The Team
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).
Jeffrey Brothers, MBA, CFA, Exec Co CIO Advisor
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.
Joel Damiani, CFA, Chief Investment Officer
Mr. Damiani has over 35 years of investment management experience and was a founding partner of DoubleLine Capital LP in Los Angeles. At DoubleLine, Mr. Damiani was an Executive Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Limited Partner and participated in the Executive Management Committee, Structured Product Committee and Fixed Income Asset Allocation Committee. Mr. Damiani was a senior member of the Mortgage-backed Securities Group and helped oversee management of $53 billion in mortgage-backed securities and $90 billion in Structured Products. Prior to joining-DoubleLine in 2009, Mr. Damiani was a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager at the TCW Group in Los Angeles since 1999. At TCW, Mr. Damiani helped manage over $35 billion in residential mortgage-backed securities and expanded TCW's Asian presence with the addition of $5 billion in asset growth. Previously, Mr. Damiani was a Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager and head of residential mortgage investments and quantitative research at Back Bay Advisor in Boston. Before that, he was an Assistant Vice President and Portfolio Manager for The Putnam Group. Mr. Damiani holds both a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology and a Master of Science degree in Finance from the University of Wisconsin. Mr. Damiani is a CFA charterholder.
Tim Torline, CFA, President of Investments
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.
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.
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.
Mark Torline, MBA, Senior Advisor to Executive Committee
Mark has over 40 years of experience in the financial markets and new venture development. In his most recent role Mark served as the Director of the FirePoint Applied Innovation Center (AIC). The AIC is a dedicated prototyping, collaboration, and evaluation facility located in Huntsville Alabama focused on accelerating innovation and technology adoption within the U.S. Army and other branches of the military. The primary mission of the ACI is to identify, develop, and integrate cutting-edge technologies and solutions into the Army's operational capabilities. Prior to his role in FirePoint Mark served as the Director of Wichita State University's Center for Entrepreneurship and Director of Wichita State University's Center for Entrepreneurship and Director of WSU Ventures. In this role Mark was responsible for the creation and advancement of an innovation ecosystem to support the development of early-stage startups founded by local entrepreneurs as well as technology owned by the university. Mark is an experienced innovation manager with demonstrated expertise in both entrepreneurial and large corporate environments. Before coming to Wichita State, Mark served as President of TriLinc Global helping to launch the firm and its flagship TriLinc Global Impact Fund, currently a $750 million social impact investment fund. Prior to TriLinc Mark co-founded Allegiance Capital in 1989, a private investment firm that grew to manage over $5.5 billion for institutional and private wealth clients. In 2008 he negotiated the sale of Allegiance Capital to Macquarie Bank and served as a Managing Director and board member of the Macquarie Funds Group for three years following the sale. Prior to forming Allegiance Capital, Mark held various positions with Govaars & Associates, a botique institutional investment firm, and with Security Pacific Bank. He has extensive financial services industry background in investment portfolio management and administration, asset management, mutual funds, credit oversight and private equity management. Mark holds a B.A. with a major in Marketing from Wichita State University and an MBA in Finance from Northwestern University, Kellog School of Management. Mark is a Member of the National Advisory Council at Wichita State University and served two terms on the Investment Committee for the Wichita State University Foundation.
John Heitkemper, CFA, MBA, Head of Credit, Portfolio Manager
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, MS, Senior Securitized Strategist
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, Securitized Products 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.
Wendy Norman, Portfolio Specialist
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.
Ryan O'Malley, CFA, MBA, Credit Portfolio Manager & Private Wealth Portfolio Strategist
Mr. O'Malley has over 20 years of experience in the investment management industry. Prior to Ducenta Squared, Mr. O'Malley has had progressive roles in portfolio management and client relations across several firms including Oaktree Capital Management, Payden & Rygel, and Sage Advisory Services. Mr. O'Malley has managed portfolios for large seperate accounts mandates as well as wrap accounts on major platforms. In his role at Sage Advisory, Mr. O'Malley developed, marketed , and managed a credit-focused Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). Mr. O'Malley holds a B.A. with a major in Economics from Columbia University, a MBA in Finance from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and is a CFA charter holder.
John Wlodek, MBA, Senior Research Analyst
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, Senior Research Analyst
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.
Han Bae, CFA Level I, II, Research Analyst
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 Cabrel, CFA Level I, Research Analyst
Mr. Cabrel 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. Cabrel 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. Cabrel began his career as an analyst at Pismo Ventures where he conducted due diligence on early-stage investment opportunities. Mr. Cabrel 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.
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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, Series 65, 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)
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.
Leonard Shonka, Junior Operations Analyst
Mr. Shonka is a Junior Operations Analyst with Ducenta Squared. He is responsible for assisting the Deputy Office Manager in several back-office functions for the firm; those include trade communication, settlement, and corporate action monitoring. Prior to joining Ducenta Squared, Mr. Shonka worked on a title insurance desk at Doma Title Company where he helped issue title insurance for commercial and residential real estate transactions. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics and History from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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.