Our Team Makes the Difference

Our Portfolio Management Team averages 25+ years of investment experience.

Our Team Makes the Difference

Portfolio Management & Fund Officers

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Christopher M. Graff, CFA®

Partner, Managing Director of Asset Management, Co-CIO
President, RMB Investors Trust

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Christopher M. Graff, CFA®

Partner, Managing Director of Asset Management, Co-CIO
President, RMB Investors Trust

Chicago

Chris leads the investment activities of RMB Asset Management, including asset allocation, manager research and selection, and security selection across multiple asset classes and investment strategies. For more than 15 years, Chris has conducted primary investment research and gained experience across the spectrum of asset classes, security types, investment styles, industry sectors, and market capitalizations. Chris has been with RMB Capital since inception in 2005, when he left UBS along with our co-founders and the rest of their team. Prior to UBS, he performed equity research at William Blair & Company. Chris earned a Bachelor’s degree in Finance with Honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Chicago. 

Joined RMB

Education

  • BS in Finance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • MBA, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Accredidations

  • Chartered Financial Analyst®

Affiliations

  • CFA Institute, Member
  • CFA Society Chicago, Member

Previous Experience

  • UBS Financial Services, Investments
  • William Blair & Company, Equity Research

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute

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Anton V. Schutz

Portfolio Manager, RMB Mendon Financial Services Fund

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Anton V. Schutz

Portfolio Manager, RMB Mendon Financial Services Fund

Anton has worked with RMB Capital since 2014, as Mendon Capital Advisors Corp. serves as the subadvisor for the RMB Mendon Financial Services Fund. Anton has been in the investment and risk management business since 1986, focusing on investment and portfolio management. He founded Mendon Capital in 1996 with a long/short and event-driven investment strategy focused exclusively on the financial services sector. Previously, he worked at RBC Dain Rauscher with an institutional sales trading role in the financial institutions group. Anton also spent 10 years at Chase Manhattan Bank, where he structured investment products utilizing hedge funds and also developed and applied financial risk strategies. Anton is often interviewed regarding his expertise in the financial services sector. He appears regularly as a guest on CNBC and Bloomberg, and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, The New York Times, Financial Times, Business Week, Investors’ Business Daily, Smart Money, and others. Anton obtained an MBA from Fordham University in 1988 and graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1986.

Education

  • BA in Business Administration and Management, Franklin & Marshall College
  • MBA in Finance, Fordham University

Affiliations

  • BancAnalysts Association of Boston, Member

Previous Experience

  • Mendon Capital Advisors, President and Chief Investment Officer
  • RBC Dain Rauscher, Senior Vice President
  • Chase Manhattan Bank, Vice President

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Christopher C. Faber

Partner, Portfolio Manager, RMB Small Cap Fund and RMB SMID Cap Fund

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Christopher C. Faber

Partner, Portfolio Manager, RMB Small Cap Fund and RMB SMID Cap Fund

Chicago

News & Insights Featuring Christopher C Faber:

RMB Funds portfolio manager Chris Faber explains 3 Reasons to Own High-Quality Portfolios

RMB Asset Management’s SMID Cap Strategy Named Asset Manager of the Year by Envestnet & Investment Advisor Magazine

RMB Funds Portfolio Manager Chris Faber Explains How High-Quality Portfolios Help Preserve Wealth

Chris joined RMB Capital in 2017, when the IronBridge team combined with RMB Asset Management. Chris is the lead portfolio manager for the Small Cap Core and SMID Cap Core equity strategies. Prior to founding IronBridge in 1999, Chris was a founding member of HOLT Value Associates, L.P., where he worked with senior portfolio managers across the U.S. and Europe. Chris graduated from Drake University with a Bachelor’s degree in Corporate Finance.

