Steve Smith
Steven Smith has over 20 years of investment experience with and expert level of option knowledge. This includes over seven years as member of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) during which he acted as market- maker on the trading floor and traded for his personal account.
Steve currently runs the OptionSmith newsletter, contributes to variety of financial websites including Minyanville.com, TradeAlert, an options analytics firms, and is a frequent speaker at industry events.
After leaving the floor in 1998 Steve joined TheStreet.com as the senior option columnist and chief derivatives strategist. In 2004 he created and managed the OptionAlert, a subscription newsletter. During the four year period from its inception of July 2004- July 2008 the portfolio delivered a total return of 73%; this compares to the S&P 500 Index which gained 6.7% during the same time period. The OptionAlert was awarded the MIN “best business newsletter” in 2006.
Steve is a graduate of Emory University. He earned a B.A. in 1987. He currently lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
Brian Kahn
Brian began trading futures in Chicago, IL, becoming proficient in technical and fundamental analysis as well as reading market flows to determine price movement. He enthusiastically professes his strong trading psychology and passion for the stock, options, and forex markets to traders/investors. Educating traders and investors one step at a time is Brian’s motto. A Colorado Buffalo, he enjoys skiing while maintaining an active, environmentally conscious lifestyle in Park City, Utah.
Tim Collins
A graduate of McDaniel College with degrees in Business Administration, Economics and Sociology, Mr. Collins has worked as a financial advisor since 1999. Since joining his first firm, American Express Financial Advisors, in 1999, he has worked with Jefferson Pilot, H. Beck, Inc., and later founded Clarus Capital Partners, LLC. Most recently, he has launched TangleTrade Management, LLC, the advisor to the hedge fund, TangleTrade, LP.
Daniel S. Shaffer
Daniel S. Shaffer is President & CEO of Shaffer Asset Management, Inc. With three decades worth of markets experience, from the floor of the New York Futures Exchange to Coopers and Lybrand, Bear Stearns, Hambrecht and Quist and finally at Shaffer Asset Management, Dan has a lifetime of experience that he brings to the pages of Finance Banter. Over the years, Dan has developed and refined his proprietary investment models and uses them daily to the advantage of his clients. A highly sought after commentator on stock, commodity futures and currency markets, along with his economic cycles research, Dan uses his models and experiences for his opinions and analysis to give you an edge in today’s market.
Dan is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and works out of Harrison, New York.
Adrienne Penake, CFA
Adrienne is a financial services and fixed income professional who has spent her career in banking and consulting services. She was an Associate Director at Bear, Stearns & Co. in San Francisco where she specialized on fixed-income portfolio strategies for banks and other institutions. Prior to that, she worked as a Fixed Income Analyst for Goldman Sachs in New York.
Adrienne is a CFA charterholder and received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Northwestern University. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of San Francisco. She volunteers her time to deliver pro-bono consulting solutions to non-profit organizations through the Taproot Foundation and enjoys running, biking and practicing yoga.
Bob Byrne
Bob Byrne is a full-time private daytrader with 10 years’ experience. His trading relies on technical analysis and focuses primarily on the energy sector. Bob holds a business degree from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. He lives in Park City, Utah, with his wife and daughter.
Chad Brand
Chad Brand is the founder and President of Peridot Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisory firm focused on value investing strategies. Brand specializes in personal finance, portfolio management, and investment consulting services for individual investors. His blog, “The Peridot Capitalist”, has been named one of the web’s best stock market and investing blogs by various media outlets since Chad began publishing his views in late 2004.
Paul J. Nolte CFA
Paul Nolte, Managing Director at Dearborn Partners, provides portfolio management services to individual and institutional clients and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee.
A 20 year plus investment management veteran, Paul was most recently Director of Investments with Hinsdale Associates overseeing the investment activity of the firm. Previously, he was a lead portfolio manager for Bank One and National City Bank where he managed private and institutional client relationships. Earlier, he was an advisor for Feldman Investment Group in Chicago and CLR Financial in Elmhurst. Paul’s investment expertise is in portfolio management and asset allocation.
Paul has degrees from Illinois Wesleyan University and DePaul University.
John Manley
John Manley is a professional trader and portfolio manager. He is responsible for the management of a private derivatives based hedge fund. He spent 10 years in the brokerage industry as a trader and in trading management before becoming an independent professional trader. John holds the Derivatives Market Specialist designation from the Canadian Securities Institute.
John is frequently asked to appear on national television to comment on the markets, discuss trading strategies and speaks regularly for professional industry groups across Canada and the United States. He has also written feature articles for Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine, and his educational articles have been syndicated to top financial portals on the Web. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Toronto.
