Callan Associates

Virgilio A. Abesamis, III, Senior VP & Manager

Virgilio "Bo" Abesamis III, Senior Vice President and Manager of the Master Trust, Global Custody, and Securities Lending Group. Bo joined Callan Associates in 1987 and is a shareholder of the firm. Initially, Bo worked in the Capital Markets Research Group with responsibilities involving asset/liability modeling, manager structure, benchmark and database reviews, style analysis, and research.

Bo previously managed the Specialty Performance Measurement Group at Callan Associates with an emphasis on analytics involving non-traditional asset classes, namely international, alternative investments, and real estate. He also assisted in the development of Callan's International Consulting Services Group and Defined Contribution Consulting Services Group.

Bo earned a B.S. degree in Accounting and Finance from Ateneo de Manila, Philippines, and an M.B.A. with a double major in Finance and International Business from the University of San Francisco.

Michael A. Bise, Investment Consultant

Michael A. Bise, Investment Consultant, Private Equity Research Group. Michael Joined the private Markets Group in 2005 and assists in all aspects of private equity consulting, including research and client servicing, portfolio reviews, manager searches, research projects, and overseeing performance reporting for clients. Michael joined Callan in October of 2002 and previously worked in Callan's Client Report Services Group preparing quarterly and monthly performance measurement reports. Before joining Callan, Michael worked as a market analyst at Jenny Craig.

Michael earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley and is a CFA Level II Candidate.

Matthew W. Costello, Vice President

Matthew W. Costello, CFA, Vice President, Hedge Fund Research Group. Matthew specializes in hedge fund research addressing related issues of asset allocation, manager structure, manager search, and performance evaluation for Callan's institutional clients. Matthew formerly spent two years in the Real Estate Consulting Group and currently retains consulting duties for timber investment.

Prior to joining Callan in 1997, Matthew was a relationship manager for Wells Fargo Bank in middle-market commercial lending & assisted in the troubled-debt restructuring of corporate entities. 

Matthew received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, Accounting from San Diego State University.  Matt earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Society of San Francisco and the CFA Institute.

Gregory F. DeForrest, Senior VP & Manager

Gregory F. DeForrest, CFA, is a Senior Vice President and Manager of Global Manager Research (GMR), which provides fundamental and statistical research on investment managers. Greg oversees the quantitative and qualitative analysis of investment managers and the production of research and client reports. Greg joined Callan's Global Manager Research as a fixed income specialty consultant in 2001 and became the manager of the group in 2007.  Greg is a shareholder of the firm.

Greg originally joined Callan Associates in 1998 as a member of the Client Report Services Group. As a Senior Analyst, he was responsible for streamlining investment measurement production, handling special client requests, integrating customized performance analysis, and monitoring new investment developments and their implications on the investment measurement service. Greg earned a B.A. from Villanova University, and earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Jason L. Ellement, Vice President

Jason L. Ellement, FSA, CFA, MAAA is a Vice President and Consultant in the Capital Markets Research Group. Jason is responsible for assisting plan sponsor clients with strategic planning, conducting asset/liability studies, developing optimal investment manager structures, and providing custom research on a variety of investment topics. Jason is a regular instructor at the "Callan College" and a shareholder of the firm.

Jason joined Callan in 2002 and has over 13 years of experience in the pensions and investments industry. Prior to joining Callan, Jason practiced as a pension actuary for a prominent public retirement system and an international consulting firm.

Jason is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the Academy of Actuaries. He earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Society of San Francisco. Jason graduated with First Class Honors from the University of Manitoba, Canada with a B. Sc. in Actuarial Science & Statistics.

Lauren M. Etcheverry, Investment Consultant

Lauren M. Etcheverry is a Domestic Equity Investment Consultant in the Global Manager Research Group.  Lauren is responsible for research and analysis of domestic equity investment managers and assists plan sponsor clients with domestic equity manager searches.  In this role, Lauren meets regularly with investment managers to develop an understanding of their strategies, products, investment polices and organizational structures. 

Lauren joined the Client Report Services department at Callan Associates in October 2004 and worked as an Analyst and then Senior Analyst before moving groups.  Prior to Callan, Lauren worked for an independent financial planner as his assistant in preparing financial plans for individual investors.

Lauren graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in June 2004, Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Business Administration, concentrating in Financial Management and Enterprise Accounting with a minor in Statistics.  She passed the Level III CFA examination in June 2007.

Lin Fitzenhagen, Investment Consultant

Lin Fitzenhagen, CFA, is a Global Equity Investment Consultant in the Global Manager Research Group. Lin is responsible for the research and analysis of global equity investment managers and assisting plan sponsor clients with their global equity manager searches. In this role, he meets regularly with investment managers to develop an understanding of their strategies, products, investment polices and organizational structures.

