of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s (SASB) Investment Advisory Group and serves on various index advisory boards.

Lance Garrison, CFA
Vice President & Principal
Portfolio Manager, Growth Equity

Prior to joining the firm in 2007, Mr. Garrison worked at Standard & Poor’s Corporate Value Consulting and Wellington Management Company.  Mr. Garrison is a Chartered SRI Counselor, holds the Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) Credential and is a Subject Matter Expert with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

Additionally, Mr. Garrision serves on the SASB Standards Advisory Group advising on matters of implementation and emerging issues that should be considered in the standards development process.

Kirk McDonald, CFA
Portfolio Manager & Senior Research Analyst, Quantitative
Argent Capital Management

As Portfolio Manager of the Mid Cap Equity strategy, Kirk manages client portfolios and plays a key role in investment decisions. He developed the Mid Cap strategy and began investing in it as of March 2014. He performs primary market research, focusing his analysis across the universe of mid-capitalization stocks. Additionally, Kirk leverages his expertise in quantitative research to lead Argent’s quantitative screening and risk management efforts across all of our strategies.

Kirk, a Chartered Financial Analyst, has 18 years of experience in the industry. Prior to joining Argent in 2011, he was a portfolio manager for Fiduciary Asset Management LLC (FAMCO). His background also includes serving as a senior consultant for Arthur Andersen and as a pilot in the United States Air Force. Kirk earned a B.S. from the United States Air Force Academy and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Oklahoma.

He is a member of the Chicago Quantitative Alliance and co-founder and past president of the St. Louis Chapter of the United States Air Force Academy Association of Graduates. In addition, Kirk is active in the community, volunteering as a committee member for the annual Memorial Day Remembrance at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, and he is also a member of the CQA Investment Challenge, serving as a mentor to a team of students at Washington University.