Mission

Titan Capital Management (TCM) provides students the opportunity to apply knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to manage investment portfolios in ‘real time’. Student teams spend 12 months managing either a stock (equity), bond (fixed income) or balanced portfolio funded by the CSUF Philanthropic Foundation with support from generous donations of CSUF alumni. Each portfolio is overseen by highly qualified faculty and advisory boards drawn from local investment practitioners.

Requirements

Titan Capital Management builds on curriculum presented across the business administration courses offered at CSUF. To qualify for Titan Capital Management, students must have a cumulative or finance GPA of 3.0 or better and be committed to pursuing a career in asset management or financial analysis.

Candidates must be full-time graduate or undergraduate students willing and able to participate in the entire 12-month Titan Capital Management program, beginning with three ‘boot camp’ sessions held the summer after acceptance into the program, and continuing through the fall and spring semesters of the following academic year.

Titan Capital Mangement candidates must complete a rigorous application process including:

• Written essay and recommendation by a faculty member, coach, or supervisor
• Development and defense of a research report for a designated company
• In-person interview with a panel of finance faculty and TCM board members
• Critical thinking and problem solving skills assessment
• Satisfactory completion of Finance 321 - Financial Analysis II and Finance 340 - Introduction to Investments (or equivalent graduate courses) prior to the fall semester of participation

Candidates with strong academic success in their finance courses and active participation in the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) class Finance 341 are given preference when applying to Titan Capital Management. Click link below for more information about SMIF.

Recommended Coursework

• Junior Year/Fall Semester: FIN 320, FIN 341 (SMIF)
• Junior Year/Spring Semester: FIN 321, FIN 335, FIN 340
• Senior Year/Fall Semester: FIN 442, FIN 435, 440, or 463
• Senior Year/Spring Semester: FIN 443, FIN 435, 440, or 463

Managing Director

Marcia Lucas, CFA is a full-time lecturer in the finance department of California State University, Fullerton where she was recognized for excellence in teaching and service in 2017, 2019, and 2020 and received the Instructional Innovation Award from the College of Business and Economics in 2019. Prior to her current assignment, Ms. Lucas spent 27 years with the investment firm PIMCO and its parent company Allianz Global Investors (under her former name, Marcia Clark.) Ms. Lucas’s final assignment at AllianzGI was Global Director of the AllianzGI Academy where she developed professional education programs for client-facing staff in Allianz Global Investors’ regional offices in the U.S, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

Equity Director

Kelly Ko, CFA is a part-time lecturer in the finance department of California State University, Fullerton since 2017. He teaches courses in corporate finance and is a Director of Titan Capital Management in addition to managing the CFA Program which offers scholarships to students pursuing the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and seeking mentorship. Prior to teaching, Mr. Ko had a career in the institutional equity asset management business for over 31 years, with roles as an Equity Value Fund Portfolio Manager and Investment Analyst at Hughes Investment Management, Nicholas Applegate Capital Management and Lombardia Capital Partners. Mr. Ko also coaches and mentors the TCM CFA Investment Research Challenge team, which competes locally and nationally in the CFA Institute’s annual competition. The CSUF team won the local CFA Los Angeles investment research competition in 2020.

Fixed Income Director

Shane Kim is a part-time lecturer in the finance department of California State University, Fullerton since 2020. He currently teaches Capital Markets and Fixed Income as well as Advanced Investment Analysis (Titan Capital Management) courses. Prior to teaching, Mr. Kim managed fixed income portfolios for over 20 years. Most recently, he was an Executive Director of Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management where he was a Fixed Income Portfolio manager and the Head Trader of the Zager Fixed Income Management team, which manages high-grade, fixed income portfolios with assets under management of $10.1 billion as of 06/30/2018. Mr. Kim was responsible for developing investment strategies, portfolio management, and trading. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Kim was a Manager of Fixed Income Research at Amervest Co. from 2000 to 2004 and covered corporate bonds, asset-backed securities, and mortgage-backed securities. From 1993 to 1999, he designed and built water and gas utility systems as a Civil Engineer.