Joined RMB

Education

  • BSBA in Corporate Finance, Drake University

Previous Experience

  • IronBridge Capital Management, L.P., Co-Founder, President, Strategy Head and Lead Portfolio Manager
  • HOLT Value Associates, L.P., Founding Partner

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Maher Harb

Partner, Chief Financial Officer, RMB Capital
CFO and Treasurer, RMB Investors Trust

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Maher Harb

Partner, Chief Financial Officer, RMB Capital
CFO and Treasurer, RMB Investors Trust

Chicago

Maher came to RMB Capital in 2008 with diverse experience in the financial industry. He previously held key leadership roles in corporate and fund accounting, investment analysis, and back-office operations. Maher joined the RMB team because he was impressed with the company’s high ethical standards, hardworking culture, and dedication to clients. Maher received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Northeastern Illinois University and earned his MBA with a concentration in Finance from DePaul University Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. He obtained his Certified Public Accountant designation and began working in the investment management industry in 1992. Maher serves as the treasurer of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church of Chicago and is a member of the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors.

Joined RMB

Education

  • BS in Accounting, Northeastern Illinois University
  • MBA in Finance, Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University

Affiliations

  • St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church, Treasurer
  • Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors, Member

Previous Experience

  • Harb Financial, Principal
  • Parson Group LLC, Consultant/Project Manager
  • First Union Securities, Senior Institutional Consulting Associate
  • Noddings Investment Group, Research Analyst/Senior Accountant

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Laura Flentye

Partner, Chief Administrative Officer, Curi RMB Capital
Senior Vice President and Secretary, RMB Investors Trust

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Laura Flentye

Partner, Chief Administrative Officer, Curi RMB Capital
Senior Vice President and Secretary, RMB Investors Trust

Chicago

Laura joined RMB Capital in January 2017 with 18 years of investment management experience. Most recently, she was the chief operating officer and chief compliance officer at Cupps Capital Management and, prior to that, she was a business manager at Strong Capital Management. Before working in financial services, Laura was in account management in the advertising industry for Fortune 500 clients at BBDO, DDB Needham, and Fallon McElligott. Laura earned her Bachelor’s degree in English and Psychology from Boston College.

Joined RMB

Education

  • BA in English and Psychology, Boston College

Previous Experience

  • Cupps Capital Management, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Compliance Officer
  • Strong Capital Management, Business Manager
  • DDB Needham, Account Supervisor
  • Fallon McElligott, Account Supervisor
  • BBDO, Senior Account Executive

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Joe McDermott, CFA®, FRM®

Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Risk Officer

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Joe McDermott, CFA®, FRM®

Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Risk Officer

Chicago

Joined RMB

Education

  • BA, Loras College
  • MBA, DePaul University

Accredidations

  • Chartered Financial Analyst®
  • Financial Risk Manager®

Previous Experience

  • Alaric Compliance Services, LLC , Managing Director
  • THL Credit Senior Loan Fund & THL Credit Senior Loan Strategies, Chief Compliance Officer & Compliance Manager
  • Aviva Investors Americas, Chief Compliance Officer & AML Compliance Office
  • Keeley Investment Corp., Chief Compliance Officer & AML Compliance Officer

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

FRM® (or Certified FRM®) are trademarks owned by the Global Association of Risk Professionals.

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Frank Passantino

Manager, Mutual Fund Operations, Curi RMB Capital
First Vice President, Assistant Secretary, RMB Investors Trust

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Frank Passantino

Manager, Mutual Fund Operations, Curi RMB Capital
First Vice President, Assistant Secretary, RMB Investors Trust

New York

Joined RMB

Education

  • BS in Business Administration, St. Francis College

Previous Experience

  • Burnham Asset Management, First Vice President Mutual Fund Operations & Shareholder Services
  • Burnham Investors Trust, First Vice President & Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer
  • The Bank of New York – Mutual Fund Division, Relationship Management Group – Senior Client Services Administrator
  • The Bank of New York, Corporate Agencies Management Training Program

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James D. Plumb

Partner, Deputy Director of Equities, Portfolio Manager

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James D. Plumb

Partner, Deputy Director of Equities, Portfolio Manager

Chicago

Joined RMB

Education

  • BS in Business, Miami University

Previous Experience

  • IronBridge Capital Management, L.P., Equity Analyst

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Ilhwa Lee, CFA®

S.V.P., Portfolio Manager

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Ilhwa Lee, CFA®

S.V.P., Portfolio Manager

Chicago

Joined RMB

Education

  • B.A in Economics and Psychology, Seoul National University
  • MBA, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Accredidations

