Our People

Our firm leadership includes former institutional portfolio managers, investment bankers, and venture capitalists who have turned decades of financial industry experience into a singular discipline of institutional investment consulting. Together, they lead our professional service teams dedicated to consulting, research, and reporting and associated services for our diverse client base throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Our consultants combine investment expertise and a commitment to plan sponsor education to help our clients fulfill their fiduciary obligations.

With over 100 years of combined industry experience including portfolio management, investment banking, and venture capital, our retirement plan consultants form the core of our service offering.

The Chartered Financial Analyst® Designation and Code of Ethics

All consultants have obtained the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and are required to to attest to and abide by the CFA® Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.

A Nationally Ranked Consulting Firm

Cook Street was ranked number 6 in Barron's 2023 Top 100 Institutional Consulting Firms1 and is listed in P&I's Largest Worldwide Investment Consultants (Pensions & Investments, 11/28/2022)2 as part of the Morgan Stanley /Inst'l Consulting group.

Fiduciary Education

Our consultants provide continuing fiduciary education to all clients. Our quarterly reports include reviews of legislative and regulatory updates, evaluations of non-traditional retirement plan investments, and industry updates. Clients also receive flash reports on important developments as they happen, and all clients are invited to attend our client-only Fiduciary Essentials Conferences held in Denver, CO.

1. Source: Barron's.com (April 2023)  Barron's Top 100 Institutional Consulting Teams ranking awarded in 2023.  This ranking was determined based on an evaluation process conducted by Barron's  during the period from Dec 2021 - Dec 2022.  Neither Cook Street Consulting nor its Consultants paid a fee to Barron's to obtain or use the ranking.  This ranking is based on in-person and telephone due diligence meetings to evaluate each advisor qualitatively, a major component of a ranking algorithm that includes client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations, and quantitative criteria, including assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion. Rankings are based on the opinions of Barron's and this ranking may not be representative of any one client’s experience. This ranking is not indicative of the Financial Advisor’s future performance. Cook Street Consulting is not affiliated with Barron's. Barron’s is a registered trademark of Dow Jones & Company, L.P. All rights reserved. ©2023 Morgan Stanley
2. Source: Pensions and Investments Magazine(November 28, 2022) 2021 Largest Worldwide Investment Consultants. The Pensions and Investments Magazine is based on assets under advisement and assets under management. Cook Street’s assets are included in the “Morgan Stanley /Inst’l Consulting” category which is ranked number 14. Cook Street’s standalone assets would rank the firm in the top 30. Neither Cook Street nor its consultants paid a fee to Pensions and Investments in exchange for the ratings.

Cook Street's investment research is customized to our select client base.

Cook Street has an internal research department which produces customized documents designed to meet our clients due diligence and fiduciary requirements. This department focuses on thorough quantitative and qualitative evaluations of current and prospective investment managers, utilizing tools and software which provide our clients access to nearly the entire universe of relevant providers. Our research department is led by our consulting team who actively participates in the investment research process.

Please refer to our Internal Research tab under Our Difference for our particular approach to retirement plan investment research. Our research department's four most recently published, "Market Briefs", are available here.

Cook Street's dedicated reporting division produces customized documents for every client.

Our reporting team produces the quarterly Investment Management Review (IMR) which serves as our clients’ primary investment due diligence and fiduciary reporting document.  They also generate our vendor expense benchmarking analyses and request for proposal summaries. All clients are assigned a dedicated Performance Reporting Analyst.  Our reporting team provides thorough and customizable quality documents and are dedicated to reducing client workload.  All members of the team complete internal education and training as overseen by our Director of Education and Communications.

Members of our Strategic Planning Committee are listed below.

Sean M. Waters, CFA

Managing Principal, Co-Founder

Sean is a consultant at Cook Street. He has been with the firm since 1999 and is a member of our Investment Committee which provides portfolio and menu recommendations to all clients. Sean holds a BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Colorado. Prior to starting Cook Street, Sean was an institutional portfolio manager for Scudder Kemper Investments in San Francisco specializing in managing fixed income assets for prominent insurance companies. He began his career at Crédit Lyonnais in New York as a proprietary bond trader. Outside of his business activities, Sean serves on the Board of Invest In Kids, a Colorado non-profit organization, and is a past President of the Alumni Board of Graland Country Day School as well as a past member of the advisory board for The Ricks Center for Gifted Children.

