BEN ZACKS
Senior Investment Strategist
Ben is the core of our investment team. He is our Senior Strategist and Portfolio Manager whose prescient market calls over the past 15 years have earned him the respect of his clients and his peers. Ben, who is a nationally known expert on corporate earnings, was a founder of our parent company, Zacks Investment Research in 1978, and prior to that was with Merrill Lynch. Ben has been featured extensively in the financial media including CNBC, CNN, and CNNfn, and quoted frequently in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Financial World, Smart Money and Worth magazines. Ben received a BA in economics from Boston University.
MITCH ZACKS
Director of Model Development
Mitch is the firm's primary expert in the area of quantitative investing and is responsible for developing the firm's proprietary models and managing many of our portfolios. Mitch is a noted columnist and speaker on the subject of wealth management. Mitch joined Zacks in 1997 as a quantitative analyst and in 1998 became Director of Investment Model Development. Prior to joining Zacks, Mitch was an investment banking analyst with Lazard Freres in New York. Mitch is the author of Ahead of the Market, published by Harper Collins in 2003. Mitch received an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA in economics from Yale University.
DIRK VAN DIJK, CFA
Director of Research
Dirk manages the 50-person investment research department of our parent company and provides the committee with a fundamental perspective on key decisions. Dirk’s 20 year career as an analyst and a Director of Research uniquely qualify him to provide strategic guidance. Prior to joining Zacks, Dirk was the Director of Research of C.H. Dean & Associates, and an equity analyst with Bartlett & Company. Dirk received an MBA from Baruch College, City University of New York and a BA from St. Lawrence University.
CHRIS VARVARES, CFA,
Consulting Economist
Chris, our consulting economist, is the CEO of Macroeconomic Advisors, a well-regarded econometric consulting firm. Chris and his firm have received numerous honors as the developers of the most accurate econometric forecasting model for interest rates, credit spreads and inflation. Chris, who was a staff member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, earned an MS in economics from Washington University and a BA in economics from George Washington University.