Southern California Investment Management Team

Barbara Bruser, CFA

Barbara Bruser is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at First Republic Investment Management.

Bruser joined First Republic in 2010, continuing an investment career that spans more than thirty years. Prior to First Republic, Barbara spent 8 years as Director of Equity Management at City National Asset Management. She began her investment career at RCM in 1976 where she became a general partner. This was followed by senior positions with Security Pacific, First Interstate Bank/Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

As an active member of the nonprofit community, Bruser serves on the Board of Trustees of The Archer School for Girls, the Board of Directors of the Merola Opera Program, the Investment Committee of City of Hope, and chairs the Endowment Board of Temple Emanuel Beverly Hills.

Bruser received her Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Santa Barbara and her MLS from the University of Western Ontario (Canada). Bruser was twice named to Institutional Investor Magazine's "Best of the Buy Side" as well as named one of the nation's top 250 wealth advisors by Worth Magazine. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Wealth Management Experience: 36 Years

Jon S. Bull, CFA

Jon S. Bull is a Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at First Republic Investment Management.

Prior to First Republic, Bull was President and Chief Investment Officer of Starbuck, Tisdale & Associates, a former subsidiary of First Republic Bank, and before that, he was President and CEO of Santa Barbara Capital Management (formerly Argus Investment Management).

Active in the non-profit arena, Bull is a former Director of the Santa Barbara Zoo, a former Trustee of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, and is the immediate past National Chairman of the Dream Foundation.

Educated at the University of California, Irvine, Bull holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and is a Chartered Investment Counselor. His stock market analysis has been quoted in the financial press for many years.

Wealth Management Experience: 35 Years

James P. Fletcher, CFA

James P. Fletcher is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at First Republic Investment Management.

Prior to joining First Republic in 2010, Fletcher served as 1st Vice President and Senior Director of Portfolio Management at BNY Mellon in Newport Beach, where he worked for ten years. Prior to BNY Mellon, he was President of Fletcher Capital Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor, managing assets for endowments, charities, foundations and high net worth individuals. His special interests are the integration of complex estate plans into a cogent investment policy and intergenerational asset transfer.

Active in the community, Fletcher serves on the Investment Committee of the Laguna Beach Community Foundation and is past Chair and current emeritus member of the Laguna Beach Educational Foundation Investment Committee.

Fletcher earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Stanford University. He holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is member of the Los Angeles and Orange County CFA Societies.

Wealth Management Experience: 28 Years

Vito Gioiello, CFA

Vito Gioiello is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at First Republic Investment Management.

Prior to joining First Republic in 2008, he was Senior Portfolio Manager for five years in the Montecito office of Manchester Capital Management, a multi-family office based in Vermont. Before that, Gioiello was a portfolio manager for seventeen years at Northern Trust and City National Investment Advisors in Los Angeles specializing in managing portfolios for high net worth individuals and trusts.

Gioiello is currently active in various charitable boards including Catholic Charities of Santa Barbara, Pearl Chase Society, Speaking of Stories, Domestic Violence Solutions and the investment committee of the Music Academy of the West.

After earning a  Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Cal State University of Long Beach, Gioiello received his MBA in Finance from the University of Southern California. Gioiello also holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the Los Angeles Society of Financial Analysts.

Wealth Management Experience: 29 Years

Matthew L. Hall

Matthew L. Hall is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at First Republic Investment Management.

Hall previously served as Senior Vice President in marketing and client relations with Starbuck, Tisdale & Associates, a former subsidiary of First Republic Bank. Prior to this, Hall spent 14 years building and managing the private client business of Engemann Asset Management in Pasadena, California. Before joining Engemann Asset Management, Hall held positions in the Trust Investment departments at United Mercantile Bank in Pasadena, and at City National Bank in Beverly Hills, California.

Hall earned a Bachelor's degree in business administration from Fort Lewis College, in Durango, Colorado. He has over 20 years of experience in advising high net-worth investors with their portfolios.

