EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
COMPLIANCE AND ADVISORY BOARD
David Kang, MBA, Chairman and CEO:
Mr. Kang is Chairman and CEO and is a member of the Executive Committee, leading and driving the strategic vision of the firm globally. He leads business development with the President and leads strategic initiatives with the Senior Advisors. He is Managing Partner of RSMD Investco LLC, the primary shareholder of Ducenta Squared Asset Management and is the CEO and President of the RIA R Squared Inc., an affiliate of RSMD Investco LLC. Mr. Kang has 20+ years experience in the financial markets, investments, and commercial real estate, having managed over $3 billion of assets. Prior to founding RSMD Investco LLC, Mr. Kang ran his family business while creating and managing his family office. Mr. Kang began his career in private wealth at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Mr. Kang received his Bachelor of Science degree in Pre-Med at University of California, Irvine and his executive Master of Business Administration degree from University of California, Irvine. He is currently an Advisory Board Member at Merage School of Business i) Center for Real Estate and ii) the Center for Investment and Wealth located at the University of California, Irvine. Mr. Kang has published in the Journal of Medicine and Genetics v.12, No. 4.
Brian Kim, CFA, President:
Mr. Kim serves as President and is a member of the Executive Committee as well as a voting member of the investment Policy and Strategy Committee. Mr. Kim is responsible for managing the Firm, collaborating with senior investment professionals on investment strategy and helping drive the strategic vision. Mr. Kim leads business development with the CEO and works closely with Senior Advisors on diversity initiatives. Mr. Kim is a partner at RSMD Investco LLC, the primary shareholder of Ducenta Squared Asset Management, responsible for strategic initiatives and acquisitions. Mr. Kim has over 28 years of fixed income experience with expertise in interest rates and foreign exchange derivatives, structured credit, liability management and debt restructuring. Prior to joining RSMD, he worked at Greylock Capital Management where he was responsible for Investments in Greece and non-performing loans. Prior to Greylock, Mr. Kim was a senior advisor to the Minister of Finance in Greece in 2015. Previously, Mr. Kim was a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers International Europe in London where he led the recovery of assets and negotiating creditors claims post-bankruptcy and where he helped build the derivative and debt capital markets group pre-bankruptcy. Prior to Lehman, he held various positions in derivatives origination, emerging markets debt capital markets and liability management at HSBC (London), JPMorgan (New York) and Bear Stearns (New York). Mr. Kim earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Williams College and is a CFA® charterholder. Mr. Kim previously held NASD Series 7 and 63 licenses and was an Approved Person by the FSA (UK).
Jason Rall, Chief Compliance Officer
Mr. Rall joined Bradford & Marzec, now part of Ducenta Squared, in 2000. As Chief Compliance Officer Mr. Rall is responsible for all aspects of the compliance program for the firm. With more than 25 years of investment industry experience, he brings a significant background in functional areas of data management, systems administration, investment operations and regulatory/internal compliance. Prior to Bradford & Marzec, Mr. Rall was affiliated with Farmers Insurance, Scudder Kemper Investments and Capital Group. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of California, Riverside and the IACCP designation, having successfully completed the Investment Advisor Certifies Compliance Professional Program.
Jeffrey Brothers, CFA:
Mr. Brothers serves as Chief Investment Officer, leading the investment team and overseeing the investment process. Mr. Brothers is also a member of the investment Policy and Strategy Committee and the Executive Committee of the Firm. Mr. Brothers joined Bradford Marzec, now part of Ducenta Squared Asset Management, in 1994 and has 36 years of investment industry experience. Mr. Brothers leads and is a voting member of the Investment Policy and Strategy Committee, where the top-down and sector allocations are determined. He works closely with the portfolio managers and oversees the top-down analysis being articulated through the bottom-up part of the investment process. Prior to becoming Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Brothers was a Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Securitized products where he developed and performed research and implemented investment strategies for the mortgage-backed, asset-backed, commercial mortgage-backed, U.S. agency and treasury inflation-protected securities sectors of the market. During his tenure with Bradford & Marzec, he also managed the domestic trading desk, analyzed structured products and developed quantitative tools. Prior to joining Bradford & Marzec, Mr. Brothers worked for Wilshire Associates as a member of the institutional fixed income services group where he focused on portfolio and security analyses including performance attribution, benchmark risk comparisons, scenario analysis and risk management. Mr. Brothers began his career at Merrill Lynch Capital Markets in the institutional fixed income sales department, specializing in marketing mortgage-backed, U.S. government and money market securities to institutional asset managers. Mr. Brothers earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of California at Los Angeles and Master of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in investments from the University of Southern California. He is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the Los Angeles Society of Financial Analysts.