  • Chartered Financial Analyst®

Previous Experience

  • Crystal Rock Capital Management, Equity Research Analyst
  • Cambridge Associates Asia Pte Ltd, Investment Director
  • Artisan Partners, Equity Research Intern
  • Mirae Asset Securities, Quant Analyst

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

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Dan Goldfarb, CFA

Portfolio Manager, RMB Mendon Financial Services Fund

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Dan Goldfarb, CFA

Portfolio Manager, RMB Mendon Financial Services Fund

Became portfolio manager for the RMB Mendon Financial Services fund in May 2022

Education

  • MBA in Finance, Vanderbilt University
  • BA in Political Science, Hobart College

Previous Experience

  • Drexel Burnham Lambert, Investment Banker
  • Smith Barney, Investment Banker
  • Mass Mutual, Buy Side Equity Analyst and Portfolio Manager

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Charles P. Henness Jr., CFA®

Partner, Portfolio Manager

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Charles P. Henness Jr., CFA®

Partner, Portfolio Manager

Chicago

Charlie Henness, CFA®, joined RMB Capital in 2017 where he has been a Portfolio Manager and a Senior Analyst. Mr. Henness has primary research responsibility within the Financials and Real Estate sectors for RMB equity strategies. He’s also currently on the RMB Asset Management Asset Allocation Committee. 

Prior to joining RMB Capital, Mr. Henness spent 15 years at IronBridge Capital. There he was responsible for Financials and Real Estate investments in the Small Cap, SMID, and Global strategies. Mr. Henness was a Co-Portfolio Manager on the IronBridge Large Cap strategy from 2011 until 2017. 

Mr. Henness holds a BS in Accountancy from the University of Illinois.  

Joined RMB

Education

  • BS in Accounting, University of Illinois

Accredidations

  • Chartered Financial Analyst®

Previous Experience

  • IronBridge Capital Management, L.P., Portfolio Manager, Equity Analyst
  • Zurich Scudder Investments, Manager in Investment Operations

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

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Anton Schutz Jr.

Co-Portfolio Manager, RMB Mendon Financial Services Fund

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Anton Schutz Jr.

Co-Portfolio Manager, RMB Mendon Financial Services Fund

Anton Schutz, Jr. joined Mendon Capital in 2018 and has been involved in the financial services industry for over 10 years, beginning as an intern for Mendon Capital in high school. Prior to joining Mendon Capital, Mr. Schutz spent several years as an investment banking analyst in the financial institutions group at Stephens Inc., where he worked on numerous financial services M&A deals and capital issuances, specializing in banks.
 
Mr. Schutz also has experience in financial services focused equity research at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and private equity at Patriot Financial Partners, L.P. In addition to his role at Mendon Capital, he serves as a Principal at Mendon Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focused on financial technology.
 
Mr. Schutz holds a BA in Business Administration from Furman University, where he was recognized with the General Excellence in Business Award. He also holds an MBA from NYU Stern, where he specialized in Corporate Finance, FinTech, and Entrepreneurship & Innovation and served as Co-president of the FinTech Association. He resides in New York City.

Education

  • BA in Business Administration, Furman University
  • MBA in Corporate Finance, FinTech, and Entrepreneurship & Innovation, NYU Stern

Previous Experience

  • Stephens Inc., Investment Banking Analyst
  • Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Financial Services
  • Patriot Financial Partners, L.P., Private Equity

 

Business Development & Client Service

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Leah Hoagland

Director of Business Development

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Leah Hoagland

Director of Business Development

Chicago

Joined RMB

Education

  • BA in History, Princeton University

Previous Experience

  • Wilson Sporting Goods, Retail Demand Planner
  • Abbott Nutrition, Retail Sales Representative

