Executive Team

Kevin Kinzie
Chief Executive Officer, Octavus Group and LoCorr Funds

Kevin Kinzie is the CEO and founder of Octavus Group. Octavus, the parent company of LoCorr Fund Management and LoCorr Distributors, was founded in 2003 to help fill a growing market opportunity in alternative investments and has since raised over $6 billion in this space. In 2011, Kinzie recognized the need to offer a family of alternative investment products designed to produce returns that have low correlation to traditional investments. As a result, he founded and serves as Chairman of the LoCorr Funds. LoCorr Funds has grown to offer a suite of five funds with a national distribution network, offering products through regional and national broker-dealers across the country.

In addition to LoCorr, Kevin’s more than 35 years of experience in financial services include founding a real estate finance company, LendSource. He served as President and CEO of Richard Leahy Corporation, a subsidiary of Lincoln Financial Corporation. During his time there he helped guide the company into the bank marketplace, offering investment products to bank customers. He also previously was a leading money raiser for a Minneapolis based mutual fund/hedge fund company.

Kevin holds a B.S. in business and marketing from the University of Colorado. He holds the FINRA series 6, 7, 24, 31 and 63 licenses and the CLU designation.
 

Jon C. Essen
Chief Financial Officer/Co-Portfolio Manager, Octavus Group, LLC/LoCorr Funds

Jon Essen joined Octavus Group/LoCorr Funds as its Chief Financial Officer and Portfolio Manager in 2008. Jon has been CFO of LoCorr Fund Management and Portfolio Manager of the Funds since inception in 2011. Jon has over 26 years of experience in the financial services industry.
 
Prior to LoCorr, he worked as EVP and CFO of a mezzanine finance company based in St. Paul, MN. Prior to that, Jon worked at Jundt Associates from 1998 to 2002 as its CFO, Director of Operations and Director of Compliance. Jundt Associates was an investment management firm, based in Minneapolis, MN, that offered its services through mutual funds, hedge funds and private accounts. Jon also worked as a Senior Financial Analyst at Norwest Investment Services (currently Wells Fargo Investments) from 1997 to 1998, and at Voyageur Funds, an asset management company based in Minneapolis, MN, from 1994 to 1997, serving as its Reporting and Control Supervisor.
 
Jon graduated from Minnesota State Mankato (formerly Mankato State University) with a B.S. in business administration. He is a CPA (inactive) and holds the FINRA Series 3, 7, 24, 28, 63, and 99 licenses.
 

Ruxandra Risko
President, LoCorr Funds

Ruxandra Risko serves as President of LoCorr Funds and is responsible for leading the distribution efforts, encompassing external and internal sales teams, institutional relations, national accounts, and marketing. Ruxandra joined LoCorr Funds in 2011 to launch the national account efforts of the firm. She was responsible for building distribution across platforms by cultivating existing nationwide partnerships and expanding into new firms as well as new channels of distribution. Ruxandra brings over 30 years of experience in the asset management business, specifically in distribution.

Prior to joining LoCorr, Ruxandra was responsible for managing the nationwide relationships with the major distribution partners at Oppenheimer Funds. Her specific responsibilities included oversight of product approval, all aspects of relationship management and financial arrangements with firms distributing Oppenheimer products.

Ruxandra holds a B.S. in Finance and International Business, and an M.B.A. in Finance from New York University.
 

Kris Jaenicke
Senior Vice President, Eastern Division Sales Director

Kris Jaenicke leads our distribution efforts in the firm’s eastern division and is responsible for the team’s delivery of the LoCorr product suite to that region of the country. Kris is also instrumental to the firm’s branding and positioning in the industry, working with marketing to developing materials for advisor and investor education. Prior to this role, Kris was regional vice president, primarily responsible for the distribution of alternative investment products through financial advisors in the Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and western Pennsylvania territories. Focused exclusively on the distribution of alternative investments for the past decade, Kris offers advisors expertise in the sector, as well as more than 30 years of experience in a sales capacity within financial services. He was previously a senior regional vice president for Dividend Capital, Scudder Investments and MFS Funds.

Kris is an accomplished speaker and expert on low correlating strategies. He was awarded the Sequoia Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010, an award which recognizes field sales professionals who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence in their careers. Kris serves on the board of Hudson Community Chapel and is active in mission work. He has a B.A. in finance from the University of Iowa, and is a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and a Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC). He holds the FINRA Series 6, 7, 24 and 63 licenses.
 

Sean Katof, CFA, CAIA
Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager

Sean Katof leads the firm’s research team and is responsible for reviewing current and new sub-advisors for possible additions to our existing family of funds. He drives efforts in the development of new products within the alternative marketplace to expand current offerings within LoCorr Funds. Sean joined the firm in 2015, and has worked in the investment industry since 1994. Prior to joining LoCorr Funds, Sean served as Director of Capital Markets at SLOCUM, an institutional consulting firm, from 2005 to 2015. In this role, he led the firm’s global equity manager research covering traditional equity, short extension, closed end fund, and options overlay strategies. In addition, he was actively involved in equity long-short manager research.

Prior to joining Slocum, Sean served as Portfolio Manager at Devenir Investment Advisors, where he managed the Industry Leaders Core Equity portfolio from 2004 - 2005. Prior to that, he was a Vice President and Portfolio Manager at INVESCO Funds Group where he served in positions of increasing responsibility from 1994 – 2003. Joining INVESCO Funds Group as a Fund Accountant, Sean moved into the investment division, eventually serving as Portfolio Manager for the INVESCO Real Estate Opportunity Fund and Co-Portfolio Manager for the INVESCO Core Equity Fund.

Sean received his B.S. in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He holds an M.S. in finance from the University of Colorado at Denver. Sean is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) charterholder.
 

Bob Sarna
Chief Operating Officer

Bob Sarna is the COO of LoCorr Funds and has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining LoCorr in 2011, Bob was the President and CEO of LendSource, Inc. a multi-state mortgage banking entity. Previously, Bob served as a Managing Director of a Cargill subsidiary, Access Financial, and held other executive positions in the mortgage banking industry.
 
Bob attended Ohlone College in northern California where he studied Real Estate Economics, Law and Finance.
 

Brian Hull
Chief Compliance Officer

Brian Hull is Chief Compliance Officer of LoCorr Funds. Brian joined LoCorr when Steben & Company was acquired by Octavus Group (LoCorr) in 2019. At the time of acquisition Brian had been with Steben & Company since July 1997, and over that time held several positions in the firm’s compliance and operations departments. Prior to joining Steben & Company, Brian was a Registered Representative and a General Securities Principal of Tiger Investment Group, Inc. in Waltham, MA, where he served as Chief Compliance Officer from 1995 to 1997.
 
Brian holds Series 3, 7, 24, 28, and 63 licenses and is both a General Securities and Financial and Operations Principal. Brian attended the University of Alaska Anchorage, majoring in accounting.


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