Executive Team and Key Investment Professionals
Management Team
Orison 'Kip' Chaffee, CFA
Rosemary Janousek
Jack Hansen, CFA
Thomas Lee, CFA
Investment Professionals
Jay Strohmaier, CFA
Daniel Wamre, CFA
Justin Henne, CFA
Jeffrey Rodgers, CFA
Christopher Haskamp
Alex Zweber, CFA
Matthew Liebl
Kelly Shelquist
Amanda Barhite Carter, CFA
Marketing Professionals
Benjamin Lazarus, CFA
Christopher Uhas, CFA
Management Team
Orison 'Kip' Chaffee, CFA
Managing Principal
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Kip Chaffee joined The Clifton Group in 2008 as Managing Principal. His responsibilities include formulating strategic direction and day to day management of the firm. Mr. Chaffee has held a number of executive positions within the financial services industry including VP of Corporate Strategy and Development for Ameriprise Financial Services and President and COO of Hantz Financial Services. Mr. Chaffee earned his BS in Economics from Harvard University and an MBA with a finance concentration from The Wharton School of Business. He is a CFA charterholder and member of the Twin Cities Society of Security Analysts.
Rosemary Janousek
Operations Consultant & Principal
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Rosemary Janousek joined The Clifton Group in 1978. She will be retiring at the end of 2010 after 32 years with Clifton. On May 1, 2010 Rosemary moved out of her role as Director of Operations into the role of Operations Consultant and she will continue to work through the end of the year. Kelly Shelquist was hired in February 2010 to serve as the new Director of Operations. Rosemary will work closely with Kelly to ensure a seamless transition.
Jack Hansen, CFA
Chief Investment Officer & Principal
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Jack L. Hansen joined The Clifton Group in 1985. As Chief Investment Officer, his responsibilities include the management of investment operations and portfolio management. Mr. Hansen has traded futures and other contracts in the overlay program since 1986. He continues to develop the overlay and core programs to better serve client needs with a focus on U.S. Equity replication and risk control policies. Mr. Hansen earned a BS degree in finance and economics from Marquette University and a MS in finance from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. A CFA charterholder and member of the Twin Cities Society of Security Analysts, Mr. Hansen writes and lectures on the use of derivatives in portfolio management.
Thomas Lee, CFA
Senior Portfolio Manager & Principal
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Thomas B. Lee joined The Clifton Group in 1994. Mr. Lee has traded futures and other contracts in the overlay program since starting with the firm. His focus is on fixed income instruments. He is responsible for providing the portfolio management and research required to manage the firm’s overlay portfolios. Mr. Lee has been instrumental in developing and enhancing synthetic fixed income strategies which track commonly referenced fixed income benchmarks. Prior to joining The Clifton Group, he spent two years working for the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C. In this position, he gained experience in modeling and forecasting interest rates and related monetary variables. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the Twin Cities Society of Security Analysts. Mr. Lee earned a BS in economics and an MBA in finance from the University of Minnesota.
Jay H. Strohmaier returned to The Clifton Group in 2009. Mr. Strohmaier has extensive experience with futures and options-based strategies and has been active in the investment industry since 1984. As a Sr. Portfolio Manager, Jay leads a team of investment professionals responsible for designing, trading and managing overlay portfolios with an emphasis on commodity index replication and hedging. Prior to rejoining Clifton, Jay worked for Cargill, Peregrine Capital Management, and Advantus Capital Management where his responsibilities included research, portfolio management, trading, marketing, and client service. Mr. Strohmaier is a CFA charter holder and a member of the Twin Cities Society of Security Analysts. He holds a BS degree in Agricultural Economics from Washington State University and Masters of Science in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota.
Daniel Wamre, CFA
Portfolio Manager
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Daniel M. Wamre joined The Clifton Group in 1995 working part-time in the company’s internship program and started full-time in 1998. As a Portfolio Manager, he is responsible for overlay trading with an emphasis on international index replication and hedging. Mr. Wamre earned a BS from North Dakota State University and an MBA in finance from the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining The Clifton Group, Mr. Wamre spent four years as a Platoon Commander/Executive Officer in the United States Marine Corps. Upon completion of graduate school, Mr. Wamre spent ten months working as a commercial banking credit analyst for U.S. Bank in Minneapolis. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the Twin Cities Society of Security Analysts.
Justin Henne, CFA
Portfolio Manager
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Justin Henne joined The Clifton Group in January of 2004 as an Investment Analyst. In 2006, he was promoted to Portfolio Manager and is a member of the Portfolio Management Team. He has overlay portfolio management responsibilities with an emphasis on international index replication. He also oversees overlay performance monitoring systems. Mr. Henne holds a BA in Financial Management from the University of St. Thomas. Prior to joining The Clifton Group, he worked for four years at the Minnesota State Lottery and for four months as a fixed income research analyst intern at Jeffrey Slocum & Associates. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the Twin Cities Society of Security Analysts.