Dr. Emilio T. Gonzalez PhD, Senior Advisor to Executive Committee:
Dr. Gonzalez serves as Chairman of Ducenta's Advisory Board and Senior Advisor to Ducenta’s Executive Committee on all local, state, national and international matters as it pertains to developing diversity initiatives. Prior to DSAM, Dr. Gonzalez served as City Manager of the City of Miami, where he led the City's 4400 employees and was responsible for its $1.7 B operating and capital budgets. During his leadership, Miami experienced upgraded municipality credit ratings, $3 Billion in additional infrastructure investment, and settled long-standing municipal union contract issues. Dr. Gonzalez brings consistent leadership and experience having served as Director and CEO of Miami International Airport (MIA), Undersecretary of US Citizenship and Immigration Service with the Department of Homeland Security and Director for Western hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House and is a Retired Army Intelligence Officer. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Miami, a Master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United Sates Navel War College, a Master's degree from Tulane University in Latin American Studies and a Bachelor's degree in International Studies from the University of South Florida. Dr. Gonzalez is active in his home state of Florida where he served on University of South Florida's Advisory Council and Florida's City National Bank Board of Directors. Dr. Gonzalez is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Sandy Bridgeman, CPA, Senior Advisor, Diversity Initiatives
Ms. Bridgeman serves as a Member of the Ducenta Squared Asset Management Advisory Board. She brings decades of public sector leadership in accounting, financial management, and fiscal compliance and responsibility. She most recently served as Chief Financial Officer to two Florida municipalities; one as Assistant City Manager. In addition, she served Miami-Dade County, Florida’s largest, for almost 30 years, as County Comptroller and Miami International Airport Chief Financial Officer and Comptroller. Miami International Airport is one of the top economic engines in the Southeastern United States. Sandra has also served as a Finance Division Chief, Capital Improvement Analyst, Auditor and Accountant. Sandra holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Barry University and a Master of Accounting, a Master of Accounting from Florida International University and is a Certified Public Accountant. She is an active member of the Government Finance Officers Association, the Florida Government Finance Officers Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS
John Heitkemper, CFA, MBA, Head of Credit
Mr. Heitkemper serves as Head of Credit and is a Senior Portfolio Manager - Head of High Yield and Leverage Loans and is a voting member of the Investment Policy & Strategy Committee. He is responsible for the investment strategy and process for investment grade and below investment grade credit, working closely with the portfolio managers on the credit investment team. He is the lead portfolio manager for high yield and bank loan portfolios, CLOs and opportunistic core plus portfolios. Mr. Heitkemper joined Bradford & Marzec, now part of Ducenta Squared Asset Management, initially in 2004 and again in 2011. Mr. Heitkemper has more than 20 years of investment industry experience. Prior to joining Bradford & Marzec, he held investment grade and high yield fixed income research positions with Macquarie Group/Four Corners, Franklin Templeton Investments and Hotchkis & Wiley. He began his career as a research assistant in the International Finance division within the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Pomona College and a Master of Business Administration with concentrations in finance and economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business where he graduated with honors and was nominated to Beta Gamma Sigma. He is a CFA charterholder.
Mark Sun, Senior Portfolio Strategist, ABS
Mr. Sun serves as Senior Portfolio Strategist, focusing on Asset Backed Securities (ABS). His responsibilities include evaluating the broader trends in the ABS market within the existing and projected macroeconomic backdrops, conducting data and statistical analysis of the financial market performance, and working with the investment team on providing top-down ABS strategy. Mr. Sun has over 26 years of fixed income experience. Prior to Ducenta, Mr. Sun was a Vice President at Santander Consumer USA Inc. for seven years, managing a team of five bankers, and overseeing $15 billion+ of syndicated and bilateral warehouse and private term credit facilities backed by retail/auto loan/lease portfolio with 12+ banking and financial institutions. Prior to Santander, Mr. Sun held various positions including Managing Director at Brean Capital LLC and Gleacher & Company Securities focusing on both structured and capital raising solutions and growth stage and midcap specialty finance companies and Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. where he was head of ABCP/Term Securitization Asia (ex Japan). Mr. Sun began his career at Fitch Ratings where he was responsible for rating new ABS issuance. Mr. Sun holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in in Economics with a Minor in Mathematics and from the University of Rochester, New York and a Master of International Affairs with a specialization in International Business from Columbia University, School of International Affairs.
