Committees

CFA SOCIETY ST. LOUIS COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Blake_Emerson

BLAKE EMERSON, CFA

RESEARCH CHALLENGE CHAIR


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Juli_Niemann

JULI NIEMANN, CFA

PHILANTHROPY CHAIR


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DR. GAURANGO BANERJEE, CFA

EDUCATION / UNIVERSITY
RELATIONS CHAIR


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Sean Stout

SEAN STOUT, CFA

PROGRAMS


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Derek Beiter

DEREK BEITER, CFA

MENTOR PROGRAM


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C. Kevin Moore

C. KEVIN MOORE, CFA

SPONSORSHIP CHAIR


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Megan St. John

MEGAN ST. JOHN, CFA

WOMEN IN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIAISON


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Dan Conner

DAN CONNER, CFA

STOCK PICK GAME


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Alec Hubbard

ALEC HUBBARD, CFA

COMMUNICATIONS / TECHNOLOGY CHAIR


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MEMBERSHIP CHAIR

(OPEN)

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BLAKE EMERSON, CFA

Head of Investments & Advice – Missouri
Executive Director
J. P. MORGAN PRIVATE BANK

In his role, Blake works with high net-worth individuals and families to develop and deliver customized, long-term investment strategies. He also serves in a leadership capacity within the St. Louis office, partnering closely with the Office Team Lead to grow the firm’s presence throughout a five-state region.
Blake joined the St. Louis team in march 2015 after spending five years working with families in the firm’s New York City office. He has been heavily involved within the firm on a national level, having served recently as a member of the U.S. Private Bank Advisory Council.
Blake is actively involved in the St. Louis community, serving as a member of the University of Michigan alumni association and serves on CFA Society St. Louis board of directors.
He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. He earned his CFA designation in 2015 and also holds Series 7, 9, 10 and 63 FINRA licenses.

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JULI NIEMANN, CFA

Executive Vice President
SMITH MOORE

Juli Niemann has worked in the financial services industry for nearly 50 years, and her extensive experience in this industry has given her the perspective and skill to manage the risk in investing. Investors cannot control the range of the returns available and set the markets. However, through careful analysis and proper balancing, they can control the risks in their individual portfolios. It is Juli’s task to know and understand your unique needs and concerns, to monitor changing circumstances, and to build and maintain a portfolio to satisfy your objectives.
Juli graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fontbonne College and from the University of Missouri-St. Louis with an MBA in Finance. As a Chartered Financial Analyst, Juli is a current member and former president of the CFA Society of St. Louis.
Outside of the office, Juli remains active in the community as a member of many organizations, including the University City Pension Board, the Metro Children’s Theater Company, Parents as Teachers, the Missouri Women’s Forum, St. Louis Culinary Society, Women’s Democratic Forum, St. Louis Forum, Focus St. Louis, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, and the Mary Ryder Home.

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DR. GAURANGO BANERJEE, CFA

Professor of Finance,
Plaster School of Business & Entrepreneurship
LINDENWOOD UNIVERSITY

Dr. Banerjee is originally from India, and received a Bachelor’s of Engineering and Economics in the dual degree program at BITS Pilani, India. Subsequently, he completed a Master’s and Doctorate program in the Finance and Economics Department at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. After completing his Doctoral program, he taught at the University of Texas at Brownsville for 14 years before joining Lindenwood University in St. Louis in 2013. During his tenure at the University of Texas, he completed the requirements for the Chartered Financial Analyst program, and received the CFA designation. He has served as a Faculty Advisor for the CFA Research Challenge student team at Lindenwood University since 2016. In July 2021, Dr. Banerjee was appointed to the Board of Directors at the CFA Society St. Louis.
He has published his research in over 15 peer-reviewed journals in his field, and his current research interests lie in Risk Management and Corporate Governance issues. He has taught a wide variety of finance courses, including Corporate Finance, Investments, and seminars in Finance, Derivatives and Fixed Income Securities at the undergraduate and graduate level.