Prior to joining Callan, Lin worked as an analyst for the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System. Prior to that, he served as Marketing Manager for Financial Market Management, Inc.

Lin earned undergraduate degrees in both Broadcast Journalism and Spanish from Washington and Lee University. He also received an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Dallas. Lin earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He belongs to the Financial Analysts Society of San Diego and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Karen M. Harris, Vice President

Karen M. Harris, ASA, CFA, is a Vice President in the Capital Markets Research Group. Karen joined Callan in May 2000. She is responsible for assisting clients with their strategic investment planning, conducting asset allocation studies, developing optimal investment manager structures, and providing custom research on a variety of investment topics. Karen is also an instructor at the "Callan College" and has spoken frequently at the Callan Investments Institute.  Karen is a shareholder of the firm.

Prior to joining the firm, she spent eight years as a consultant with Watson Wyatt Worldwide, an employee benefits consulting firm. Her duties included consulting to plan sponsor clients on pension plan design, funding, accounting, regulatory, and investment issues. She also spent four years in Jakarta assisting the Indonesian government to develop and implement a private employer pension law. 

Karen has earned the designation of Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) and earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.  Karen has a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.

Andy T. Iseri, Investment Consultant

Andy T. Iseri, CFA, is an International Investment Consultant, Global Manager Research. Andy is responsible for research and analysis in the international and global asset class including developed and emerging equity and issues surrounding currency management. He oversees manager searches, conducts on-site visits, and attends finalist interviews.

Prior to joining Callan, Andy spent six years selecting and evaluating domestic and international equity managers for the California State Teachers' Retirement System. Prior to that, Andy managed and traded domestic fixed income assets and currencies for CalSTRS.

Andy earned a B.S. in Business Administration - International Business at California State University, Sacramento. He belongs to the CFA Institute, CFA Society of Sacramento, and earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Jay V. Kloepfer, Executive VP & Director

Jay V. Kloepfer, Executive Vice President and Director of Capital Markets and Alternatives Research. Jay oversees Callan's Capital Markets, Hedge Fund and Private Markets research groups. He directs the development of Callan's annual capital market projections. Jay presents the results of Callan research to clients and the media and is a featured speaker at many conferences. In addition to his work in strategic planning, Jay is a regular instructor at the "Callan College" and is a shareholder of the firm.

Jay joined Callan in 1998, and became manager of the Capital Markets Research Group in 2000. The Capital Markets group helps Callan's fund sponsor clients with their strategic planning, conducting asset allocation and asset/liability studies, developing optimal investment manager structures, evaluating defined contribution plan investment lineups and providing custom research on a variety of investment topics. The Hedge Fund and Private Markets groups are responsible for specialized consulting including asset class and strategy research, manager searches, portfolio reviews, and performance evaluation.

Prior to joining Callan, Jay was a Senior Economist and the Western Regional Manager for Standard & Poor's DRI. He was actively involved in the development of DRI's domestic research capabilities. During his 11 years at DRI, Jay also served as a Senior Consultant and Project Manager.

Jay earned a B.S. with honors in Economics from the University of Oregon and an M.A. in Economics from Stanford.

Lori Lucas, Executive Vice President

Lori Lucas, CFA, is an Executive Vice President and Defined Contribution Practice Leader. Lori is responsible for setting the direction of Callan's DC business, providing DC support both internally to Callan's consultants and externally to Callan's clients, and developing research and insights into DC trends for the benefit of clients and the industry. Lori is a member of Callan's Management Committee and is a shareholder of the firm.

Formerly, Lori was Director of Retirement Research at Hewitt Associates. Lori and her team analyzed the way that employees interact with employer-sponsored retirement programs, and developed delivery, communication, and education approaches for improving program utilization. Lori also worked with academics from universities such as Harvard, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Yale, and the College of William and Mary to understand the behavioral forces that drive employee usage of employer-sponsored retirement programs.

Lori has also served as a vice president at Ibbotson Associates, in charge of development of analytical and educational tools that focus on such areas as asset allocation, returns-based style analysis, mutual funds, and 401(k) plans. In addition, Lori was formerly a pension fund consultant at J.H. Ellwood & Associates, and an analyst and product development leader at Morningstar, Inc.

Lori received a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University and earned a Masters from the University of Illinois. Additionally, she earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. Lori's views have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, Pensions & Investments, Plan Sponsor Magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, Bloomberg, CNN, CFO-TV, The New York Times, Newsweek, Money Magazine, the Baltimore Sun, The Boston Globe, and WGN, among others. Lori's writings have been published in Benefits Quarterly and the Pension Investment Handbook, among others. Lori is a columnist for Workforce Management online magazine, and she is Executive Vice Chair of the Employee Benefit Research Institute's Retirement Research Committee. Lori is also a frequent speaker at pension industry conferences.