Mike Sanchez, MBA, Senior Portfolio Manager
Mr. Sanchez is Senior Portfolio Manager – Head of Securitized Products, responsible for managing and trading of residential mortgage, commercial mortgage and asset-backed securities. Mr. Sanchez has more than 30 years of investment industry experience including most recently as director of fixed income trading at CastleOak Securities. Prior to that, he was vice president, institutional mortgage/ABS sales at RBC Capital, senior vice president and proprietary trader at Countrywide Securities, portfolio manager at Hotchkis and Wiley and senior vice president/portfolio manager at Provident Investment Counsel. He was also portfolio manager/analyst for Arco Investment Management Co. Mr. Sanchez's portfolio management experience includes oversight and investment of both structured products and credit sectors, including investment grade credit and municipal securities. Mr. Sanchez holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Chemistry degree from Harvey Mudd College and a Masters of Business Administration from University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Mr. Sanchez previously held NASD Series 3, 7, and 63 licenses.
Andrew Gu, Credit Portfolio Manager
Mr. Gu is a Portfolio Manager in the Credit investment team working, focusing on investment grade credits. Mr. Gu works closely with the Head of Credit in developing the investment grade investment strategy and is responsible for its implementation and execution. Mr. Gu initially joined Ducenta Squared as a Senior Research Analyst, responsible for conducting credit analysis and formulating investment recommendations across the leveraged loan, high yield and investment grade markets in 2021, and became a Portfolio Manager in 2022. Prior to joining Ducenta Squared, Mr. Gu was a Portfolio Manager and Senior Credit Analyst at Rimrock Capital Management, a hedge fund based in Southern California. He led the Distressed & Special Situations investing effort, managing approximately $4 billion in capital. Prior to that, Mr. Gu was a Senior Analyst at Arrowhawk Capital Partners investing out of their Special Situations Fund. Prior to that, Mr. Gu was a Credit Analyst at Aurelius Capital Management where he specialized in fundamental credit analysis and litigation related investments in distressed situations. Prior to Aurelius Capital, Mr. Gu spent several years researching and making private equity investments at The Carlyle Group. Mr. Gu has also worked at Latham & Watkins as Lead Corporate Credit Analyst and at Morgan Stanley in their Mergers & Acquisitions Group. Mr. Gu has bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at Berkely and a Bachelor of Science degree from the Haas School of Business.
Gordon Drobny, Credit Portfolio Manager
Mr. Drobny is a Portfolio Manager and trader within the Corporate Credit team. Mr. Drobny works with the Head of Credit developing and executing the Firm's non-investment grade strategies and also serves as the Firm's primary high yield trader. As a member of the Corporate Credit team, Mr. Drobny also works on the development, execution and trading of the Firm’s investment grade corporate strategies. Additionally, Mr. Drobny is the lead Portfolio Manager of the Firm’s three Private Wealth SMA strategies (Core, Core Plus, High Yield) which he has been involved with since 2014. Mr. Drobny is responsible for implementing the Firm's investment strategy within the private wealth channel, including trading and portfolio management. Mr. Drobny joined the research group at Bradford & Marzec, now Ducenta Squared Asset Management, in 2013, and moved to the portfolio management team in 2014. Mr. Drobny has experience trading both high yield and investment grade corporates, ABS, CMBS, and MBS. Mr. Drobny has more than 10 years of investment experience, including prior affiliation with UBS Private Wealth Management where he was a full-time intern. Mr. Drobny earned a Bachelor of Science with an emphasis in finance from the University of Southern California in 2013 and is a CFA Level II candidate. Mr. Drobny is a series 65 license holder.