Jeffrey Rodgers, CFA
Portfolio Manager
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Jeffrey Rodgers joined The Clifton Group in June 2004 as an Investment Analyst. In 2009 he was promoted to Portfolio Manager working mainly in the Policy Implementation Overlay (PIOS) program. His current duties include monitoring client exposures and trading overlay positions. He also assists in the Alpha Transport, Duration Management, and Option Hedging programs. Mr. Rodgers holds a B.S.B. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the Twin Cities Society of Security Analysts.
Chris Haskamp joined The Clifton Group in June 2006 as a Summer MBA Intern. Prior to joining The Clifton Group, he spent three years as a scientist at the medical device firm Beckman Coulter Inc. Mr. Haskamp earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota, a M.S. in chemistry from the University of California, San Diego, and an MBA in finance from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management. He started full time as Assistant Portfolio Manager at The Clifton Group in June of 2007 and was promoted to Portfolio Manager in 2009. He has passed all levels of the CFA Program and is currently waiting to receive his charter.
Alex Zweber, CFA
Portfolio Manager
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Alex Zweber joined The Clifton Group in May 2006 as an Investment Analyst. In 2010, he was promoted to Portfolio Manager working mainly in the Policy Implementation Overlay (PIOS®) and Option Hedging programs. His current duties include monitoring client exposures, commodity index replication, equity option modeling, and assisting in research projects. Mr. Zweber earned a BA in Economics from Macalester College. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the Twin Cities Society of Security Analysts.
Matthew Liebl
Assistant Portfolio Manager
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Matthew Liebl joined The Clifton Group in May 2007 as an Investment Analyst. In 2009 he was promoted to Assistant Portfolio Manager working primarily in the Policy Implementation Overlay (PIOS) program. His current duties include monitoring client exposures and generating daily tracking reports. He also assists in the Cash Management area as necessary. Mr. Liebl holds a BA in Finance from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He has passed all levels of the CFA Program and is currently waiting to receive his charter.
Kelly Shelquist
Director of Operations
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Kelly Shelquist joined The Clifton Group in 2010. She is responsible for leading and managing all aspects of Operations related to both exchange traded and over-the-counter markets. Ms. Shelquist has over twenty years of industry experience working for retail brokerage firms, custodian banks, and private investment companies. The past fourteen years she has been in the investment management industry, where she served as the Director of Operations for TPG Credit Management and Operations Manager for EBF & Associates. Ms. Shelquist earned Bachelor’s degrees in Business and Psychology from Gustavus Adolphus College, and a Masters in Business Administration from The University of St. Thomas.
Amanda Barhite Carter, CFA
Special Projects Manager
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Amanda Barhite Carter joined The Clifton Group in September 2004 as the Special Project Manager. Her responsibilities include: the management of over-the-counter documentation, and the creation of presentation materials, newsletters, and special interest articles. Prior to joining Clifton, Ms. Carter was employed for ten years as a Senior Consultant with Global Markets Consultants Ltd. where she worked with investment banking clients in the area of derivatives and capital markets training. Ms. Carter has also worked at JP Morgan as a Vice President in Global Derivatives Sales and Trading where she executed over-the-counter transactions for institutional clients. In addition, Ms. Carter has experience in corporate finance at DLJ and Merrill Lynch. Ms. Carter holds a BA in economics from Yale and an MBA with a concentration in finance from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Carter is a CFA charterholder and a member of the Twin Cities Society of Security Analysts.
Marketing Professionals
Benjamin Lazarus, CFA
Director, Sales and Marketing
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Benjamin S. Lazarus is the Director of Sales and Marketing for The Clifton Group. He is responsible for developing, coordinating, and executing the sales and marketing strategies for The Clifton Group’s unique family of products with special emphasis on business development in the Western and Southern United States. Prior to joining The Clifton Group in July of 2004, Mr. Lazarus was the Director of Sales Strategy at Deluxe Corporation in St. Paul, Minnesota. Mr. Lazarus holds a BA in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego and an MBA in Marketing and Strategic Management from the University of Minnesota. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the Twin Cities Society of Security Analysts.
Christopher Uhas, CFA
Vice President, Sales and Marketing
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Chris Uhas joined The Clifton Group in 2007. He is responsible for developing, coordinating, and executing the sales and marketing strategies for The Clifton Group’s unique family of products with special emphasis on business development in the Midwestern and Eastern regions of the United States. Prior to joining The Clifton Group Mr. Uhas was involved in public and private equity portfolio management with a boutique asset management firm. Before entering the investment management field Mr. Uhas served as the Director of New Product Launch for Seagate Technology, based in Singapore. Additionally, he spent 5 years as a nuclear-trained submarine officer in the United States Navy. Mr. Uhas holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the Twin Cities Society of Security Analysts.