Stratos Investment Management Team

John Nichol, CFA®: Chief Investment Officer
Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager with Stratos Investment Management. A senior investment executive with 27+ years of experience integrating fundamental analysis, quantitative research, technical, and derivative management strategies to meet portfolio management objective, risk, and performance goals. Prior to joining Stratos, John worked for Equity Bank Trust & Wealth Management, Federated Hermes, Inc., Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio, and the U.S. Department of Treasury – Office of Thrift Supervision. He has been in the investment industry since 1992, including 19 with Federated Hermes Inc. where he had been both a securities analyst, senior portfolio manager, and Growth & Income Group Head. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics and received his MBA from The Ohio State University. John holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Malcolm E. Polley, CFA®: Chief Market Strategist
Malcom joined Stratos Investment Management in January of 2024, bringing over 30 years of industry experience. He acts as Chief Market Strategist and curates a range of market commentaries as well as facilitates in investment decision processes. Prior to joining Stratos, Malcolm led the effort to form Stewart Capital Advisors, LLC, an SEC registered investment advisory subsidiary of S&T Bank. He acted as President and Chief Investment Officer for 18 years. Malcolm began his career in 1987 on Black Monday; and he has held leadership positions with many financial services organizations including S&T Wealth Management, Marquette Trust Company, Marquette Advisory Services, and West Bank. He received a BBA in finance from Iowa State University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and is a member and past president of the CFA Society of Pittsburgh. Malcolm has served as adjunct faculty at the Eberly College of Business and Technology at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Malcolm often presents to client, community, and industry groups; and he has been a frequent guest on various financial and investment programs including Squawk Box, Squawk on the Street, Power Lunch, Closing Bell, Fox Business, Bloomberg TV and Bloomberg Radio. One of those appearances is quoted by Andrew Ross Sorkin in his bestselling book, Too Big to Fail.

Brian L. Sullivan: Head of Distribution
Brian has over 40 years of experience in the asset management industry with a focus on the distribution of 40 Act mutual funds, variable annuities, separately managed accounts, ETFs, 401k and 529 plans. Over his career Brian has consulted with financial advisors from all types of broker/dealers including national, regional, independent and registered investment advisor firms. Prior to joining Stratos, Brian worked for Putnam Investments for over 30 years as a Regional Consultant and most recently as the Central Region Director. As a Regional Consultant he partnered with financial advisors on wealth, practice and investment management strategies to help them better manage and grow their practices. As Central Region Director he was responsible for an 18 state region with as many as 15 Regional Consultants that covered the Great Lakes and Southeast part of the country.

Travis Smythe, CFA®, CIPM: Portfolio Manager
A Portfolio Manager with Stratos Investment Management, Travis graduated from The University of Tulsa with a Bachelor's degree in finance. He began his career as an investment analyst for a single advisor firm in Tulsa, which was later acquired by a firm that would ultimately become Capital One Investing. In this role, Travis grew from a primary focus on investment analysis to helping lead the Portfolio Management & Trading team for a network of advisors. Travis holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Francesco DiGenova, Investment Analyst
Francesco serves as the Investment Analyst at Stratos Investment Management. Francesco assists with investment research, portfolio construction, and other investment management related functions. Prior to joining Stratos in 2021, Francesco worked at Fidus Partners, as an Investment Banking Analyst Intern. Francesco earned his degree from Wingate University in Charlotte with a Major in Finance and Minors in Accounting and Economics.

Joe Waterman, Senior Trader
Joe is a Fixed Income Trader and Senior Trader with Stratos Investment Management since May of 2022. He is a Senior Trader with a 20-year career as a market maker on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade for Citigroup Derivatives Markets Inc. Specializing in Derivatives on Bonds, Equities, and Indexes. Joe graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Finance.

Jon Pawlowski, Director of Regulatory Compliance
Jon is focused on the current regulatory environment and implements the internal testing program from Stratos Investment Management and its affiliated Registered Investment Advisors. He also serves as the dedicated compliance officer for Stratos Investment Management. Jon has been in the investment industry since 2006 and has previously worked at Key Investment Services, TD Ameritrade, Thinkorswim, and Jump Trading.

Trevor Forbes: External Advisory Member
CIO and Managing Director of Investments with Renaissance Investment Group. Trevor graduated from Leicester University, UK with a BSc (Hons) and trained as an investment analyst. Trevor has served as Head of Investments at Standard Life Wealth and Chief Investment Officer at ABN Amro & Julius Baer, as well a Vice President at Citibank Global Asset Management. He has investment experience across global and domestic asset classes and has managed portfolios for Pension Funds, Government Agencies, Religious and secular Foundations as well as Private Wealth Management. Trevor is an affiliate member of the CFA Society of the United Kingdom.

Christopher G. King: External Advisory Member
Christopher serves as Senior Investment Counselor at Renaissance Investment Group. Chris started his portfolio management career at Merrill Lynch Asset Management 1984. He subsequently moved to Banknorth in 1998 and then joined his former colleagues at Renaissance in 2008.

Christopher A. Silipigno, ChFC: External Advisory Member
Christopher is a Managing Director and serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Financial Advisor at Renaissance Investment Group. For over twenty years, Chris has served in senior leadership positions within the financial services industry and non-profit enterprises. His experience spans across the mortgage banking industry, business consulting/financial planning, non-profit development, organizational leadership, performance management, and revenue growth areas. Chris previously held multiple Vice President level positions at organizations in the mortgage banking and real estate services industry.

Jeremy D. Lunquist: External Advisory Member
Jeremy serves as a junior Portfolio Manager at Renaissance Investment Group. At Renaissance, Jeremy’s role encompasses equity analysis, portfolio construction, and macroeconomic research. He started his career in the Federal Government, serving the Central Intelligence Agency as an analyst, eventually becoming the deputy chief of a data branch. Jeremy completed his bachelor’s degree from Siena College and his master’s from George Mason.