Wendy Norman, Portfolio Manager
Ms. Norman serves as a Portfolio Manager in the Credit investment team focusing on investment grade credits. Prior to joining Ducenta in 2022, Ms. Norman was a Senior Portfolio Manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments where she was responsible for a number of taxable and tax-exempt funds covering investment grade and securitized sectors in addition to municipal bonds. Ms. Norman implemented a top-down, bottom up investment process to construct portfolios, maintaining sole discretion for portfolio decisions. In addition to her portfolio management responsibilities, Ms. Norman liaised closely with clients and was active in raising AUM of the funds. Ms. Norman joined Columbia Threadneedle from Bank of America Capital Management where she was a Vice President and Portfolio Manager. Ms. Norman was responsible for managing different intermediate state specific tax exempt bond funds on behalf of Bank of America. Ms. Norman has a B.A. in Law and Society from The University of California, Santa Barbara.
Tim Torline, CFA
Mr. Torline has 20 years of investment experience on both buy-side & sell-side trading desks. Most recently, Mr. Torline served as CIO and co-founder of a multi-asset class, systematic hedge-fund that delivered absolute returns based on a proprietary algorithmic trading strategy that he developed in-house. Prior to founding the hedge-fund, he was a Senior Trader for TCW on the global bond desk, helping to manage the duration, volatility, and FX risk for over $150 billion in assets, including $5bln in absolute return funds, as well as enhanced commodity overlay funds. Mr. Torline was directly involved in TCW’s launch of a systematic global macro fund, aimed at employing artificial intelligence trading strategies. Prior to TCW, Mr. Torline worked as a trader for Payden & Rygel and co-managed a $1 billion absolute return fund focused on FX & interest rate derivatives. Prior to TCW, Mr. Torline was at Bear Stearns (later JPMorgan) where he initially worked in the F.A.S.T. group, reverse-engineering securitized bond deals (CDO, RMBS, ABS) and later moved to the MBS trading desk where he ran a profitable 30-year MBS passthrough trading book on the dealer desk. Prior experiences include data analyst positions at various other investment houses on the buy side. Mr. Torline earned a Bachelors of Arts degree in Business from the University of Southern California. Mr. Torline is a CFA® charterholder and previously held NASD Series 3, 7, and 63 licenses.
RESEARCH
John Wlodek, MBA
Mr. Wlodek serves as Head of Research and is responsible for maintaining the firm’s credit research process and supervising the credit research analyst team. He is also responsible for conducting credit analysis and investment recommendations across various corporate industries and issuers within the leveraged loan, high yield and investment grade markets. Mr. Wlodek joined Bradford & Marzec, now part of Ducenta Squared Asset Management, in 2003. Previously, Mr. Wlodek worked as a senior vice president with Imperial Capital, where he gained significant experience in the research and trading of high yield bonds, bank loans and special situation investments, and the formulation of investment recommendations regarding distressed and bankrupt issuers. He also has experience as an M&A advisor with Barrington Associates, a banker with the Industrial Bank of Japan, and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with Deloitte Haskins & Sells and McGladrey, Hendrickson & Pullen. Mr. Wlodek's previous industry sector exposure as an M&A advisor, banker and CPA included aerospace, airlines, business services, consumer products, food and beverage, hospitality and leisure, paper and forest products, real estate, retailing, technology, and telecommunications. Mr. Wlodek earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Indiana
Andrew Kim, CFA
Mr. Kim is a Senior Research Analyst and is responsible for conducting credit analysis and investment recommendations across various corporate industries and issuers within the leveraged loan, high yield and investment grade markets. Mr. Kim joined Bradford & Marzec, now part of Ducenta Squared Asset Management, in 2016. Previously, Mr. Kim was a high yield analyst at First Western Capital Management and a director in the credit strategies group at Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, where he invested in distressed debt, high yield bonds and leveraged loans. Mr. Kim has also worked at Macquarie/Giuliani Capital Advisors, Raymond James/Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett, AEGON/Transamerica Investment Management and BNY/Mellon Bank. Mr. Kim holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Southern California. He is a CFA® charterholder.
Derek Nault, CFA, CAIA
Mr. Nault has over 14 years of capital markets and investing experience across most major asset classes, along with an extensive technology and operational background. Mr. Nault began his career at Barings Asset Management, working on multiple CLO deals, while helping to launch High Yield fund strategies and assisting with currency hedging across the portfolio. Mr. Nault then served as the COO of the ABS sales and trading group at Wells Fargo Securities, helping to grow the platform and was a member of the committee responsible for the bank becoming a Primary Broker-Dealer. Mr. Nault then transitioned to the Agency MBS Trading desk at Wells Fargo, spending 5 years helping to manage $30bn in balance sheet assets and generate over $100 million in revenue annually. Most recently, Mr. Nault has been developing and managing global macroeconomic long-short investment strategies. He is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, is a CFA and CAIA Charterholder, and formerly held FINRA Series 7,63 and 24 licenses.
