Center for Investment Studies

Board Chair, Center for Investment Studies
Chief Investment Officer and Lead Portfolio Manager
Kopernik Global Investors, LLC

David Iben is the Lead Portfolio Manager, Chief Investment Officer, Managing Member, Founder, and Chairman of Kopernik Global Investor. Prior to Kopernik, Dave managed the $2.7 billion Global Value Long/Short Equity portfolio at Vinik Asset Management, where he was a director and head of the Global Value team. Previously, he was the founder, CIO, co-president, and Lead Portfolio Manager at Tradewinds Global, a $40 billion value equity manager. Dave earned his BS from the University of California, Davis, and his MBA from USC Marshall. He is a CFA charterholder.

Director, Center for Investment Studies
Professor of Clinical Finance and Business Economics

Suh-Pyng Ku is a professor of clinical finance & business economics at USC Marshall School of Business. Her teaching and research specialties include corporate finance, portfolio management, and security valuation. In addition, she serves as the director of the USC Marshall Center for Investment Studies. Previously, Suh-Pyng served as Marshall's vice dean for graduate programs and USC's vice provost and executive director of continuing education and summer programs. She is the 2014 Golden Apple Teaching Award Winner for the Full-Time MBA Core Program and a 2014 Steven B. Sample Teaching and Mentoring Award Nominee, USC Office for Parent Programs. Professor Ku received her PhD in Finance from USC.

Founder and Managing Partner
Essential Partners

Nick Bartolo is the Founder and Managing Partner of Essential Partners, a private investment advisory firm. Prior to founding Essential Partners, he spent nearly 20 years directly investing in global equities and fixed income while at TCW as a Senior Vice President and International Value Advisers as a Managing Director. Nick is a regular guest lecturer for undergraduate and graduate finance courses at USC. He received his MBA from USC Marshall in 2004, with Beta Gamma Sigma Honors, and a BS in Accounting from USC in 1998. Nick is a CFA charterholder and CPA (inactive).

Chief Investment Officer
University of Southern California

Amy Diamond is the Chief Investment Officer of USC. Amy heads the university’s Investment Office, is part of the president’s senior leadership team, and oversees USC’s $8 billion endowment. She joined USC in 2020 after serving two decades as Managing Director of Private Investments and Real Assets with Northwestern University’s Investment Office. Prior to joining Northwestern, Amy was an Equity Research Analyst for several investment banks, including Dillon, Read & Co., and Vector Securities, where she led coverage of companies in the energy and health care services industries. Amy earned a BS in Business Administration from The George Washington University and is a CFA charterholder.

Managing Director, Net Lease Real Estate
TPG Angelo Gordon

Sharon Kilmer, CFA, joined TPG Angelo Gordon in 2004 and is a Managing Director for the TPG AG Net Lease Real Estate strategy, overseeing the credit underwriting and research process. Prior to joining the net lease real estate team in 2009, Sharon was the Chief Investment Officer of TPG Angelo Gordon Advisors, LLC, a wholly-owned, externally managed fund of funds group. Sharon has over 18 years of broad fixed income investment management experience including portfolio management, credit analysis, trading, and hedging. Sharon received a BA in Journalism and an MBA from USC Marshall and is a CFA charterholder.

Founder & Chief Investment Officer
Peltoma Capital Partners

Rubin Miller is the Founder & Chief Investment Officer of Peltoma Capital Partners. He lives in Austin, TX with his daughter, Olive. He has nearly 20 years of investment experience, starting as a commodities and fixed income trader at The Chicago Board of Trade, then as a Regional Director at Dimensional Fund Advisors, and most recently as Chief Investment Officer at Perspective Wealth Partners. In 2023, Rubin founded Peltoma Capital Partners, a wealth management firm focused on financial planning, investment, and tax strategy. He graduated from Kenyon College, and received an MBA in Finance from USC Marshall. He is a CFA charterholder.

Group Managing Director
Chief Investment Officer – Equities
Director of Equity Research

Michael Reilly is the Chief Investment Officer of the Equities Group and Director of Equity Research at TCW. He joined TCW in 1992 as an Equity Analyst after working four years in corporate finance at Security Pacific Bank. In 1995, he assumed co-portfolio management responsibility for TCW’s Latin America, Emerging Markets and International Equities investment strategies. Subsequently, from 2002-2005, he was Co-Portfolio Manager of the Société Générale Asset Management (SGAM) global equities team prior to assuming leadership of the Equity Research department in 2006. Michael serves as a member of USC’s Endowment Investment Advisory Board, Marshall Center for Investment Studies Board of Advisors, and the Dornsife Board of Councilors. Michael graduated valedictorian of USC with a BS in Finance and a BA in Spanish and also received his MBA from USC Marshall. He was recipient of the Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Fellowship for a year of postgraduate studies at Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain. He is a CFA charterholder.

Head of Liquid Performing Credit &
Co-Portfolio Manager
Oaktree Capital Management

David Rosenberg is Oaktree’s Head of Liquid Performing Credit and a co-portfolio manager of the U.S. High Yield Bond, Global High Yield Bond, Global Credit Investment Grade and Global Credit strategies. He is also a founding member of the Global Credit Investment Committee. David joined Oaktree in 2004 following graduation from USC Marshall with an MBA in business administration. Before attending graduate school, he served as an associate in the Franchise Systems Finance group at J.P. Morgan. David also holds an MPA in professional accounting with a concentration in finance and a BA in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a CPA (inactive).

Managing Director
Payden & Rygel

James Sarni is a Managing Director at Payden & Rygel. James serves as a Senior Portfolio Manager advising pension funds, insurance companies, corporations, health care organizations, Taft-Hartley plans, universities and endowments. Prior to joining Payden & Rygel, James was a Vice President and senior portfolio manager at First Interstate Bank where he managed the trust department's commingled bond funds as well as institutional client portfolios. James earned an MBA with an emphasis in finance and a BS from USC Marshall. He is a CFA charterholder.

Founding Member and Principal
Oaktree Capital Management

Sheldon Stone is a founding Principal of Oaktree Capital Management and the creator of its High Yield Bond area. In this capacity, he serves as a co-portfolio manager of Oaktree’s U.S. High Yield Bond and Global High Yield Bond strategies. Sheldon established TCW’s High Yield Bond department with Howard Marks in 1985 and ran the department for ten years. Sheldon holds a BA from Bowdoin College and an MBA in accounting and finance from Columbia University. Sheldon serves as a Trustee of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, an Adjunct Professor at USC Marshall and a member of Bowdoin College’s Investment Committee.

Executive Director, Private Capital Markets
J.P. Morgan

Hayden Furey Stuhr is an Executive Director at J.P. Morgan. She joined the firm’s investment bank over a decade ago and has worked in the Private Capital Markets and Equity Capital Markets groups in New York, London, and San Francisco. Hayden holds a BS from USC Marshall and was a member of the Undergraduate Student Investment Fund. She now resides in Greenwich, Connecticut.