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Our Team

Rick Lear - Managing Partner

Mr. Lear has been in the investment management business for two decades.

Prior to founding Lear Investment Management he was a Partner and Portfolio Manager with a Dallas based investment firm. From 2009 to 2015, Mr. Lear managed portfolios in a global, tactical, asset allocation strategy. His ability to identify global trends and tactically express with investments has led to superior outcomes for investors. His creative and intelligent research spans both fundamental and quantitative disciplines.

Previously, Mr. Lear served as Vice President at Neuberger Berman and as a Senior Investment Planning Analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. While at Bernstein, Mr. Lear was tapped to participate in the firm's Wealth Management Group to help solve complex investment dilemmas for high net worth families across the nation. He also served as a Portfolio Manager for US Trust on a team responsible for a multi-billion dollar quantitative, equity investment strategy. Mr. Lear now resides in Dallas, his hometown, with his wife, Laura, and their four children. He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University and the Securities Industry Institute of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Lear serves on the board of trustees of Lamplighter School, the board of trustees of Vogel Alcove and the board of trustees of Positive Coaching Alliance. Always a student, Mr. Lear recently completed a program with the Harvard Business School Executive Education in India.

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Jim Warner - Managing Director

Jim Warner has spent over two decades managing investment portfolios and providing financial advisory services for the world’s leading investment and advisory firms, including The Citadel Group, The Blackstone Group, TPG Capital, Deimos Asset Management (fka Guggenheim Global Trading) and Credit Suisse First Boston.

Mr. Warner served as a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager on various long/short equity and distressed credit portfolios for The Citadel Group, Deimos Asset Management and Carlson Capital over the last fifteen years. Through these experiences, he has developed a disciplined investment process, including a fundamentals-based research process, sophisticated portfolio construction and intensive risk management.

His investment experience also includes a multitude of corporate transactions, including marquis private equity deals, complex Chapter 11 restructurings, activist shareholder stakes and distressed credit investments. He has also advised on raising billions of capital in various currencies globally for a wide range of businesses.

Mr. Warner received his B.A. from the University of Virginia and M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated with Honors.

Bennett Vig - Senior Analyst

Bennett Vig has almost 25 years of portfolio management and equity research experience in the energy sector for several hedge funds and investment banks including RoundRock Capital, Cushing Asset Management, JPMorgan and UBS.

Prior to joining Lear Investment Management, Bennett Vig was a partner and portfolio manager with RoundRock Capital, a Dallas based energy hedge fund. During his time there, he conducted fundamental research across the upstream energy sector as well as macroeconomic research on the oil and natural gas commodities.

Previously, Mr. Vig was the Director of Research and a portfolio manager for Cushing Asset Management (formerly Swank Capital) a Dallas based investment manager. During his time there, Mr. Vig supervised all equity research efforts across several funds in the energy and materials sectors. In addition, Mr. Vig was the portfolio manager of two upstream related energy hedge funds. He earned a B.A. from the University of Richmond and an M.B.A from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.

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Trey Thomas - Sr. Associate

Trey Thomas has spent nearly a decade in the financial services industry encompassing a variety of roles including sales, relationship management, and operations. Prior to joining Lear Investment Management, Mr. Thomas was an Institutional Associate at Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. specializing in asset transfers, tax reporting, and estate services. His early career began at MassMutual Financial and Personal Capital, focusing on institutional sales.

Mr. Thomas graduated from Texas Christian University, where he earned a B.S. in Political Science with a concentration in Economics.

Tom Steinle - Director, Business Development

True partnership is built over years of trust, value and support.

Tom Steinle has more than 20 years of experience providing investment consulting and practice management expertise to hundreds of Independent Financial Advisors across the Northeast.

Prior to joining Lear, Mr. Steinle worked closely with Advisors to help grow and manage their businesses with both AssetMark and PMC. He began his career in Financial Services as an Advisor, Manager and Trainer with Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company.

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Keith Girand - Director, Business Development

Keith Girand began his career in 1996 as a financial advisor in Cincinnati, OH and has spent more than 26 years in the industry. Mr. Girand has played a key role as a trusted consultant to hundreds of the Southeast’s top financial advisors by assisting them with portfolio construction, manager selection and practice management.

Mr. Girand last worked at AssetMark for almost 13 years where he partnered with hundreds of independent financial advisors providing investment and business consulting expertise.

Prior to AssetMark, he worked for a California Investment Counsel and Trust firm. Additionally, he has worked at a variety of financial organizations such as mutual fund, and annuity and bank owned firms.

Mr. Girand received a B.A. in Communication Arts and a B.A in Philosophy with a concentration in Propositional Logic and Formal Semantics from the University of Cincinnati.

Robert Spickler - Research Analyst

Mr. Spickler has developed an exceptional ability to prudently manage clients’ needs and think creatively to solve problems. Mr. Spickler has experience in research and project management for both the investment, fintech and software industries.

Robert became an integral part of the development of the trading platform at Robinhood. He has also worked at TD Ameritrade as a client manager – helping investors answer a variety of questions ranging from trading to operational inquiries. In addition, Robert served in a project manager role at a local technology company.

Originally from Hawai’i, Robert received his B.A. in Finance from The University of Alabama and resides in Dallas.

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Lynn Sandt - Client Associate

Lynn Sandt has spent over two decades serving clients in the financial services industry. Ms. Sandt has worked in many areas ranging from client services, compliance, marketing, operations, portfolio management, and relationship management. She has served both high net-worth and institutional clients in the US, Latin America and Western Europe.

Prior to working at Lear Investment Management, Ms. Sandt worked at asset management and private wealth firms such as Westwood Holdings Group, RBC International Wealth Management, HSBC Global Asset Management, Credit Suisse Asset Management, Barclay’s Private Banking, Coutts Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. and Bank of Boston International Private Banking.

Ms. Sandt received her B.A. in Spanish from Montclair State College. She earned an M.B.A. in Investment Management from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University. Ms. Sandt obtained a Masters Certificate in Neurolinguistics for Business Communication from NLP Training Concepts in Dallas. Most recently, she earned a Digital Marketing Certificate from Southern Methodist University.

Thayne Gould - Chief Compliance Officer

Mr. Thayne Gould is Chief Compliance Officer and is responsible for developing, testing, and monitoring the compliance programs. He has extensive knowledge and application of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, Securities Act of 1933, and state securities laws.

Thayne has over 25 years of investment management industry experience with firms such as T. Rowe Price and PNC Capital Advisors. His duties have included product management, marketing, and compliance functions and he has been responsible for oversight of both broker-dealer and investment adviser activities for a $1-trillion fund complex, 700-person marketing and distribution organization, and the activities of a $50-billion institutional asset manager. He has significant experience with various SEC and state filings, supported examinations, and been point of contact for the Staff and other regulators.

Thayne earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Towson University and a Master of Business Administration from Loyola University Maryland and holds the FINRA Series 24 (General Securities Principal), Series 53 (Municipal Securities Principal), Series 7 (General Securities Representative), Series 6 (Investment Company and Variable Contracts Representative), Series 66 (Uniform Combined State Law), and Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent State Law) Licenses. Thayne is on staff at Vigilant Compliance, LLC., whose services are retained by Lear Investment Management.

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