We invest in the same equities we purchase for clients.

Team

Portfolio Management

Jeffrey R. Scharf

President, Investment Policy Committee Chairman

Mr. Scharf graduated from the University of California with a degree in Economics and became a successful private investor. During his years of private practice, he saw that performance did not always match promise in the financial services industry.

Scharf Investments was founded in 1983 with the goal of filling this gap. It has just one purpose — to invest its clients' funds profitably.

Mr. Scharf also writes a bi-weekly newspaper column entitled "Everybody's Business" for the Santa Cruz Sentinel. He has had articles published in Barron's magazine.

He has been a lecturer in Economics at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and has been a featured speaker at investment symposia in New York City and Santa Cruz.

Brian Krawez, CFA

Chief Operating Officer, Senior Research Analyst, Investment Committee Member

Prior to joining Scharf Investments, Mr. Krawez was a partner and head of research for Belden and Associates Investment Counsel where he managed a successful large blend portfolio.

Mr. Krawez began his career with Smith Barney in San Francisco and later moved to their investment banking division in New York City where he was ranked as a top-rated analyst focusing on health care. He left Smith Barney and joined a hedge fund, SC Fundamental, where he helped manage a $650 million diversified equity portfolio.

Later, Mr. Krawez received a scholarship to attend UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business MBA program. While attending Berkeley, Mr. Krawez worked at Dodge & Cox where he recommended several companies for their $50 billion mutual fund. Upon graduation, he joined Telegraph Hill Investment Counsel as a portfolio manager focusing on health care and technology.

Mr. Krawez has earned his Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the Security Analysts of San Francisco. In addition to his MBA, Mr. Krawez holds a BS with honors in Business Administration from UC Berkeley.

Jerry Beyke, CFA

Senior Research Analyst, Investment Committee Member

Mr. Beyke began his career more than 20 years ago with Wallace R. Weitz & Co. Inc. as a security analyst.

Prior to joining Scharf Investments, Mr. Beyke was a Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Carson Feltz and First Commerce Investors where he managed value oriented equity portfolios in discretionary accounts and a commingled fund. He also ran a successful Limited Partnership, Beyke Partners, as General Partner and Portfolio Manager.

Mr. Beyke has been a Member of the Association for Investment Management & Research since 1986.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Nebraska.

Eric Lynch, MBA

Vice President of Institutional Relations & Research Analyst, Investment Committee Member

Prior to joining Scharf Investments, Mr. Lynch contributed research to Scharf Investments while he ran his own registered investment advisory firm, Lynch Capital Management, LLC.

Prior to founding Lynch Capital Management, he was Co-Chief Operating Officer, Research Analyst and Portfolio Manager at Polen Capital Management, a top-performing, $2 billion money manager. As Co-Chief Operating Officer, he led the firm’s institutional channel for three years.

Prior to his investment career, Mr. Lynch spent several years as a management consultant to Fortune 500 companies with Accenture and Price Waterhouse-Japan.

He graduated Magna Cum Laude from John Carroll University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Concentration in Japanese. Mr. Lynch earned his MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Client Service

Michael Allard

Vice President of Client Relations

Prior to joining Scharf Investments, Mr. Allard was a Vice President and Regional Sales Manager for Wells Fargo Private Client Services.

At Wells Fargo Private Client Services, Mr. Allard introduced high net worth individuals and families to specialized services including trust and estate administration, retirement planning, charitable giving and private banking.

Prior to Wells Fargo, he held various positions for ten years with Charles Schwab & Co. including Regional Sales Manager and Branch Manager. At Charles Schwab, Mr. Allard developed and implemented investment plans for high net worth individuals, families and non-profit organizations. As a branch manager, Mr. Allard organized, opened and managed the Soquel/Capitola retail office.

Mr. Allard earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from California State University, Chico.

Loren Kinczel

Director of Client Relations

Prior to joining Scharf Investments, Mr. Kinczel performed equity research with both Farallon Capital Management L.L.C., a leading multi-billion dollar hedge fund, and Belden and Associates Investment Counsel, a registered investment advisor based in San Francisco.

Before launching his professional investment career, Mr. Kinczel worked with a venture capitalist on new enterprises serving the financial services industry. He has invested privately since 1994.

Mr. Kinczel graduated with honors from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and earned his M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. 

George R. Gallucci

Director of Client Relations

Mr. Gallucci has spent 33 years in the financial services industry. Before joining Scharf Investments in 1991, he was President and CEO of both Western Capital Management, a registered investment advisor, and Pacific Trust Company, both subsidiaries of Pacific Western Bank.

At Western Capital Management, Mr. Gallucci was responsible for the development of investment strategy, portfolio management, selection of individual securities, and all related trading activities.

At Pacific Trust Company, Mr. Gallucci was responsible for all fiduciary activities, account administration, and related tax, investment and legal compliance matters.

Mr. Gallucci earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management at San Jose University and graduated from the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.

Alexander J. Herring

Institutional Services and Research Associate

Mr. Herring joined Scharf Investments in September 2009.  He provides institutional and research assistance, and has previously helped with operations.

Mr. Herring earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in May 2009 with concentrations in Finance and Operations & Information Management.  He passed Level I of the CFA exam in June 2010 and is currently a Level II candidate.

Operations & Compliance

Nancy Gregg

Chief Compliance Officer, Operations Manager

Ms. Gregg earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University and embarked on a career at Hewlett-Packard in the areas of materials engineering, purchasing/contracts, and supply chain management focused on supplier social responsibility.

At HP’s corporate headquarters, Ms. Gregg spent 15 years in the management of departments responsible for negotiating and administering global purchase contracts. In these positions, Ms. Gregg was responsible for staffing, budgeting, and coordinating the purchase activities of HP divisions worldwide.

Gabe Houston

Trading & Operations

Mr. Houston joined Scharf Investments in May 2006. In addition to his primary role of trader, he provides operations support and is responsible for performance reporting.

Mr. Houston earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2006.

Kurt Grundner

Operations Specialist

Prior to joining Scharf Investments, Mr. Grundner was the Trading Manager at Niemann Capital Management and assisted with the development of their proprietary order management system.

Prior to Niemann, Mr. Grundner was part of the domestic equity trading team at TIAA-CREF, the largest U.S. non-profit asset management firm with over $300 billion under management and an average monthly trade volume of 500 million shares. Prior to CREF, Mr. Grundner was part of both the foreign currency and international equity trading teams at Barclays Global Investors, with an average monthly trade volume of 200 million international shares and $1.5 billion in spot and future currency trades. At BGI, he also managed development projects across various departments and international offices.

Mr. Grundner earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Haas School at UC Berkeley.

Jan Erbe

Operations and Client Service

Ms. Erbe performs operational and client service duties as an administrative assistant. She has a 22-year background in the finance industry, having worked in customer service and trust departments. Jan earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara.