Management:
Harry E. Haynes III
Founding Principal, Managing Director, and Senior Portfolio Manager, 2002 - Present
Mr. Haynes is also principal owner of FISCO Holdings LLC and a member owner of two other private funds. He has over 30 years of investing experience, including analysis, portfolio management, and asset management consulting.
Prior to forming FISCO in 2002, Mr. Haynes was employed at Ernst & Young LLC as Principal and Director of Southeast Area Investment Advisory Services in Atlanta. These services included determining asset allocation and client investment policy, assisting in investment manager searches and overseeing implementation. Prior to Ernst & Young, he was Senior VP of Investment Advisory, Inc., a subsidiary of Lloyd's TSB Bank London. Mr. Haynes coordinated domestic US investment services with London and Swiss based portfolio management and is credited with forwarding the concept of active international asset allocation. Previously Mr. Haynes was Director of Consultant Relations at Sanford C. Bernstein, New York, a $90 billion dollar international investment management firm. He was instrumental in developing the firm's asset allocation modeling capability. Earlier he was with DeMarche Associates, a national asset consulting firm, serving Fortune 500 companies, foundations and endowments. Mr. Haynes earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin, and then studied capital market theory at Washington University and Stanford University.
Kevin Ellis
Chief Operating Officer and Principal, 2007 - Present
Mr. Ellis brings over 25 years of administrative, financial and operations expertise to his role as Chief Operating Officer. He also serves as COO for two affiliated private funds. He is responsible for financial, operational and administrative matters of the firm. Mr. Ellis was the founding principal, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Labyrinth Group, LLC, an investment management firm that invested in hedge funds through structured securities, from 2001-2008. Previously, Mr. Ellis was Manager of Corporate Development at Arthur Andersen, LLP, working with middle market clients in mergers and acquisitions, corporate development and finance. Prior to Arthur Andersen, Mr. Ellis served in multiple roles at SUPERVALUE, INC., the nation's largest grocery wholesaler, including as the Vice President of Business Planning. Mr. Ellis has over ten years of experience as an attorney in private practice concentrating in the areas of commercial finance and corporate and business law.
He earned a BA in Finance from Minnesota State University-Mankato, and a Juris Doctorate from William Mitchell College of Law. Mr. Ellis was admitted to the bar in Minnesota in 1983.
Samuel T. DeKinder
Senior Vice-President, Marketing 2008 - Present
Before joining FISCO, Mr. DeKinder worked with INVESCO from 1989 until he retired as a Global Partner. He served as the Director of Sales, Marketing and Relationship Management for the Institutional Division from 1993 to 2005. Prior to INVESCO, he was a principal and co-founder of Demarche Associates, a national investment consulting firm.
Mr. DeKinder is a graduate of University of Oklahoma, where he majored in Economics and Statistics. He is a member of the Association for Investment Management and Research (Atlanta Chapter) and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
Joe St. John
Portfolio Manager, 2007 - Present
Mr. St. John joined FISCO in 2007. He has concentrated on research and product development, including the development of a tactical allocation model and the FISCO Appreciation Plus Fund, for which he is a principal and portfolio manager. Prior to FISCO, he spent four years as Project Manager for R.A. Nelson, a custom home builder in Avon, CO.
Mr. St. John earned a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from Colorado State University.
Marketing/Key Personnel
John J. Monahan, Director of Business Development, has devoted more than 35 years to the investment management industry. For 22 of those years he served as a Global Partner at Invesco serving in a variety of senior positions including responsibility for institutional business development and client management in the Americas. Following his retirement, he founded Peachtree Commonwealth LLC which was focused on developing a Micro Credit facility focusing on several South American countries where legitimate funding available to "economically deprived entrepreneurs " was unattainable. He is a graduate of St. Michaels College, Cholchester, Vermont and earned his BA in American Studies in 1971.
Willie Surtees, Partner, has over 20 years experience in wealth management and marketing consulting. Prior to joining FISCO, Mr. Surtees worked with high net worth individuals and institutions as a broker with Alex Brown & Sons (kna Deutsche Bank Alex Brown) and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette (kna Credit Suisse DLJ). Previously, he was an account supervisor with Warwick Advertising in NY and Leo Burnett Company, Inc. of Chicago. Mr. Surtees grew up in England and was educated at Rugby School, Warwickshire and at the University of Oxford. He was the 1972-73 and 1975-81 World Champion of Racquets.
Joy Crouse, Manager of Operations, is responsible for the administration and managerial functions for operations of all FISCO funds. Additionally, she coordinates investor and third party relations.