MERCATOR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Director of Investor Relations

Erwin Chaloupka serves as Director of Investor Relations at Mercator Investment Management. Erwin has previously worked for three years for a small private investment group, where he focused on equity research and investment strategy. Before that, he worked for seven years for an international economic foundation, where his primary role was partner relations and fundraising. Erwin has a BA in International Relations with a minor in Marketing from the University of Southern California, an MA in International Relations and Economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and Principles of Finance Graduate Certificate from Harvard University. In his free time, Erwin enjoys playing squash, tennis, and golf.

Job Titles:

• Chief Investment Officer
• Portfolio Manager
• President of Mercator Investment Management LLC

The Portfolio Manager and CIO, Hervé van Caloen, is President of Mercator Investment Management LLC, and has over 30 years of experience managing international equity portfolios. Starting his career as an analyst at Scudder, Stevens and Clark in 1985, when global investing was still in its infancy, Mr. van Caloen became the portfolio manager of the Scudder Variable Life International Fund. He later launched The PaineWebber Europe Growth Fund, the first mutual fund specializing in both Western Europe and in the former communist countries of central Europe. In the mid 1990s, Mr. van Caloen led the international investment effort at Provident Capital Management and later served as First Vice President of Schroders in New York.

Job Titles:

• CCO
• Chief Compliance Officer

Joel Schmitz serves as the CCO for Mercator Investment Management and has more than 20 years of compliance experience in the financial services industry. He has passed the FINRA Series 7, 24, 53, and 63 exams. Joel started his career as a financial advisor with American Express Financial Advisors and later moved to FourSquare Financial Group/K2 Advisory Group where he served as the Director of Compliance & Financial Planning. He has a B.S. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking with his dog, coaching his two sons, University of Wisconsin athletics, and visiting U.S. National Parks with his family.

Job Titles:

• Chief Operating Officer

John Twomey serves as COO of Mercator Investment Management. Prior to MIM John worked with a variety of institutional investors consulting on manager selection, as a research analyst for a distressed debt fund in the industrial sector, in the offshore funds group of a large American asset manager, and began his finance career as an analyst for a European family office. John has a BA in History with a concentration in American Studies from the University of Virginia. His interests outside work include reading, playing squash, and spending time outdoors with his family.

Job Titles:

• Analyst

Josefina Velez Tirado, of Ecuadorean descent, joined the highly successful Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund investment team (formerly known as Partners Fund), as junior analyst in 1992. In 1997 she began following emerging markets equities, with a special focus on Latin America for the Neuberger Berman International Fund. Since 2000, she covers domestic and international equities for Riverside Capital Management. Josefina holds a bachelor's degree and MBA in finance from Nyack College. Outside of the office, she is a passionate youth soccer coach. She holds a USSF B license and currently coach U14 and U15 boys for Eleftheria Pancyprian Soccer Club in Astoria, NY.