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SEAN STOUT, CFA

Senior Portfolio Manager
CENTRAL TRUST COMPANY

Sean has been building his financial services career since 2006, with roles in portfolio management, securities research, and financial advice. Prior to joining Central Trust Company, he was instrumental in co-founding a team of global analysts, providing customized investment portfolio solutions to financial advisors, portfolio managers, and their clients. He additionally has experience in portfolio analytics, risk management, and financial technologies innovation.
He holds a Master of Business Administration/Finance degree from the University of North Florida, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Tennessee. He earned his CFA designation and is a Certified Financial Planner Professional (CFP®).

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DEREK BEITER, ABD, CFA

Senior Investment Analyst
LPL FINANCIAL

As a Senior Investment Analyst, Derek Beiter conducts investment research of third-party investment managers. He is also a member of the Strategic Model Portfolio Committee. Derek Joined LPL Research in 2023. He has nearly 20 years of experience conducting investment manager research. At Wells Fargo, he was a Senior Investment Analyst covering U.S. fixed-income managers. Previously he worked at Edward Jones and A.G. Edwards, covering managers within fixed-income, U.S. equities, emerging markets, and commodities. Derek has also served as a university lecturer and public policy consultant. Derek earned a BBA in Economics & Finance from McKendree University, an MA in Political Science from the University of Missouri St. Louis, and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

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C. KEVIN MOORE, CFA

ASSET CONSULTING GROUP

Kevin works closely with both institutional and private investor clients. His primary responsibilities include asset allocation analysis, portfolio construction, investment policy development and review, investment manager searches and due diligence, portfolio analysis, implementation and rebalancing, and performance evaluation.
Prior to this role, he was part of the ACG's Research Team. Kevin worked as a summer intern at ACG before joining them full-time.
He graduated from the University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance.
Kevin is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and a member of the CFA Institute. He is also a member of and the Education/University Relations Committee Chair of the CFA Society St. Louis.

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MEGAN ST. JOHN, CFA

Director – Analytics Consulting
EDWARD JONES

Megan focuses on partnering with senior leaders across the firm to leverage the full power of data and analytics for the benefit of our clients, branch teams, and firm.
Megan began her career at Edward Jones in the summer of 2005 as in intern in the Equity Trading department. Upon graduating, she was hired as an equity trader for the firm. In 2008, she became the Best Execution Analyst for the firm, and in 2010, she became a member of the Mutual Fund Research department. Megan held various roles within Mutual Fund Research including helping to create Bridge Builder funds, manage Advisory Solutions models, create portfolio construction guidance, and lead the firm's ETF Research Advice and Guidance in both the U.S. and Canada. In 2018, she became the Senior Manager of the People Analytics team within Firm Analytics.
Megan graduated Summa Cum Laude from St. Louis University in 2005 with dual Bachelor’s degrees in finance and economics. In addition, she holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute. She currently sits on the CFA Society St. Louis board of directors and is a CFA Liaison to Women In Investment Management.

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DAN CONNER, CFA

General Partner – Ascend Venture Capital
EDWARD JONES

Dan is the founder and general partner at Ascend Venture Capital, an early stage data-centric tech focused venture capital firm located in St. Louis, MO and the world’s leading proponent of ethical venture capital practices. Dan founded Ascend out of a relentless passion for innovation and entrepreneurship. As a c-level operator at disruptive startups, as a quantamental management consultant, and as an investor in big ideas, Dan has cultivated a career in enabling the future states of industries. Dan is an Olin Business School MBA graduate and holds an undergraduate degree from Yale in mechanical engineering; he also holds a master’s in advanced renewable technologies from Washington University in St. Louis.

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ALEC HUBBARD, CFA

Portfolio Solutions Senior Specialist
STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP.

As a Portfolio Solutions Senior Specialist at Stifel, Alec Hubbard is responsible for helping financial advisors build customized multi-asset class portfolio strategies for high-net-worth clients based on Stifel’s strategic and dynamic asset allocation models. He regularly engages with a variety of clients and prospects to represent Stifel’s CIO office’s current market and investment views, focusing on high-net-worth individuals, family offices, foundations, and trusts via their financial advisors.
Prior to joining Stifel, Mr. Hubbard served as a portfolio analyst for Wells Fargo’s Investment Solutions division. He earned his B.S. in Economics from Truman State University and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) designation, the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation, the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification, and Series 7 and 66 licenses.

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