James C. McKee, Senior VP & Manager

James C. McKee, Senior Vice President and Director, Hedge Fund Research Group. Jim specializes in hedge fund research addressing related issues of asset allocation, manager structure, manager search, and performance evaluation for Callan's institutional clients. Jim is a shareholder of the firm.

Jim joined Callan Associates in 1989. Prior to his career at Callan Associates, Jim worked with the Pacific Stock Exchange (PSE) from 1982 to 1989. Until 1985, Jim worked on the PSE's options trading floor. Thereafter, as manager of the PSE's securities research department, he was responsible for developing and monitoring new stock, bond, and option listings.

Jim earned a B.A. in Economics/Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College in 1982. He received his M.B.A. in Finance from Golden Gate University in 1987. His graduate studies focused particularly on publicly traded securities and capital markets.

Julia A. Moriarty, Vice President

Julia A. Moriarty, CFA, is a Vice President and Consultant in the Capital Markets Research Group. Julia is responsible for assisting plan sponsor clients with their strategic planning, conducting asset/liability studies, developing optimal investment manager structures, and providing custom research on a variety of investment topics. Julia joined Callan in 1990 as an analyst in the Client Report Services group, working on the production of comprehensive performance measurement reports and the implementation and testing of new products. Prior to joining the Capital Markets Research Group, she was a Software Solutions Consultant in the Client Software Department. Julia is a shareholder of the firm.

Julia earned a B.S. in Finance from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business. She earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Society of San Francisco and CFA Institute.

Gary W. Robertson, Senior VP & Manager

Gary W. Robertson, Senior Vice President and Manager of Callan's Private Equity Research Group. Gary is responsible for Alternative Investments consulting services at Callan Associates Inc. He is currently Secretary of Callan's Client Policy Review Committee and is a shareholder of the firm.

Prior to joining Callan in 1991, Gary spent five years as a Vice President with Robertson & Co., a San Francisco-based, family-owned investment bank engaging in mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Robertson & Co., he was a financial analyst with Atherton Advisory, a Silicon Valley-based financial services firm. He has also worked with Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. in San Francisco in the operations and administration areas, and with Spear, Leeds & Kellogg and A. G. Becker, members of the Pacific Stock Exchange.

Gary earned an M.B.A. from Golden Gate University and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Colorado.

Avery A. Robinson, Associate Consultant

Avery A. Robinson, Associate Consultant, Real Estate Consulting Services. Avery is responsible for supporting the real estate consulting group. His role includes the evaluation of managers and their respective real estate products for plan sponsor clients. This due diligence process includes meeting and coordinating with investment managers regarding various strategies, investment processes, track records and organizational structures. Avery also assists in the compilation of search packages and the generation of various client-driven analyses and projects. Additionally, he tracks various real estate investment products that are open for commitment for clients and for the Callan database.

Avery joined Callan Associates in April of 2008. Before joining Callan, he was employed with the Real Estate Equity Group at Principal Global Investors. He was an Asset Manager for numerous property types throughout the Southeast.

Avery received his B.S. in Engineering and his M.B.A. from the University of Iowa.

Jon Salstrom, Investment Consultant

Jon Salstrom, CFA, is a Fixed Income Specialty Consultant in the Global Manager Research Group.  Jon is responsible for the research and analysis of global and domestic investment managers and administers fixed income searches for plan sponsor clients.  His role includes on-site visits to conduct due diligence on qualitative and quantitative factors affecting manager strategies, products, investment policies and organizational structures.

Jon originally joined Callan Associates in 2006 as a member of the Institutional Consulting Group.  Prior to joining Callan, Jon was an Interest Rate Derivatives Analyst at Bank of America in Chicago.

Jon received his B.S. in Finance at Indiana University and an M.B.A. from DePaul University. He earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Society of Chicago.

Robert L. Shaw, Investment Consultant

Robert L. Shaw, CFA, CPA, is a Domestic Equity Investment Consultant in the Global Manager Research Group. Robert is responsible for assisting plan sponsor clients with domestic equity manager searches.  In this role, Robert meets regularly with investment managers to develop an understanding of their strategies, track records, investment policies, and organizational structures.

Robert joined Callan in 2001 in the Quantitative Consulting group where he focused on assisting plan sponsors with their strategic planning, asset/liability studies, developing optimal investment manager structures, and providing custom research on a variety of investment topics. Prior to joining Callan, Robert worked for the California State Automobile Association where he assisted in the management of the Association's $3.3 billion insurance general account and the $330 million pension fund. Robert also has five years sell-side (fixed-income) experience where he focused on providing analytical services to insurance clients.

