Dr. Mark A. Anderson, CFA

Dr. Mark A. Anderson is a banking industry executive, a professor of Finance, an entrepreneur, and the owner/manager of an enhanced equity investment fund. Mark holds professional credentials as a CFA charter holder, a CMA, and a CFM. He holds a BS in Finance from MSUM and Masters degrees from the University of St. Thomas, California State, Northeastern University, and Creighton University. Mark also was awarded a Doctorate of Business Administration and le Diplôme de Certificat de Recherche dans la Science d'Administration from Grenoble École de Management. He also holds an executive doctorate from École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris. Mark is president and chief executive office of BlackRidge Financial, Inc. and its subsidiary bank, BlackRidgeBANK, and also serves as the Region President for the Fargo Region of the bank - a ten-office banking organization that operates in Minnesota and North Dakota in the United States. Prior to BlackRidge Financial, Mark served as president and CEO of Community First Bankshares, one of the 50 largest publicly traded U.S. bank holding companies prior to the acquisition of the company in 2004. Mark resides in Fargo, North Dakota, in the USA and has six children and six grandchildren. In addition to an array of professional and academic interests, Mark is active in his church and is a World Taekwondo 4th Dan certified master instructor.

Mason Anderson

Mason Anderson is a licensed research analyst at Craig-Hallum Capital Group; a small-mid cap focused investment bank headquartered in Minneapolis, covering technology stocks. He was a former intern at Disciplined Growth Investors, and has been a volunteer for the CFA society meeting with and mentoring college students and CFA interns interested in the investment industry. At NDSU Mason was heavily involved in finance courses and extracurricular. He was the first finance student to participate in the Residential Construction Management Competition; was a member of the 2015 Investment Research Challenge team, and was an executive committee member and treasurer for the NDSU Student Managed Investment Fund (Bison Fund) for two years.

Jason Churchill

Jason Churchill graduated from NDSU in spring 2013 with B.S. degrees in Finance, Economics, and Business Administration. After working for Wells Fargo in Minneapolis for a year he returned to NDSU to pursue his M.S. in Agribusiness and Applied Economics. Served as the President of the Bison Fund for a total of 3 years (1 as an undergrad and 2 during graduate school). He currently works as a Market Risk Analyst for Gavilon, an Agriculture Investment Company, in Omaha. Plans moving forward include obtaining the FRM and CFA designations.

Marilyn Froelich, CFA

Ms. Froelich is an investment professional with over 30 years of insurance and institutional asset management experience. She is experienced in the critical areas of fixed income investment management, including portfolio management, credit research, risk analysis, strategy, policy development, and reporting. Marilyn has a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Science Degree from North Dakota State University. In addition to being a Chartered Financial Analyst, she is a Chartered Life Underwriter and Fellow, Life Office Management.

Dan Gorghuber

Dan Gorghuber is a graduate of NDSU in 2015 and former member of the Bison Fund, Dan isemployed with Bell State Bank & Trust as a Portfolio Manager. He has been passionate about the financial markets for over 7 years and has recently completed level III of the Chartered Market Technician exam. He continues to grow as an investment manager and trader while still enjoying his time in Fargo. Eventually he would like to develop into an independent trader while consulting on different technical models and strategies.

Michael B. Hardy, CFA

Michael B. Hardy is the Chief Investment Officer for Dorsey Whitney Trust Company, LLC, a multi-billion-dollar South Dakota domiciled trust company and is a 30+ year veteran to the financial services and commodity trading industries. As CIO Mr. Hardy, and the firm’s investment team, are responsible for the oversight of assets and investment strategies deployed for the international client base of the trust company. Asset classes encompass publicly traded securities (stocks/bonds/ETFs/mutual funds), private equity, hedge funds, real estate and special purpose family partnerships. Mr. Hardy also serves as the Vice Chair of the firm’s Investment Committee, member of the firm’s Executive Investment Committee, is an investment liaison between Dorsey & Whitney LLP’s Trust & Estate attorneys, their clients and the over 70 investment advisors across the country serving the trust company’s ultra-high net worth, multi-generational family clients. Mr. Hardy previously served as SVP, Senior Portfolio Manager and Senior Investment Strategist at Bell State Bank and Trust. Prior to entering the financial services industry in 2001 Mr. Hardy was engaged in various commodity trading and processing firms including United Spring Wheat Processors, American Crystal Sugar Company, International Multifoods and Benson-Quinn/ADM. Mr. Hardy serves as an industry mentor to the CFA Institute’s Research Challenge and has mentored student teams from North Dakota State University and Minnesota State University-Moorhead and is currently mentoring a student team at Augustana University. Mr. Hardy is a graduate of North Dakota State University with a degree in Agricultural Economics and Business Administration, is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder, and a member and volunteer for the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Minnesota. Mike and his wife Barb reside in Sioux Falls, SD and have two children who are both currently attending universities in North Dakota.

