ZAZOVE - Key Persons
Alan Yu, CFA joined Zazove Associates in 2012. He is a senior research analyst for the global healthcare sector. He performs fundamental research on the companies in his coverage universe and advises portfolio managers on buy and sell activities. Prior to joining Zazove, Alan spent 5 years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as Vice President, Research Analyst for the convertible bond sales and trading desk. He earned his Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from the Simon School of Business, University of Rochester.
Bret joined the firm in 2021 as a Portfolio Manager supporting the firm's core balanced convertible strategy as well as the convertible arbitrage strategy. Bret has over 16 years of experience executing complex investment strategies including interest rate derivative trading. Bret previously co-founded and served as the Managing Partner of a proprietary trading group specializing in quantitative volatility strategies. More recently, Bret worked as a product specialist developing advanced analytics for an enterprise software application for Asset Managers. Bret received a B.A.Sc. in Aviation Management from Southern Illinois University and his MBA from the University of Illinois.
Bryan Price has been developing software for the past three decades since leaving a teaching position at a technical college. He has developed numerous proprietary applications at Zazove including our trade order management system, our compliance engine, and our trade activity reporting systems. He earned a Master of Science in Computer Engineering from University of California, Santa Barbara and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from California State University, Fresno.
Job Titles:
- Analyst
- Administration, Finance and Legal
Charlton joined Zazove Associates in 2022. As an Analyst, his responsibilities range from providing support to the investment team to client services, business development, and marketing. Charlton graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. Prior to joining Zazove, he interned at TCI Wealth Advisors in 2020 and was a member of The Nevada Student Investment Organization.
Job Titles:
- Portfolio Manager & Director of Credit Research
Chris earned his MBA from Northwestern University with concentrations in finance and accounting and graduated with honors. He received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University. Prior to joining Zazove Associates in 2000, Chris spent 13 years working in the institutional equity department of Credit Suisse First Boston, most recently as West Coast Equity Product Manager.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Portfolio Manager and Trader
Dale Hogan, CFA is an International Analyst and Trader with 22 years of investment experience. Dale's responsibilities include the analysis and trading of all convertibles from issuers based outside of the US. In addition, Dale assists with portfolio management for the Global Strategy. Dale was previously a high yield credit trader in London, most recently with Jefferies. Dale is a CFA Charterholder, and he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Master of Science in Engineering from Stanford University.
Dan Osorio, CFA is a Trader with over 19 years of experience in the convertible bond and equity option markets. Dan joined Zazove Associates in 2000 and was instrumental in trading and risk management for the convertible arbitrage, long only, and alternative credit strategies. He left the firm in 2013 as Principal and Senior Trader and returned to Zazove in 2020 to focus on trading and special situations. Dan also manages delta hedging and provides oversight for the convertible arbitrage strategy, and general trading support and risk management for our outright strategies. Prior to joining Zazove in 2000, he served as an options trader in San Francisco for Timber Hill, a pioneering electronic market maker. Dan earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a minor in Mathematics from the University of Oregon and has been a CFA Charterholder since 2003.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate, Client and Trade Operations
- Senior Client and Trade Operations Associate
Elaine Cleary is a Senior Client and Trade Operations Associate with 20 years of experience in trade settlements. In addition to trade settlements, she is also responsible for client reporting. Elaine received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining Zazove in 1999, Elaine was with Bank of America as an accountant.
Gene T. Pretti - CEO, Chief Investment Officer
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Investment Officer
Gene Pretti is the firm's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer. Prior to joining Zazove Associates in 1989, Gene worked for First Boston Corporation where he specialized in institutional equity sales. He also has served as an analyst with CUNA Mutual Insurance Co. and Robert W. Baird & Co. He earned his MBA from the University of Wisconsin where he was selected for the Applied Program, an honors program emphasizing Security Analysis and Portfolio Management.
Job Titles:
- Portfolio Manager and Director of Trade Operations
- Portfolio Manager of Our Global Convertible Strategy
Greg has served as Portfolio Manager of our Global Convertible Strategy since 1999. He is a member of the firm's Investment Committee and works closely with the CEO/CIO to support all of the firm's convertible strategies. Prior to joining Zazove in 1997, Greg was a Senior Associate with the law firm of Baker & Botts where he specialized in the analysis of pricing practices by foreign corporations. He also served as Senior Counsel for Import Administration, where he advised the Department of Commerce on international trade matters. Greg earned his Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from State University of New York at Binghamton.
Job Titles:
- Director, Relationship Management
Götz earned his MS in Finance from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2016, where he graduated Beta Gamma Sigma. As Director of Relationship Management, Götz plays an integral role in working with existing clients, as well as developing new relationships for the firm. Götz joined Zazove Associates in January 2011.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance & Operations
- Director, Finance and Operations
Jeremy King is the firm's Director of Finance & Operations with over 24 years of investment industry experience. As director, Jeremy manages the firm's in-house fund administration, oversees separately managed account reporting deliverables and is responsible for portfolio performance measurement while maintaining the firm's composites. As controller, he is responsible for financial reporting, tax compliance, day-to-day accounting operations and various human resource functions. Prior to joining the firm, Jeremy was a Senior Accountant at Edelheit & Edelheit, Ltd. where he provided public accounting services to small and mid-sized businesses in a variety of industries. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Illinois CPA Society. Jeremy received his BS in Accounting from North Park University.