Coming soon
Han Bae
Han Bae has 7 years of experience in the financial services industry, predominantly in Financial Institutions Coverage where he participated in new business development and relationship management with various Financial Institutions in South Korea, including Banks, Securities Firms, Pensions and Insurance Companies. During his time at R Squared ML Company, Mr. Bae has assisted in developing new business relationships with Financial Institutions in South Korea and led to execution of new Global Master Securities Lending Agreement (GMSLA) deals with top Securities Firms in South Korea. Prior to R Squared ML Company, Mr. Bae was a Junior Relationship Manager at BNP Paribas Seoul Branch, supporting Senior Relationship Managers in variety of financial services such as FX, Derivatives and M&A. Mr. Bae began his career at Project Financing Department in SK Securities, where he participated in Renewable Energy Financing Projects. Mr. Bae earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Global Economics from Sungkyunkwan University.
David Cabral
Mr. Cabral is a junior research analyst and is responsible for conducting fundamental credit analysis and providing investment recommendations across a variety of industries under the supervision of the Co-Heads of Research. Prior to joining Ducenta, Mr. Cabral was an investment analyst at the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians where he conducted due diligence on the tribe's investment opportunities and led analysis of the gaming industry. Mr. Cabral began his career as an analyst at Pismo Ventures where he conducted due diligence on early-stage investment opportunities. Mr. Cabral holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California Riverside and a Master of finance from the University of California at Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business.
CLIENT SERVICES AND OPERATIONS
Mark Kavolius CIMA
Mr. Kavolius is a Client Management Portfolio Manager and supports the firm’s relationships with clients, prospects, institutional consultants and financial advisors. Mr. Kavolius joined Bradford & Marzec, now part of Ducenta Squared Asset Management, in 2010. Mr. Kavolius has more than 28 years of industry experience and previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing for Stonebridge Advisors. He also worked in senior sales and marketing positions at Mellon Financial, Dreyfus Investments and Liberty Financial. Mr. Kavolius holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from the University of Massachusetts. He has earned the CIMA designation from the Wharton School of Business through IMCA. He is also a member of the editorial board for the IMCA publication “Investments and Wealth Monitor.”
Kenneth Ro, Business Development, Private Wealth
Kenneth Ro is a Private Wealth/Institutional Client Relationship Manager with 20 years of industry experience. His duties include supporting business development and client management of existing and new clients in private wealth and on the institutional level. Prior to joining Ducenta Squared Asset Management, he was with the Private Client Services division of Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown, a Vice President at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management and a Vice President at UBS Private Client Group. In addition to Wealth Management, he is also experienced in Alternative Investments as a former Director of Business Development with Group 11 (Palo Alto/Beverly Hills based VC Fund) and Vice President/Private Equity for ZT Corporate. Ken received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, emphasis in Finance, from the University of Southern California (Marshall School of Business)
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OFFICE MANAGEMENT
Caleigh Clark, Graphic Design, Jr. Client Relations: Women in Investment Development Program
Ms. Clark joined Ducenta Squared Asset Management in 2022 as the assistant to the Executive Committee. Her responsibilities include overall office duties, graphic design projects, coordination of office administration and procedures, Executive Committee planning and follow up, and assisting the Client Relations department. Ms. Clark was on the golf team at the California State University, Los Angeles where she finished her Degree, Bachelor of Arts, with a focus in Graphic Design.
Byung Chun Kim, CFA, CFP, Deputy Operations Manager
Mr. Kim is a Deputy Operations Manager and is responsible for overseeing several key areas of the middle and back office functions for the firm. Those functions include trade communication and settlement, reconciliation, and corporate action monitoring and processing. Prior to joining Ducenta Squared, he worked at Beach Point Capital, a Hedge Fund located in Los Angeles, as a senior analyst where he performed various operational tasks, including performance, cash and collateral management, trade support, and corporate actions analysis. Prior to Beach Point, he was a leader of the corporate actions team at the TCW Group. He also worked as an equity trader at Wedbush Securities, where he investigated arbitrage trading opportunities for the institutional clients in Korea. Mr. Kim holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Real Estate from Georgia State University. He is a CFA® charterholder and CFP® practitioner.