Jacob Henderson

Jacob Henderson is currently a financial advisor & financial planning analyst at Ethos Financial Partners in Grand Junction Colorado managing 250 client relationships with a total of $70 million in assets. Previously, Jacob worked with Ameriprise as a financial advisor in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from North Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business, Finance, and Marketing. During his time at NDSU, Jacob was an equity research analyst in the Bison Fund and a team member of the NDSU Division I Cross Country and Track & Field team.

Steven Nelson, CFA

Steven Nelson is currently Managing Partner of Prairiewood Wealth Management, an independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) he founded in 2008 to provide wealth management services to a select number of wealthy families in the Red River Valley. Steve has over 18 years of financial services industry experience, including 10 years at Ernst & Young, LLP where he previously was a Senior Manager in the Financial Services Risk Management group. He provided advisory services to Banks, Insurance Companies, Asset Managers and Hedge Fund clients from the Minneapolis, New York City, and Zurich, Switzerland offices. He was also the portfolio manager of the Prairiewood Value Fund, LLLP, a private, value-based investment partnership from 2008 to 2015, as well as an adjunct professor in finance at North Dakota State University from 2010 to 2015. Steve is a graduate of Columbia Business School, where his studies and apprenticeships focused on Value Investing. He has an undergraduate degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. Steve is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder, and an inactive Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Doug Noah

Doug Noah graduated from North Dakota State University in the spring of 2015 with a dual major in Finance and Economics. He was a member of the Bison Fund from spring 2014 to spring 2015 and served as the Portfolio Manager during the 2015 school year. He is currently a Research Associate for Ameriprise Financial, where he supports investment manager and capital markets research through data analytics and reporting. He has passed the Level I and Level II exams of the CFA program.

Erik Ritland, CFA

Erik joined Boyle Capital in August 2015 and assists Portfolio Manager Brian Boyle in the research, selection and monitoring of Boyle Capital’s investment strategies. Erik is a recent MBA graduate of the Carlson School of Management. Earlier in his career, Erik worked as an investment analyst at Prairiewood Capital. He has a B.S. in Finance from North Dakota State University.

Rick Thoreson, CFA

Rick Thoreson, CFA serves as Chairman of Thoreson Steffes Trust Company and President of T&S Investments, LLC, both of which he owns in equal partnership with Kelly Steffes, JD. Thoreson Steffes Trust Company provides investment and farm management, wealth transfer planning and retirement planning services for a small group of clients to ensure a very personal client experience. As a state chartered independent trust company, Thoreson Steffes Trust Company manages over $250 million for individual clients in broadly diversified separate accounts. Previously, Rick spent over 25years at U.S. Bancorp, most recently serving as Chief Investment Officer for the Private Client Group division of U.S. Bank Wealth Management. Rick received his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1991 and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Minnesota.

Zac Wanzek, CFA

Zac Wanzek joined Bell in 2012 and was a fixed income analyst and portfolio manager prior to being named senior portfolio manager. He currently oversees all investment management activities related to the retirement, personal trust and institutional asset management areas of Bell’s wealth management division. He also serves on Bell Investment committee. A native of Fargo, N.D., Zac earned a bachelor’s degree in both accounting and finance from the University of North Dakota. Zac is a CFA charter holder as well as a certified public accountant (CPA). as well as a certified public accountant (CPA). 

Matt Wegner

Matt Wegner is a licensed research analyst covering industrial and other stocks at Craig-Hallum Capital Group in Minneapolis; a small-mid cap focused investment bank. He previously worked at RBC Wealth Management following his spring 2016 graduation from NDSU, where he majored in Finance. At NDSU, he was a member of the 2016 Investment Research Challenge team, as well as an executive committee member and treasurer for the Student Managed Investment Fund (Bison Fund). Matt has passed the Level I exam of the CFA program and hopes to earn his CFA designation. In his free time, Matt enjoys lifting and other fitness activities, watching the Minnesota Timberwolves, and traveling.