Wealth Management Experience: 26 Years

Robin Kopeikin, CFA

Robin Kopeikin is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at First Republic Investment Management.

Kopeikin has 26 years experience in the investment business. Prior to First Republic, Kopeikin was a Senior Vice President of Starbuck, Tisdale & Associates. Preceding Starbuck, she was a Vice President of Santa Barbara Capital Management. Her portfolio management career began in 1987.

Kopeikin is on the Board of Directors of the Santa Barbara Zoo, a member of the Lobero Theatre Associates and a former Board Member of the Santa Barbara Breast Cancer Institute.

While her background has been focused on portfolio management and fundamental securities research, Kopeikin has pursued additional study in the fields of technical analysis and behavioral finance. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and  Chartered Investment Counselor designations.

Wealth Management Experience: 27 Years

Rodney J. Olea

Rodney J. Olea is a Managing Director and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager at First Republic Investment Management.

Prior to joining First Republic in 2010, Olea was a Senior Vice President and Director of Fixed Income for City National Asset Management at City National Bank between 1994-2010. There he was responsible for the creation, analysis and management of taxable and tax-free fixed income portfolios and bond selection strategies and also served as portfolio manager for the CNI Charter Bond and Money Market Funds. Previous to this, Olea spent 9 years at a RNC Capital Management (RNC Genter) a Los Angeles-based investment advisory firm where he managed taxable and tax-free fixed income portfolios for institutional and individual clients.

Olea is involved in a number of charitable organizations and is on the finance committee for United Friends of the Children and a Founding Board Member and Advisor for GlobalFast.org.

Olea received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Wealth Management Experience: 26 Years

Stephanie Pham

Stephanie Pham is a Vice President and Portfolio Manager at First Republic Investment Management.

Pham has been in the investment business for over 10 years. Prior to joining First Republic in 2010, she was a Vice President and Portfolio Manager at City National Asset Management (a division of City National Bank) where she managed the emerging wealth individuals, green and trust portfolios. In addition, she served as an Equity Analyst focusing on the advertising, media, cable and satellite industries utilizing quantitative and qualitative disciplines.

Pham is currently a Board member for the Los Angeles Council of Hostelling
International USA.

She received her Bachelor of Science for Business Administration in Finance from California State University, Los Angeles, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst candidate.

Wealth Management Experience: 11 Years

Fred Przekop, CFA

Fred Przekop is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at First Republic Investment Management.

Fred has 15 years of experience managing investment portfolios and an additional five years spent as a corporate finance executive. Prior to his role at First Republic, Przekop was a portfolio manager at Starbuck Tisdale & Associates (a wholly owned subsidiary of First Republic Bank) for over 7 years. In addition to his expertise in managing investment portfolios for individuals, Przekop has notable experience in the areas of institutional fixed income management, corporate financial planning, and financial software application development.

Przekop is a graduate of University of California Santa Barbara, and received his MBA. in Finance from the Anderson Graduate School of Management (U.C.L.A.). He received his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1997.

Wealth Management Experience: 21 Years

Todd D. Sullivan, CFA

Todd D. Sullivan is a Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at First Republic Investment Management.

Sullivan has been in the investment management business for over twenty years. Prior to First Republic, Sullivan was a Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Director of Starbuck, Tisdale & Associates, until the firm's affiliation with First Republic Investment Management in 2007. He started his career with Starbuck, Tisdale & Associates as a securities trader before being promoted to a portfolio manager role. Preceding his joining Starbuck, Tisdale & Associates in 1989, Sullivan began his investment career in Santa Barbara, at Santa Barbara Savings & Loan working in a supervisory capacity in the Investment Operations Department.

Sullivan is an active board member of various charitable organizations in Santa Barbara County and a member of the Los Angeles Society of Financial Analysts.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from California State University, Long Beach and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Wealth Management Experience: 22 Years