Austin Root, Chief Investment Officer
Prior to joining SAM, Austin was director of research at Stansberry Research where he managed and led Stanberry’s team of more than thirty analysts and editors producing world-class financial and investment research. In addition, Austin was the portfolio manager for the company’s flagship portfolio products, Stansberry Portfolio Solutions.
Prior to joining Stansberry Research, Austin was a partner and portfolio manager at D.F. Dent & Co., a Baltimore-based investment advisor focused on owning high-quality growth companies.
Before that, Austin co-founded and ran North Oak Capital, a New York-based hedge fund that received a strategic investment from Julian Robertson and Tiger Management. North Oak produced strong investment returns over the life of the firm, generating positive returns in each year and for every investor, exceeding hedge fund benchmarks.
Austin previously held senior investment positions at SAC Capital Advisors and Soros Fund Management. Austin has experience investing across asset classes, including public equities, derivatives, venture capital, private equity, real estate, and fixed-income securities. He began his career in investment banking at the Blackstone Group, and he earned an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a BS in commerce from the University of Virginia.
Austin lives in Maryland with his wife and three children.
Michael Joseph, CFA, Vice President and Deputy Chief Investment Officer
Michael is a Vice President and Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Stansberry Asset Management. His duties include sourcing investment opportunities and conducting ongoing due diligence on SAM’s portfolios.
Prior to joining SAM, Michael was a Senior Financial Consultant at TD Ameritrade. He was previously a Senior Analyst at PFM Asset Management. Michael began his career in the investment business with Fisher Investments in 2010.
Michael holds an MBA from the University of California, Davis and a BA from San Francisco State University where he majored in History. He earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter in 2017.
Michael currently resides in Arizona. He serves as a Board Member for the i.d.e.a. Museum Foundation, an Advisory Board Member for the Arizona Council on Economic Education, and is a member of the Practice Analysis Working Body of the CFA Institute.
You can see Michael discuss SAM’s portfolio management during the sharp 2020 downturn in this brief video.
Mario Valente, CFA, Deputy Chief Investment Officer
Mario is a Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Stansberry Asset Management. He is responsible for sourcing and monitoring positions across the firm’s strategies, while also serving as a principal spokesperson for the team’s investment philosophy with clients.
Prior to joining SAM, Mario was the Director of Investment Grade Research at Zazove Associates, a multi-billion dollar investment firm specializing in convertible securities management. He was previously a Senior Credit Analyst at Sandelman Partners, a multi-strategy hedge fund focused on fixed income relative-value investing. Mario started his buy-side asset management career with Citadel in 2001, where he was one of the first credit research analysts hired into the Convertible Arbitrage group.
Mario holds a BA from Stanford University where he majored in Economics. He has also completed graduate-level coursework in Data Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Institute for Data, Systems, and Society. Mario earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter in 2011.
Mario serves as the Co-Chair of the Membership Programming Advisory Council for the CFA Society San Francisco, a committee dedicated to creating relevant investment programming for its professional membership. Mario resides in Marin County with his wife and three young daughters.
William Pedersen, Executive Vice President
William is an Executive Vice President at Stansberry Asset Management. He spent the bulk of his early career helping to build a multibillion-dollar private investment firm where he was recognized multiple times for his impact on the growth of the firm. He held a leadership position and played a pivotal role in training and formally mentoring business development representatives.
Just prior to joining SAM, William served as a Managing Director at two different investment firms where he worked with both high-net-worth investors and institutions. During this time he held series 3, 7, 24, 63 and 65 licenses. William’s background also includes time spent working with private clients at both Bank of the West and Wells Fargo.
William earned degrees in Rhetoric and Communications from the University of California, Davis, served as a Paratrooper in the US Army and competed as a collegiate wrestler earning multiple championships. He is a long-time resident of Sonoma County where he is raising six children and enjoys coaching youth football and wrestling.
Jonathan Willner, Senior Vice President
Jonathan Willner is a Senior Vice President at Stansberry Asset Management. Jon educates investors to help them identify optimal strategies to reach their investment goals. He has directly contributed to the rapid growth of SAM, as well as several multibillion-dollar investment firms.
Prior to joining SAM, Jon was a Quantitative Trade Analyst at Volare Capital Management, an investment firm focused on high frequency trading. He designed, built and implemented successful algorithmic trading strategies in both futures and equities markets.
Previously, Jon was a Research Analyst at Vista Partners. He specialized in sourcing investment opportunities in the small-cap biotech space. Jon began his career with JPMorgan where he held senior positions in their private wealth management division.
Jon holds a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He speaks fluent Italian, is a restaurateur, triathlete, motorcycle enthusiast and musician. Jon resides in Redwood City, CA with his wife and newborn son.