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Matt Halkyard, CFA®

Senior Vice President, Portfolio Specialist

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Matt Halkyard, CFA®

Senior Vice President, Portfolio Specialist

Chicago

Matt joined RMB Capital in 2017, when the IronBridge team combined with RMB Asset Management. Matt joined IronBridge in 2005 and helped found the Global Focus equity strategy as a co-portfolio manager. He became the strategy head and lead portfolio manager in 2011. In addition to his responsibilities on the Global team, Matt served as co-portfolio manager for the Large Cap Core strategy from 2008 through 2010. Prior to joining IronBridge, Matt was the director of small- and mid-cap operations for Credit Suisse in London. Prior to the Credit Suisse acquisition of HOLT Value Associates, L.P., Matt was managing director of HOLT’s European operations. He joined HOLT in 1994 as a portfolio representative and worked with a number of major buy-side clients/firms. Matt graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and is a CFA® charterholder.

Joined RMB

Education

  • BS in Accounting, Indiana University

Accredidations

  • Chartered Financial Analyst®

Affiliations

  • CFA Institute, Member
  • Village of Glen Ellyn, Finance Committee Chairman
  • Glenbard West High School, Lacrosse Coach
  • Glen Ellyn Bulldogs Lacrosse, Founder and Chair

Previous Experience

  • IronBridge Capital Management, L.P., Strategy Head and Lead Portfolio Manager for Global Equities
  • Credit Suisse, Director of Small and Mid Cap Sales Research
  • HOLT Value Associates, L.P., Managing Director of European Operations

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

 

Research Analysts

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Thomas Fanter

Partner, Director of Equities, Portfolio Manager

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Thomas Fanter

Partner, Director of Equities, Portfolio Manager

Chicago

Tom joined RMB Capital in 2017, when the IronBridge team combined with RMB Asset Management. In addition to his role as Director of Research and team leader of the RMB Research Core, Tom is responsible for providing regular analytical insights on equities in the information technology and communications services sectors. Tom joined IronBridge as an equity analyst in 2004 and became a co-portfolio manager on the Small Cap Core and SMID Cap Core equity strategies in 2011. While in graduate school, Tom completed internships with both IronBridge and Microsoft Corporation. Prior to that, he worked as a software engineer for both Divine, Inc. and Motorola, Inc. Tom graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences and earned an MBA with concentrations in Accounting and Finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Joined RMB

Education

  • BS in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, Northwestern University
  • MBA, Northwestern University

Previous Experience

  • IronBridge Capital Management, L.P., Portfolio Manager and Equity Analyst
  • Motorola, Inc., Software Engineer
  • Divine, Inc., Software Engineer

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John O'Connor, CFA®

Partner, Director of Research, Portfolio Manager

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John O'Connor, CFA®

Partner, Director of Research, Portfolio Manager

Chicago

Joined RMB

Education

  • BS in Finance, Butler University
  • MBA, Northwestern University

Accredidations

  • Chartered Financial Analyst®

Previous Experience

  • IronBridge Capital Management, L.P., Portfolio Manager and Equity Analyst
  • Credit Suisse HOLT, Vice President
  • HOLT Value Associates, L.P., Analyst
  • First Union Securities, Mutual Fund Analyst
  • The Windsor Group, Ltd., Mutual Fund Analyst

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

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Jeff Jones, CFA®, CPA

Partner, Portfolio Manager

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Jeff Jones, CFA®, CPA

Partner, Portfolio Manager

Chicago

Joined RMB

Education

  • BBA in Accounting, University of Notre Dame
  • MBA, University of Chicago

Accredidations

  • Chartered Financial Analyst®
  • Certified Public Accountant®

Previous Experience

  • IronBridge Capital Management, L.P., Equity Analyst
  • Credit Suisse HOLT, Vice President
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Auditor

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

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Ben Niu, Ph.D., CFA®, FRM®

S.V.P., Senior Analyst

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Ben Niu, Ph.D., CFA®, FRM®

S.V.P., Senior Analyst

Chicago

Joined RMB

Education

  • BS in Applied Mathematics, Xiamen University
  • Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, Illinois Institute of Technology

Accredidations

  • Chartered Financial Analyst®
  • Financial Risk Manager

Previous Experience

  • IronBridge Capital Management, L.P., Advanced Financial Modeling Analyst

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.