Robert earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and is a CPA with a background in corporate tax. Robert earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from Seattle University and received his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Jamie K. Shen, Senior VP & Manager

Jamie K. Shen, Senior Vice President, is responsible for real estate consulting services at Callan Associates. She works directly with Boards and/or Staff in the development and implementation of client specific strategic and tactical plans, as well as provides ongoing oversight in the control and monitoring of clients' real estate portfolios. Additionally, Jamie is responsible for the oversight of Callan Real Estate Performance Measurement Reports.  She is also a shareholder.

Prior to joining Callan, Jamie was a Principal with The McMahan Group, a San Francisco based-management consulting firm specializing in real estate enterprises. Specifically, Jamie consulted to a number of real estate investment advisors on organizational structure and investment vehicle design. She also assisted in preparing testimony for the Department of Labor on fiduciary standard of care relating to real estate investments. Jamie has worked in the real estate consulting groups of both Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young.

Jamie received her B.S. in Business Administration from the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a member of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA).

Sarah M. Snyder, Vice President and Consultant

Sarah M. Snyder, Vice President and Consultant, Real Estate Consulting Services. Sarah is responsible for real estate consulting services at Callan Associates and works to implement plan sponsor real estate strategies through manager searches, manager evaluations, and strategic and tactical planning initiatives. Her role includes the intensive evaluation of managers and their respective real estate products for plan sponsor clients. This due diligence process includes meeting and coordinating with investment advisors regarding various strategies, investment processes, track records, and organizational structures. Additionally, she heads manager and strategy research coverage in the global real estate securities market, as well as in the European and Latin American private real estate markets.

Sarah joined Callan Associates in July of 2004 as an analyst in the client report services group where she was responsible for preparing quarterly and monthly performance measurement reports. Before starting with Callan, Sarah was employed at Bank of America in Chicago.  She worked within the Private Bank division and was responsible for the revenue projections and management reports for the unit.  She also interned with the O'Connor Hedge Fund at UBS Global Asset Management as a risk-arbitrage research assistant and at Merrill Lynch as a sales assistant. 

Sarah has a BA from the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina and is currently a Level 2 candidate in the CAIA program.

Mark N. Stahl, Senior Vice President

Mark N. Stahl, CFA, is a Senior Vice President and Manager of Callan's Domestic Equity Manager Research Group. Mark joined Callan in 1995. He researches and analyzes money management firms with various investment styles for pension fund plan sponsors. He meets with general consultants and oversees manager searches, conducts on-site visits, and attends final presentations. Mark regularly interviews and visits portfolio managers and marketers to discuss products, strategies, and organizational issues.

Prior to joining the Domestic Equity Group, Mark was a member of Callan's Fixed Income Research Group where he gathered, analyzed, and verified data on domestic and international fixed income investment managers.

Mark earned a B.A. in Managerial Economics from the University of California at Davis and earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

James W. Van Heuit, Senior Vice President

James W. Van Heuit, Senior Vice President in the Capital Markets Research group. Jim is responsible for assisting clients with their strategic investment planning, conducting asset allocation studies, developing optimal investment manager structures, and providing custom research on a variety of investment topics. Jim speaks regularly at both the "Callan College" and the Callan Investments Institute. Jim was originally with Callan in the Capital Markets Research group from 1989 to 1997 and returned in 2001.  From 2001 through 2004, he was a general consultant in the San Francisco office. From 1997 to 2001 Jim was with consulting firms Watson Wyatt and R.V. Kuhns.

Prior to joining Callan Associates in 1989, Jim participated in the Ph.D. program in Economics at the University of Michigan where he studied microeconomics and international economics. Jim's previous experience includes four years as an independent consulting engineer and two years as a design engineer for Ford Aerospace and Communications Corp.

He received a B.S. in Mechanical/Aeronautical Engineering from the University of California, Davis, a B.A. in Economics from California State University at Sacramento, and an M.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan.

James Veneruso, Associate Consultant

James Veneruso, is an Associate Consultant in the Defined Contribution Group, Chicago Office. Jimmy joined Callan in 2007 and is responsible for providing analytical support to Callan's DC clients and consultants including DC record keeping searches, fee analyses, and the implementation of the record keeping database.

Prior to joining Callan Associates, Jimmy served over two years as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kingdom of Tonga. He served as project manager for the Future Farmers of Tonga program and taught at Queen Salote College.

Jimmy graduated with departmental honors earning a B.S. in Computer Science and Economics at Vanderbilt University. He received his Master's in Economics from University of Illinois.