Managing Investments During Inflationary Times
Ken Winans
CEO & Chief Investment Officer
Ken Winans left a promising career with Merrill Lynch and started Winans International in 1992 with seven clients. He envisioned an advisory practice that would be different from other investment firms, with a view of countering the impersonal, one-size-fits-all approach. By providing innovative investment solutions, made possible through his own research, he believed he could design individual portfolios to meet the individual needs of each client. Today, Winans Investments manages equity and fixed-income investments. We know that investing successfully in rapidly developing economic situations requires complex knowledge, experience, and significant time. Many people try to manage their own investing to save money on fees. That is understandable. However, they sometimes find that the constant barrage of news, earnings projections and tips streaming in from the Internet and on television does not provide a hoped-for solution — in fact, they might be left with even more uncertainty. Still worse, individual investors tend to panic at the first signs of trouble, abandoning what may have been a solid investment strategy.
Mr. Winans holds a Master’s in Finance from the University of San Francisco, a BA in Business Economics from the University of San Diego and is a Chartered Market Technician (CMT).
During his pursuit of a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics at the University of San Diego, Ken earned his real estate license and worked part-time for California Brokers of San Diego. Later, at EF Hutton & Company, he conducted investment analysis for a 45-year veteran of the investment business and competed in the 1986 U.S. Investing Championship. As a graduate student at the University of San Francisco working towards a master’s in finance, Ken joined the research department of Sutro & Company. After completing his academic studies, one of his former supervisors asked him to become Research Director for the upstart Chicago-based Compass Investment Group. Ken joined Merrill Lynch in 1990 as a registered investment advisor. In 1992, he founded Winans International.
From 1996 to 2001, he also served as adjunct faculty member of the Graduate School of Business at St. Mary’s College of California. In 2004, the University of San Francisco named him one of its most celebrated graduates in its 161-year history.
Ken serves as a trustee for several non-profit organizations such as: The W Foundation (Novato), USS Hornet Museum (Alameda), the Society of California Pioneers (San Francisco) and The Holland Society of New York. He served board terms for The Museum of American Finance (New York City), San Francisco Fleet Week Association, Chabot Space & Science Center (Oakland), The University of San Francisco Alumni Association and The Institute of Economics (Ridgway, CO).
Stephanie Larson
Portfolio Manager
Stephanie is a Bay Area native and has lived and worked here for most her life. She attended St Mary’s College graduating with a BS in Business Administration and Economics. After which she pursued her advance degree in London at the University of Westminster achieving her MSc in International Business Economics. Stephanie has worked in the investment management industry for the past 15 years for some of the largest firms in the industry; Robert Stephenson, Fisher Investments, Bank of the West/BNP Paribas, and Zions Bancorp. Most recently before joining Winans Investments, Stephanie was a Senior Risk Consultant with Franklin Templeton. In that role she led the development of the equity platform risk analytics and research. She partnered with the EVP of Risk and the CIO to create enterprise equity analytics on $450B in assets. Stephanie also spearheaded the development and implementation of the equity sell discipline across all equity groups utilizing quantitative portfolio optimization techniques.
Stephanie has recently joined Winans Investments as the Portfolio Manager. In this role she will be responsible for investment research, portfolio implementation, performance, and analytics. She will bring her vast experience and knowledge to the investment team. Pervious roles include Performance Manager, AVP of Portfolio Analytics, Senior Investment Analyst, and Head of Investments and Research.
Stephanie is also highly involved in the Marin community where she resides. She is raising her two young sons in Novato. Her husband is a Bay Area fireman as well and a Marin native. She has coached high school girls’ basketball for 17 seasons, including at her alma mater Marin Catholic. Her family also has a charitable foundation that puts on an annual charity basketball tournament at Marin Catholic to raise money for scholarships for underprivileged students to attend MC.
Amy McGovern
Client Service & Marketing Manager
Amy is a Bay Area native and has lived and worked here for her entire life. Amy entered the legal field as a legal secretary. She worked for a high caliber law firm providing support to one or more lawyers preparing legal documents, filings with the courthouse, and heavy client interaction. During this time, she also started her family. After her time in the legal field, Amy pursued marketing and client development in the real estate industry. During this time, Amy realized her true passion of marketing and enjoyed working with the clients and client development. After 4 years in the mortgage/real estate industry, Amy joined Winans as the Vice President of Marketing and & Client Services. In this role Amy will drive Winans marketing campaigns, client development, and oversees all the client service management. Amy truly enjoys the personal interaction with the clients, and helping the clients achieve their financial goals.
Amy currently resides in Petaluma where she is raising her teenage son. Amy is highly involved in her son’s school and volunteers her time with his sports and fundraising events. When Amy has free time she enjoys working out, teaching Pilates, spending time with her family and friends, and catching a Giant’s game.
Winans Investments Team
Brittany Campbell
Operations Manager
Brittany grew up in the North Bay and continues to live and raise her family there. Brittany graduated High School with distinction and received the student of the year in business/computers. After graduating she chose to immediately step into the work force. After becoming a mom, she decided to be a stay at home mom to raise her young children. Brittany wanted to get back into the work force and became an Administration Assistant for Harrison Drywall, Inc, a successful drywall company based out of San Francisco. During her 5 years with the firm, she advanced into the operations side of the business. She became an integral part of the operations management team and became the payroll specialist who was in charge of the entire firms accounts payable and receivables. After commuting to San Francisco for 5 years, she decided to find a job closer to home and her kids.
Brittany has recently joined Winans Investments as the Operations Manager. In this role she will be responsible for all the AP/AR for the business, along with office management and other administrative duties. Brittany’s goal with Winans is to keep the company operations running as smoothly as possible.
Brittany currently resides in Rohnert Park with her 3 kids. She is very active outside of work with her kids and has coached her daughter and son’s soccer teams for the past 5 years. Her kids are the one thing that keeps her going every day and the reason she works so hard.