Karen M. Robinson, CFA

Managing Principal, Co-Founder

Karen is a consultant at Cook Street. She has been with the firm since 2002 and is a member of our Investment Committee which provides portfolio and menu recommendations to all clients. Karen holds a BS in Business Administration (Finance) from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she graduated with distinction. She has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Colorado. Prior to starting Cook Street, Karen was an institutional portfolio manager and analyst with Ocean Fund Advisors, LLC (Santa Monica, CA) where she specialized in general market research, portfolio analytics and risk management. Preceding this, she was an Associate Vice President for Roxbury Capital Management, LLC (Santa Monica, CA). At Roxbury, Karen worked in the Private Client Group on portfolio analysis and performance measurement. Karen’s experience also includes two years as a Senior Analyst with Monticello Associates, an institutional investment consultancy. She also currently serves on the Board and Investment Committee of The Denver Foundation.

Lindsey C. Levison, CFA

Managing Principal

Lindsey is a consultant at Cook Street. She has been with the firm since 2004 and is a member of our Investment Committee which provides portfolio and menu recommendations to all clients. Lindsey holds a BS in Business Administration (Finance) from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she graduated with high distinction. She has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Colorado. Lindsey began her career with the firm soon after its inception. Lindsey is also an active member of the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA).

Patrick J. Smith, CFA

Managing Principal

Patrick is a consultant at Cook Street. He has been with the firm since 2009 and is a member of our Investment Committee which provides portfolio and menu recommendations to all clients. Patrick holds a BS in Business Administration (Finance) from the University of Colorado at Boulder where he graduated with distinction. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Colorado. Prior to joining Cook Street, Patrick was with Tomorrow Ventures (and its subsidiary) in Denver, Colorado and Palo Alto, California. Tomorrow Ventures is a venture capital firm targeting investments in revolutionary technology, media, entertainment, and consumer-related businesses where Patrick served on the advisory boards of various startup and mid-stage organizations. Prior to Tomorrow Ventures, he worked in the strategic advisory department of Gleacher Partners in New York, analyzing mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and financing alternatives for various multi-national clients.

Scott M. McIntosh

Executive Director

Scott has been with the firm since 2006 and oversees all operational aspects of Cook Street, including strategic growth and planning. Prior to joining Cook Street, Scott was with TMA Ventures, an early stage start-up consulting and venture capital group with investments in biotechnology, consumer devices, alternative and renewable energy, and construction. While at TMA, Scott managed all aspects of the portfolio companies’ investments and operations, lead the evaluation and analysis of potential investment opportunities, and determined and executed the exit strategies for the portfolio companies. Before TMA Ventures, Scott was with Green, Manning & Bunch, an investment bank in Denver, Colorado specializing in mergers and acquisitions and private placements of debt and equity. While at GMB, Scott handled numerous mergers and acquisitions, private placements of equity, senior debt and subordinated debt, leveraged recapitalizations, fairness opinions, and valuations for many industries including: healthcare, manufacturing/distribution, services, technology, software, tourism, and construction, and infrastructure. Scott holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Stuart G. Thomas, CFA

Chief Investment Officer, Managing Principal

Stuart has been with the firm since 2011 and is a member of our Investment Committee which provides portfolio and manager recommendations to all clients. He oversees Cook Street's internal research department. He holds a BA in International Studies from Miami University and an MA in Global Finance, Trade, and Economic Integration from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver (DU). He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Colorado. Stuart joined the firm shortly after completing his graduate degree at DU.

Ray A. Khatir, CFA

Managing Principal

Ray is a consultant at Cook Street. He has been with the firm since 2012 and is a member of our Investment Committee which provides portfolio and manager recommendations to all clients. He also previously served as our Director of Research. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society Colorado. Ray holds a BS from the University of Kentucky, where he participated in the Honors Program while also playing football. Prior to joining Cook Street, Ray was with Aramark Corporation where he worked in a senior finance role. He is also a former portfolio manager, having run a small cap equity strategy at Congruent Capital Group. Outside of his business activities, Ray serves on the board of directors of Heart Power, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to mentoring at-risk youth.

Dana B. Hensel, CFA

Managing Principal

Dana is a consultant at Cook Street. She has been with the firm since 2015 and is a member of our Investment Committee which provides portfolio and manager recommendations to all clients. Dana holds a BS in Business Administration (Finance and Accounting) from the University of Colorado where she graduated with high distinction. Dana has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Prior to joining Cook Street, Dana was a Director at Janus Capital Group Inc., a global investment management firm headquartered in Denver, Colorado. There she led in the creation and execution of financial planning processes for the firm and partnered with business leaders to develop strategic business plans and methods for tracking progress towards those plans. Prior to Janus Capital Group, Dana worked in the investment banking division of Wachovia Securities (now Wells Fargo Securities) where she analyzed mergers, leveraged buyouts, acquisitions, and other capital market transactions for various public and private clients.

