Vontobel Asset Management, Inc.

Matthew Benkendorf is the chief investment officer of Vontobel Asset Management’s Quality Growth Boutique, having been elevated to the position in March 2016. He is a co-architect of Vontobel’s Quality Growth philosophy and style, and has been instrumental in the development of the boutique’s investment approach across the Vontobel Quality Growth strategies.

Mr. Benkendorf joined Vontobel Asset Management in 1999 in trade support and was promoted to trader in 2000. He became a research analyst in 2002 and moved into portfolio management in 2006 on the firm’s European Equity strategy. Since 2008, he has further developed his responsibilities and, in turn, became portfolio manager on the Global, U.S., International, and Emerging Markets Equity strategies.

Mr. Benkendorf earned a B.S.B.A in finance from the University of Denver. He has worked in the investment industry since 1998.

Daniel Kranson is an executive director, portfolio manager, and senior research analyst for Vontobel Asset Management. He has been a portfolio manager for Vontobel’s Quality Growth Boutique since 2013. In addition to his portfolio management duties, he conducts research analysis on individual stocks which may be included in the firm’s other strategies. He primarily focuses on consumer staples, a core sector for all of Vontobel’s Quality Growth strategies. Since 2013, Mr. Kranson has further developed his responsibilities and is a portfolio manager of the firm’s European and International Equity strategies.

Mr. Kranson joined Vontobel in July 2007 as a senior research analyst covering stocks globally. Prior to joining Vontobel, Mr. Kranson was a buy side analyst at Scout Capital Management, where he evaluated health care and consumer companies in both developed and emerging markets. He began his investment career in 1999 on the sell side, at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., where he analyzed companies based in the U.S. and Europe in the technology space and later in the health care industry.

Mr. Kranson earned a B.S. in operations research from Columbia University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst^® (CFA) charterholder.

Jin Zhang is an executive director, portfolio manager, and senior research analyst for Vontobel Asset Management. He has been a research analyst for Vontobel’s Quality Growth Boutique since 2005. Starting in 2016, he expanded his role to portfolio manager for the firm’s Emerging Markets Equity Strategy and, in 2020, he began managing the Asia Pacific Equity strategies. In addition to his portfolio management responsibilities, he conducts research analysis on individual stocks which may be included in the firm’s other strategies, primarily focusing on the information technology and financials sectors.

Prior to joining Vontobel in November 2005 as a senior research analyst, Mr. Zhang was an equity analyst at Lehman Brothers from 2000 to 2005. He began his financial career in 1995 working in the finance department of General Electric (China) where he graduated from the Financial Management Program in 1998.

Mr. Zhang earned an M.B.A. in financial management from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a B.A. in economics from Beijing University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) charterholder.

David Souccar is an executive director, portfolio manager, and senior research analyst for Vontobel Asset Management. He has been a portfolio manager for Vontobel’s Quality Growth Boutique since 2016, having been promoted to portfolio manager on the firm’s International Equity strategy in June of that year. In addition to his portfolio management responsibilities, he conducts research analysis on individual stocks which may be included in the firm’s other strategies, primarily focusing on the energy, industrials, and utilities sectors.

Prior to joining Vontobel in April 2007 as senior research analyst, Mr. Souccar was a senior investment analyst at Federated Investors from 2005 to 2007. From 1998 to 2005, he was a sell-side analyst at Morgan Stanley. He began his financial career in 1996 as a consultant at McKinsey & Co.

Mr. Souccar earned an M.B.A. in finance and management from NYU Stern School of Business and a B.S. in chemical engineering from Escola de Engenharia Maua.

Ramiz Chelat is a portfolio manager and senior research analyst with Vontobel Asset Management’s Quality Growth Boutique. He has been a portfolio manager on the firm’s Global Equity strategy since 2016 and on the Emerging Markets strategy since 2021. In addition to his portfolio management responsibilities, Mr. Chelat conducts research analysis on individual stocks that may be included in the firm’s other strategies, primarily focusing on the consumer discretionary, consumer staples, and information technology sectors.

Prior to joining Vontobel in July 2007 as a senior research analyst, Mr. Chelat was head of consumer and media research at Macquarie Hong Kong from 2004 to 2007, and an analyst at Macquarie Australia from 2000 to 2004. Previously, Mr. Chelat was a financial analyst at Optus from 1999 to 2000. He began his financial career at Ernst & Young, where he was a senior accountant from 1997 to 1999.

Mr. Chelat earned a B.Com. in accounting and finance from Macquarie University in Australia. In addition, he is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia as a qualified chartered accountant. Mr. Chelat is a CFA® (Chartered Financial Analyst®) charterholder.

Markus Hansen is a director, portfolio manager, and senior research analyst with Vontobel Asset Management. He has been a portfolio manager for the Quality Growth Boutique since June 2020. Mr. Hansen joined Vontobel as a senior research analyst assisting the chief investment officer and portfolio managers in stock research and selection. In addition to his portfolio management responsibilities, he continues to conduct research analysis on individual stocks which may be included in the firm’s other strategies, primarily focusing on the consumer staples, consumer discretionary, and industrials sectors.

Prior to joining Vontobel Asset Management in 2016, Mr. Hansen served as a co-portfolio manager and senior research analyst at SLS Management, LLC, responsible for European and U.S. stock research. Previous to that role, he was a senior research analyst at McKinley Capital Management in New York covering mid-large cap global equity companies as well as emerging market stocks, and worked at Brahman Capital Corporation in New York covering international and U.S. equity securities. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hansen was the managing director of hedge fund sales at Société Générale USA in New York. He began his financial career in 1994 covering European companies at Hoare-Govett (ABN AMRO) in London.

Mr. Hansen received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.