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Variant Funds Contact Us Home Variant Funds Variant Investments 10300 SW Greenburg Road, Suite 308 Portland, OR 97223 503.563.0700 CONNECT WITH US Income is scarce today. We believe it is time for income done differently. Learn more. Variant, investments, income, income opportunities, private credit markets, uncorrelated alternative beta products, specialized segments, CTC | myCFO, Bob Elsasser, Curt Fintel, J.B. Hayes 15257 home,page-template,page-template-full_width,page-template-full_width-php,page,page-id-15257,bridge-core-3.1.2,qode-page-transition-enabled,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode-title-hidden,qode_popup_menu_text_scaledown,qode-child-theme-ver-1.0.0,qode-theme-ver-28.7,qode-theme-bridge,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-7.3,vc_responsive Income done differently Variant Investments is an alternative credit investment manager focused on uncorrelated income-generating assets in niche markets offered to investors through institutional closed-end interval funds. $3.2B AUM Team of 24 Portland Charleston Chicago Greenwich New York Variant Alternative Income Fund (NICHX) Diversified portfolio of unconventional income focused specialty finance assets Variant Alternative Income Fund Variant Impact Fund (IMPCX) Differentiated alternative credit exposures aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Variant Impact Fund Disruption Transformation Opportunity The financial world is changing rapidly. Banks are in regulatory retreat. Technology is rewriting the rules about how capital is allocated and managed. New alternative return streams are becoming financialized and democratized. The door is opening to private investments. Variant helps investors adapt to a changing world. Road less traveled We explore the remote, less crowded corners of the investment universe. We seek income from private markets, uncorrelated alternatives and niche public markets. Investing where others cannot or will not go can have its rewards. Access Discipline Diversification Attractive assets often derive their value simply by being out of reach from most investors. However, opportunities that are difficult to access can also be difficult to manage. Investing in unconventional assets requires expertise, diligence and surveillance. Importantly, no single opportunity is the solution. We feel strength can be achieved through diversification and thoughtful portfolio construction. Complex assets Singular purpose Investment strategies can be so layered with complexity, it is easy to lose sight of the most basic questions. Why own it? What role does it play? How does it meet your needs? At Variant, our products are designed to be outcome-based investor solutions. This requires clarity of purpose, investment flexibility and unwavering discipline to deliver targeted investor results across market environments. Our mission is simple. Deliver on expectations. The Variant Distinction Variant is not just another asset manager. We’ve spent our careers thinking differently. We’ve walked in the shoes of investors and their advisors. We understand the challenges of making investments meet investor needs. Our goal is to deliver innovative and dependable solutions that work for our clients. Check the background of this firm on FINRA’s BrokerCheck . All Management Investments Investor Relations Operations Senior Vice President, Investments Brad Alvarez Vice President, Forensic Audit Lauren Bean, CPA Chief Operating Officer Kristi Combs Senior Vice President, Investments Karina Convers Principal and Co-founder Bob Elsasser Principal and Co-founder Curt Fintel, CFA Senior Vice President, Risk Management Joe Forgione Associate, Investments Kai Golden Principal and Co-founder J.B. Hayes, CFA Associate, Investments Edwin Huang Vice President, Investments Jordan Jenkins Senior Vice President, Investments Tom Karwacki, CFA Senior Associate, Operations Joey Kok Senior Vice President, Investments Kevin Kraeger, CFA Associate, Investments Lily Perryman Senior Associate, Investments Morgan Pierce Senior Associate, Investments Sean Plotnick Head of Data and Analytics Daljinder Singh Associate, Operations Jordan Skipper Associate, Investor Relations Robert Thomas Director, Investor Relations Ryan Warren, CFA, CFP® Vice President, Investor Relations Courtney Warren Senior Vice President, Investments Scott Zaleski Chief Compliance Officer & Director, Operations Lisa Zhu, CPA Senior Vice President, Investments Brad Alvarez Brad Alvarez joins Variant with experience underwriting commercial loans. Prior to Variant, Brad worked for JP Morgan in the Investment Bank as a credit analyst for the natural resources team, and then later as a credit associate for the power and utilities team. He received his BS in Finance and Accounting from Oregon State University in 2014. Vice President, Forensic Audit Lauren Bean, CPA Lauren Bean is a CPA with 7+ years of experience in financial reporting, risk management, and compliance. In her previous role as Chief Financial Officer at Sortis LLC, Lauren oversaw all financial aspects of the company, including investment fund strategy, tax compliance, and treasury management. Lauren is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Portland State University. She is also a member of the Oregon Society of CPAs. Chief Operating Officer Kristi Combs Kristi Combs is the Chief Operating Officer at Variant and has over 30 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Variant, she was a Managing Director and Head of Client Relations for Greycourt & Co., Inc, an investment advisor serving ultra high net worth families. She also previously worked at CTC | myCFO as a Director, and before CTC was a key Accounts Manager for Schwab Institutional. Kristi has her BS in Business from Miami University of Ohio. Senior Vice President, Investments Karina Convers Karina Convers joins Variant with over 10 years of experience in the industry. Prior to Variant, Karina focused on distressed debt investments at Armory Capital, initially as an associate on the investment banking team, and later as a senior credit analyst in the distressed credit fund. Before Armory, Karina worked in the financial services industry with US Bank, Citigroup, and Capital One. Karina received her BS in Finance from the University of Florida and her MBA from the University of Chicago. Principal and Co-founder Bob Elsasser Bob Elsasser is a principal and co-founder of Variant with over 31 years of experience in the industry. Prior to founding Variant, Bob was the Director of Fixed Income Research at CTC | myCFO. Before joining the organization in 2006, Bob was the Senior Vice President of Fixed Income and Foreign Exchange at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Bob received his BA in Finance from the University of Washington and his MBA in Finance from New York University. Principal and Co-founder Curt Fintel, CFA Curt Fintel is a principal and co-founder of Variant with over 25 years of experience in the industry. Prior to founding Variant, Curt was the Chief Investment Strategist at CTC | myCFO. Before joining the organization in 1996 , Curt worked as a computer consultant for Iowa State University’s College of Business. Curt is a member of the CFA Society of Portland, and has been a CFA charterholder since 1999. He received a BS and MS in Economics from Iowa State University and constructed his graduate thesis on the empirical analysis of alternative option valuations. Senior Vice President, Risk Management Joe Forgione Joe Forgione joins Variant with over 13 years of experience working at a Forbes 400 Family Office. He earned both his BBA in Finance and MS in Finance from the University of Portland and has been a Chartered SRI Counselor™ since 2022. Associate, Investments Kai Golden Kai Golden joins Variant with 2 years of experience in alternative products and business management. Prior to his position at Variant, Kai co-founded rideBelay, a financial services startup...