John Idone is the Head Trader at Zazove Associates with over 38 years of convertible bond investment and trading experience. He is responsible for the execution and monitoring of firmwide investments. He is also responsible for developing and maintaining Zazove's senior level relationships with the sell side firms that Zazove trades with on a daily basis. Prior to joining Zazove, John has held investment decision and trading positions at both TQA Investors, a hedge fund and on the sell-side at Credit Suisse. John has a Bachelor of Arts from State University of New York and a Master of Business Administration from Pace University.
Joseph joined Zazove in 2018. At the firm, he is responsible for research coverage of the software and services industries. Before joining the firm, he worked as an equity analyst at Allianz RCM and Wasatch Advisors. Prior to that experience, he worked in investment research and investment banking at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago with concentrations in Finance and Accounting as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Finance from Boston College, both with highest honors.
Job Titles:
- Associate, Client and Trade Operations
Kenny Jones has over 27 years of experience working in the financial services industry and has served in numerous capacities, including trade processing and accounting and equity and mutual fund trading. Currently, as a Client and Trade Operations associate, his primary responsibilities include client reporting, trade processing, and settlement. Prior to Zazove he worked for JP Morgan. He also attended The Ohio State University.
Job Titles:
- Research Analyst
- in 2023 As a Research Analyst
Kevin Duffy joined Zazove Associates in 2023 as a Research Analyst. At the firm, he is responsible for research coverage of the financials, industrials, and energy sectors. Before joining the firm, he was a Principal in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Markets Group, covering credit markets. He advised policymakers on financial stability topics, including emergency credit facilities. He was previously an Associate at Promontory Financial Group and a credit trader at Bridgewater Associates. Kevin earned a Master of Business Administration from the Yale School of Management and received an AB from Harvard College.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant to the CEO
- in 2020 As Executive Assistant
Kim joined Zazove in 2020 as Executive Assistant with over 35 years' experience. She is responsible for providing executive support to the firm's CEO, Gene Pretti. Prior to joining Zazove, Kim was Executive Assistant at a Bay Area start-up DayTwo. Before that she was Executive Assistant to the President, CEO and Chairman of the Board at Pandora Media in Oakland, CA as well as Executive Assistant at Madrona Venture Group and Microsoft in Seattle, WA.
Matthew Halko is a Software Engineer at Zazove with eight years of experience building real-time financial applications. He is responsible for the development of proprietary tools for security and portfolio analysis, risk management, trade allocation and client reporting. Working closely with Nick Flees, Bryan Price and the portfolio management team, he contributes to the development of Zazove's proprietary software architecture.
Before joining Zazove, Matthew worked as a proprietary trader in Chicago executing relative-value fixed income trades, conducting quantitative research and deploying automated trading models. He has a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Job Titles:
- Software Engineer
- Client Service and Business Development
Michael Eggert is a Software Engineer with over 14 years of experience. Michael started his career as a Fixed Income Trader after graduating in 2009 from Northwestern University. After 10 years in trading, Michael obtained a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Chicago in 2019. Prior to joining Zazove in 2022, Michael was a full-stack Software Developer for Mercury Digital Assets that specialized in trading software for digital assets. Michael is responsible for updating and enhancing Zazove's proprietary software that is utilized by the investment team, as well as providing support to improve the firm's automated reporting process.
Job Titles:
- Director of Quantitative Modeling
Nicholas Flees is Zazove's Director of Quantitative Modeling. He manages the firm's quantitative analysis initiatives and is the firm's lead software architect. He is responsible for articulating and managing the firm's technological strategy. This work includes the design and development of proprietary systems and tools for security analysis, portfolio analysis, risk management, and reporting.
Nick has more than 15 years of experience working in finance and technology. Prior to joining Zazove in 2018, he designed, wrote, and managed proprietary trading, derivative-modeling, and data-analysis applications for market makers in exchange-traded interest-rate options at the Chicago Board of Trade. He was also a member of the Computer Science faculty at the University of Chicago, where he taught master's-level courses on Python programming and databases. He holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Michigan. Nick is a candidate in the CFA program.
Job Titles:
- Associate, Client and Trade Operations
Rich received a Bachelor of Arts in Geography with a specialization in International Business and World Trade from the University at Buffalo in 1998. He is responsible for trade settlement as well as assisting the trading desk with trade processing and other day to day operations. He has been with Zazove since 2004.
As Managing Partner, Ryan is responsible for management, strategic planning and growth for all areas of Zazove Associates. Ryan has over 20 years of financial services industry experience, most recently with Wells Fargo Asset Management / Analytic Investors where he was Head of Factor Solutions, a business that he launched and ran after Wells Fargo Asset Management acquired Analytic Investors LLC. Before joining Analytic in 2010, Ryan was a Portfolio Manager at Northrop Grumman where he was responsible for managing the firm's Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution equity investments. Prior to Northrop Grumman, Ryan was responsible for conducting asset allocation and investment manager due diligence for Wilshire Associates' Funds Management Group. Ryan received a B.A. in Law and Society & Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has earned the right to use the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation.
Sam Ginocchio - Chief Compliance Officer
Sam Ginocchio joined Zazove Associates in 2023 as the firm's Chief Compliance Officer.
Steve Kleiman is the firm's Of Counsel. Steve earned his JD from the UCLA School of Law where he graduated with highest honors. He received certification as a CPA in 1983. Prior to joining Zazove Associates in 1994, Steve was a Partner with the international law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery. Before that, Steve practiced law with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.