Chris has been a part of the Performance Trust Companies team since its inception in 1994. Since then, he has worked to develop innovative methods of educating investors at all levels, from Board members and Directors to individual Portfolio Managers. Chris serves as a contributing editor for the Bank Portfolio Manager® and Disciplined Investor®. He has also developed some of the final segments of Principles of Performance™ curriculum.

Prior to joining The Performance Trust Companies, Chris held a position in the Portfolio Analytics Group at Clayton Brown and Associates, an investment banking firm in Chicago. Prior to that, he was the CEO of International Trade Group, Inc., where he introduced US companies to South America and The Far East over the course of his five-year tenure. He has been recognized for his entrepreneurial achievements in the Miami Herald, Wisconsin Capital Times, The Kansan, and other publications. Chris holds a BA in Philosophy and History from University of Kansas.

Kurt is a Partner and Managing Director of the Performance Trust Companies.  Amongst his many duties, Kurt is a key presenter and developer of the curriculum at Principles of Performance™ (formerly known as  Bond Math University®). Kurt has been a featured writer for the Bank Portfolio Manager® and Disciplined Investor®. 

Prior to joining The Performance Trust Companies in 1995, Kurt spent five years at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as an options trader. This experience of valuing and trading options has been invaluable in his analysis of the complex securities with embedded options that are available in the marketplace today.  Kurt has also been involved in the Trading, Analytics and Management at Performance Trust.  This knowledge and experience has allowed Kurt to help bankers and other financial institutions around the country make better risk/reward decisions in the area of fixed income investing.  Kurt has been an invited speaker to numerous Banking, Insurance and Credit Union groups and most recently added the OCC to his list.

David R. Howland - Managing Director
Performance Trust Capital Partners, LLC

David Howland started in the business in 1991 with Nike Securities. After selling securities to Midwest bankers for 3 years using spread and yield, a close friend introduced David to Rich and Phil. David was the tenth employee hired by the firm in 1995. In 2002 David, and his classmate Rich Berg, received his MBA from Kellogg School of Management. In 2004, Robbie left the nest and spread his wings at Countrywide Securities. In November 2005 David returned to Performance Trust Capital Partners, Inc. to resume his passion of helping bankers find a better way to evaluating securities.

David received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Communications from Taylor University in Indiana.

David V. Raphael - Managing Director
Performance Trust Capital Partners, LLC

David’s background uniquely positions him to bridge the gap between complex financial theory and applied real-world decision-making in fixed-income portfolio management.

Before joining Performance Trust, David worked in energy risk management as a senior risk analyst with Calpine Energy Services in Houston, Texas.  Prior to that, he held engineering positions at General Electric and Teradyne, LLC.

David holds a Master of Engineering Degree in Financial Engineering from Cornell University, and a B.S. in Industrial & Management Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Paul S. Kangas - Managing Director and Sales Director
Performance Trust Capital Partners, LLC

Paul Kangas joined Performance Trust in January 2009 as Managing Director of Sales. He has been in the financial services industry for over 20 years and has worked extensively with community banks, insurance companies and registered investment advisors. He is responsible for expanding the company’s relationships with its banking and institutional clients, growing the firm’s fixed-income business, and developing the sales teams.

Previously, Paul was a Managing Director and Sales Manager with BMO Capital Markets GKST, Inc. He also served as Senior Vice President and Sales Manager for Griffin, Kubik, Stephens & Thompson before the firm was acquired by BMO in 2008. In addition to helping develop the fixed-income sales division, he was a member of the company’s Operating Committee and Pension Committee.

Paul holds a BBA in finance from Loyola University.

*Formerly known as Bond Math University®