CSUF Philanthropic Foundation Board Members

Equity Advisory Board Members

Raymond Goldblatt,CFA, is the Managing Partner of Joshua Doore Capital Group, a senior life settlements funding, servicing and origination company, headquartered in California. He has 25 years experience in fund management and insurance businesses. Prior to starting JDCG, Raymond, spent 5 years in the Sanlam Group in South Africa holding positions of Chief Operating Officer at Gensec Asset Management and MD:External Interface for Sanlam Asset Management. He was responsible for client interactions, portfolio risk management and introducing alternative hedge products.

Robert M. Kargenian, CMT, has been a Chartered Market Technician and Professional Member of the Market Technicians Association since 1989 and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Fullerton. His work has appeared in Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities as well as in Advisor Perspectives, the leading interactive publisher for Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs). He is a contributing author to Financial Savvy for the Small Business Owner (Financial Forum Publishing, 2009). Additionally, Bob is a member of the Paladin Registry, an independent resource for fiduciary investment professionals

Jeffrey S. Van Harte, CFA, became a member of Jackson Square Partners (JSP), at its inception in May 2014 as chairman and chief investment officer. Jackson Square Partners manages large-cap growth, smid-cap growth, all-cap growth, and global growth portfolios. Prior to joining JSP, he was the chief investment officer of the Delaware Investments Focus Growth Equity team from April 2005 to April 2014. The Focus Growth Equity team managed large-cap growth, smid-cap growth, all-cap growth, and global growth portfolios. Prior to Delaware Investments, he was a principal and executive vice president at Transamerica Investment Management. Van Harte has been managing portfolios and separate accounts for over 30 years. Before becoming a portfolio manager, Van Harte was a securities analyst and trader for Transamerica Investment Services, which he joined in 1980. Van Harte received his bachelor’s degree in finance from California State University at Fullerton

Fixed Income Advisory Board Members

Bob Boyd is a Managing Director for Pacific Asset Management. Bob is a Co-Portfolio Manager on the High Yield Bond strategy and is responsible for credit analysis of the Gaming, Industrials, and other cyclical sectors. He joined Pacific Asset Management in 2012. Previously, Bob was with PIMCO for 14 years, where he was a Vice President, Bank Loan Portfolio Manager, and Credit Analyst. Bob has over 15 years of investment experience, focused on leveraged finance, credit analysis, and structured products. He holds a bachelor's degree from California State University, Long Beach and an MBA from the University of Southern California.

Parth Bhatt is the Chief Investment Officer for San Bernardino County. Prior to his current position, Mr. Bhatt was an Assistant Portfolio Manager at County of Orange, Treasurer’s office where he was responsible for managing two money market funds and a short-duration bond fund. Prior to joining the Orange County, Parth was an assistant portfolio manager for Chandler Asset Management (2012-2015). Parth has extensive experience in managing institutional fixed income portfolios encompassing a wide range of fixed income securities. Parth holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in economics from the California State University, Fullerton. Parth is also a Level III Candidate in the CFA Program.

Richard Mak, CFA, joined H&W in 2013 and is a portfolio manager for the High Yield bond strategy. In his role as portfolio manager, Mr. Mak plays an integral role in the investment research review and decision making process and coordinates the day-to-day management of all High Yield bond portfolios. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Mak worked at PIMCO in multiple roles ranging from credit analyst to high yield portfolio manager, primarily focused on internal high yield funds. Prior to his position at PIMCO, Mr. Mak was an equity analyst at Epoch Partners covering telecom equipment and related technology issuers. Mr. Mak, a CFA charterholder, received his BA in Business Economics with a minor in Accounting from University of California, Los Angeles, and MBA with emphasis in Finance and Strategy from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dominic Nolan, CFA, is a Senior Managing Director for Pacific Asset Management and a member of the firm’s Executive Investment Committee. He is head of product and investment strategy design, business development, and account management. Prior to this, he was the director of institutional business at Lombardia Capital Partners. Prior to Lombardia Capital, he was Vice President and Product Manager for LM Capital Group, an institutional global fixed income manager. Prior to LM Capital, Mr. Nolan worked at Fidelity Investments. Mr. Nolan has over 14 years of industry and investment experience. He holds a bachelor's degree in business finance from CSU Fullerton and an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. He is a CFA Charterholder and a member of the CFA Society of Los Angeles.