SVB’s collapse illustrates fragility of banking’s “confidence game” Mickey Kim and Roger Lee / March 31, 2023 A bank takes money from depositors, who are paid interest for delaying spending. The bank then lends these funds to borrowers, who pay interest for accelerating spending. The bank profits on the [...]
Microsoft’s ‘Sydney’ chatbot personifies Musk’s warning; “AI is far more dangerous than nukes” Mickey Kim and Roger Lee / March 3, 2023 The concept of “artificial intelligence” or “AI” was born in 1950 when English mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turning introduced the “Turing Test” to determine [...]
Year after ‘Crypto Bowl,’ dominoes fall as former titans bite the dust Mickey Kim and Roger Lee / February 3, 2023 “How do you think I’m going to get along without you when you’re gone? You took me for everything that I had and kicked me out [...]
Inflation, De-globalization and Leaving 2022 Behind - Podcast Associate Director of Client Service Zach Greiner, CFP is joined by Director of Research Roger Lee, CFA, CPA after an eventful final quarter of 2022 filled with mid-term elections, spending bills, inflation reports, rate hikes and more. Roger and Zach break down how Fed [...]
COVID put “Globalization” in ICU and Putin pulled the plug; now what? Mickey Kim and Roger Lee / January 13, 2023 The following is an excerpt from Kirr, Marbach & Co.’s fourth-quarter client letter, available here. The seeds of the second great age of globalization were sown more [...]
To view the PDF version of our Q4 2022 Client Letter, click here. Dear Clients: We are glad to put 2022 in the rearview mirror. As the headlines have blared, it was the worst year for stocks since the depths of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 (4th worst for the [...]
Investors court “TARA” following messy divorce from “TINA” Mickey Kim and Roger Lee / November 25, 2022 Kirr, Marbach has been fortunate to have Roger Lee, CFA, CPA as a Senior Research Analyst for the past six years. Roger is an exceptionally bright individual and shares my [...]
“Buy the dip,” but beware of tax pitfalls Mickey Kim / November 4, 2022 Bespoke Investment Group reported as of the end of September, “the Fed’s crusade against inflation resulted in a record destruction of wealth in dollar terms and an extremely large drawdown in percentage terms.” The [...]
Reflecting on the Bear Market and One Way to Take Advantage - Podcast Associate Director of Client Service Zach Greiner, CFP sits down with our Chief Investment Officer Mark Foster, CFA to reflect on where the market stands after most indices finished Q3 in bear market territory and use history to look [...]
Market, economic storms are inevitable--so are bold, unreliable forecasts Mickey Kim / October 7, 2022 The financial markets and economy have been hit by their own metaphorical Hurricane Ian in 2022. Stocks are firmly in “bear market” territory (down more than 20%). Bonds, historically considered “safe” investments, have [...]
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Associate Director of Client Service |
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Current Board Member and Vice President of Sans Souci. Past president of Sans Souci and Columbus Young Professionals. Finance Mentor for Turning Point’s Dance Marathon. Leadership Bartholomew County – 2014 and Coalition for Collaborative Learning – 2015. Zach was previously a Credit Analyst and Commercial Lender for MainSource Bank and, most recently, Financial Advisor for Raymond James. Zach joined KM in 2018. |
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Associate Director of Client Service |
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Current member of Heritage Fund Bartholomew County Grants Committee and First Presbyterian Preschool Policy Board. Before joining KM in 2018, Maggie was a financial analyst at Cummins, Inc. |
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Roger Lee, CFA, CPA
Senior Research Analyst |
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Roger joined KM as a Senior Research Analyst in 2016. Prior to joining KM, he sharpened his research skills while on the investment teams of Pacific View Asset Management, the Artisan Partners Global Equity Fund, and Tradewinds Global Investors, a subsidiary of Nuveen Investments. He began his career in assurance services at Ernst & Young. Roger has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York since 2010. |
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Collin Foster, CFA
Research Analyst and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager |
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Collin joined KM as an Equity Analyst in 2015. Prior to joining KM, he worked as a credit analyst and credit manager at MainSource Bank. |
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Mickey Kim, CFA
Managing Partner, Chief Operating/Compliance Officer |
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Mickey was Senior Research Analyst at Driehaus Capital Management, a Chicago investment management firm, from 1982 to 1985. Mickey joined KM in 1986 and has been the firm’s Chief Operating Officer since 1996 and Chief Compliance Officer since 2004. |
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Mark D. Foster, CFA
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Managing Partner, Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio Manager |
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Mark was formerly associated with American Fletcher National Bank (now JP Morgan Chase, Indiana, NA) as a research analyst from 1980 to 1982 and with Merchants National Bank as a portfolio manager/research analyst from 1982 to 1984. From 1984 to 1987 he was associated with Merchants Investment Counseling Inc. as Director of Equity Strategy, directly responsible for managing approximately $200 million of equity assets. Mark joined KM in 1987 and has been the firm’s Chief Investment Officer since 1997. |
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Matt Kirr
Partner, Director of Client Service |
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Current Board Member of Heritage Fund Bartholomew County and Foundation for Youth. Past president of Foundation for Youth, the Day Nursery Foundation Board, and past vice-chairman of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Indiana. Matt was previously a Vice President and Private Banker for Bank One, N.A. and, most recently, McDonald Financial Group. Matt joined KM in 2005. |
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Darrell H. “Kip” Wright, CFA
Partner, Portfolio Manager, Senior Research Analyst |
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Kip was a Trust Investment Manager for various banks in Iowa from 1982 through 1995, most recently with Brenton Bank, N.A., with responsibilities of overall strategy and equity selection. Kip joined KM in 1995 and is a portfolio manager and senior research analyst. |
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Colin King, CFA
Senior Research Analyst |
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Colin joined KM as an Equity Analyst in 2012. Prior to joining KM, he worked in assurance services with Ernst & Young and in business valuation with Blue & Co., both CPA firms. Colin has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Indiana since 2012. |