Joshua C. Hasskamp, CFA

Principal

Josh is a consultant at Cook Street. He has been with the firm since 2012 and holds a BS with a Finance Concentration and a BA in Economics from Colorado State University (CSU). He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Colorado. Prior to joining Cook Street in 2012, Mr. Hasskamp was an intern at IPS Strategic Capital, a money management firm based in Denver, Colorado. There he collaborated with the CIO and other investment professionals in developing derivative overlay strategies as alternative investments for clients seeking financial risk management. He also assisted in executing client investment objectives and strategies following client portfolio reviews.

Erica M. Ruge, CFA, CAIA

Principal

Erica joined the firm in 2022 and is a member of our Investment Committee which provides portfolio and manager recommendations to all clients. She holds a BS in Finance from the University of Arizona. Erica has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation. Prior to joining Cook Street, Erica was a Managing Director with PNC Capital Markets. There she was responsible for building out the bank’s presence in the Rocky Mountain region and advising the bank’s corporate client base on currency risk management. Before joining PNC in 2019, Erica spent 13 years with Wells Fargo in capital market roles, including commercial mortgage-backed securities, asset/liability management, private equity investing, and foreign exchange. Erica also previously earned the right to use the Certificate in International Cash Management (CertICM) designation. She is a frequent speaker and moderator for local events including the General Assembly, Rocky Mountain Association for Finance Professionals, CPA Society of Colorado, and local universities, amongst others. Erica is a Women’s Foundation of Colorado Power of Extended Philanthropy member.

Jessica L. Myers, CFA

Principal

Jessica joined the firm in 2023 and is a member of our Investment Committee which provides portfolio and manager recommendations to all clients. She holds a BBA in Economics & International Business from Baylor University and an MBA (with High Honors) from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Jessica has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Houston. Prior to joining Cook Street, Jessica worked in the Treasury department at Occidental Petroleum Corporation. There she was responsible for managing all corporate retirement plan investments totaling up to $6 billion in addition to various corporate finance responsibilities. Before joining Occidental in 2018, Jessica was a Portfolio Manager with Envestnet where she managed up to $7 billion in client portfolios with a specialization in portfolios utilizing tax management overlays. Earlier in her career, Jessica held various positions at AllianceBernstein from a Client Relationship Representative serving 529 Plan clients to a Pricing Analyst for securities held firmwide. Jessica is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society and a listee in Marquis Who’s Who in America.

James B.E. Russell, AIF®

Director of Business Development

James has been with the firm since 2010 and holds a BA in History from Gonzaga University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He also completed an MA in Global Finance, Trade, and Economic Integration with a concentration in Environmental Economics from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. His roles include vendor relations, management of the performance analytics team, and business development including completion of prospective clients' requests for proposals. James is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary®.

Kendal L. Patterson

Senior Vice President

Kendal has been with the firm since 2011 and holds a BSBA and MS in Finance from the University of Denver. She leads our performance analytics department and oversees production of client deliverables, including our quarterly Investment Management Review. She also manages retirement plan vendor relationships, including any fee benchmarking and request for proposals conducted on behalf of our clients.

Madison S. Alexander, CFA

Associate Vice President

Madi has been with the firm since 2018 and is a member of our Investment Committee which provides portfolio and manager recommendations to all clients. She serves as a senior member of our research department and also provides consultant support. She holds a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University. In 2020, Madi also earned a certificate in Corporate Social Responsibility from the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business. She has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Colorado. Madi joined Cook Street shortly after completing her undergraduate studies.

Anna C. Harris, CFA

Associate Director of Research

Anna is Cook Street’s Associated Director of Research and has been with the firm since 2017. She holds a BS in Biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles. Anna is responsible for creating research deliverables such as our Market Brief, investment manager write-ups and full menu analyses. She also meets directly with current and prospective managers and conducts quantitative and qualitative due diligence on them. Anna presents recommendations to our Investment Committee and conducts due diligence on its behalf. She has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society Colorado. She has over ten years of experience in the finance industry.

Joel E. Dean

Associate Vice President

Joel has been with Cook Street since 2016 and holds a BA in Business from the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business. He started as a member of the Performance Reporting team, working with clients to handle day to day communications and provide ongoing performance monitoring. Today, he is an Associate Vice President, working across clients and internal teams to create and provide solutions.

Josh A. Adams

Associate Vice President of Research, Director of Education and Communication

Josh has been with Cook Street since 2016 and holds a BA in Economics from the University of Colorado. He began as a Performance Analyst and transitioned to our internal research department where he is responsible for creating research deliverables such as our Market Brief, fund analyses, and full menu analyses. He also meets directly with current and prospective managers and conducts quantitative and qualitative due diligence on them. Josh presents recommendations to our Investment Committee and conducts due diligence on its behalf. Josh also oversees Cook Street's client education and communications department, preparing and presenting fiduciary education modules to clients in group and one-on-one settings.

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