BEHIND OUR SUCCESS
Philippe Comby, CFA®, FRM
A seasoned veteran of the financial services industry, Philippe has amassed more than 25 years of experience in the business. As a Chartered Financial Analyst*, he has the necessary skills for specialized asset-management responsibilities, including security analysis, portfolio management, and business reporting. He also holds the professional designation of Financial Risk Manager**, globally recognized as a gold standard for professionals who assess the potential risks of markets, investments, and transactions.
Before co-founding Connective Portfolio Management, Philippe served as vice president and principal financial officer of The Swiss Helvetia Fund, where he was responsible for stock selection, portfolio construction, and oversight of the fund’s financial reporting and regulatory filings.
In public and private equity investments Philippe spearheaded a systematic approach for analyzing the business model and competitive advantages of companies screened in the investment process.
Previously in his career, Philippe served as senior vice president and board member of Hottinger Capital Corporation in New York, where he was responsible for investment operations for The Swiss Helvetia Fund. He also served as chief investment officer and partner at Hottinger Brothers LLC, New York, where he was responsible for $100 million in assets under management for private investors, investing globally, primarily in equities.
Philippe spent eight years as a manager of Hottinger Luxembourg SICAV, investing in US equities, equity derivatives, and index futures. Recently he has served as a board member of Spineart SA. Before joining Hottinger, Philippe worked for Swiss Bank Corporation (now UBS) in Geneva, Switzerland. Philippe earned a master's degree in political science from the University of Geneva.
Below is an explanation of professional designations used by Connective Portfolio Management associates. Do not rely solely on a title or designation to determine whether a financial professional has the expertise that you need. The explanation below will help you understand what the designation means and what the financial professional did to obtain it.
*The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) is a professional designation given by the CFA Institute that measures the competence and integrity of financial analysts. The CFA Program is a graduate-level self-study program that combines a broad-based curriculum of investment principles with professional conduct requirements. Candidates are required to pass three levels of examinations covering areas such as accounting, economics, ethics, money management, and security analysis. Before a candidate is eligible to become a CFA charter holder, he/she must meet minimum experience requirements in the area of investment/financial practice. To enroll in the program, a candidate must hold a bachelor’s degree.
**Financial Risk Manager: The FRM designation is a professional certification offered by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). For 20 years, the FRM has set the global standard for risk management. Developed by the world’s leading risk practitioners, the designation signifies a mastery of the essential skills and knowledge needed to help organizations succeed in today’s rapidly changing financial landscape. The FRM designation covers the following topics: Market Risk Measurement and Management, Credit Risk Measurement and Management, Operational and Integrated Risk Management, and Investment Management. The designation is awarded after a candidate has completed two tests and demonstrated 2 years of related work experience.
Rudolf Millisits
Having spent more than 38 years in the financial services industry, Rudolf has held numerous high-level positions throughout his long and distinguished career. Before co-founding Connective Portfolio Management, he was president, CEO, and board member of Hottinger Capital Corporation, where he served as a registered investment advisor to The Swiss Helvetia Fund. As the senior member of the investment team, Rudolf was responsible for managing the fund’s $450 million portfolio and accomplishing the fund’s mandate. Generating long-term growth and income by investing in Swiss equity or equity-linked companies, investment companies investing in private equity, and derivatives on equities and indexes.
Previously in his career, Rudolf was vice president, of private banking at Hottinger & Cie in Geneva, Switzerland, where he managed client portfolios of over $100 million, defined investment strategies for individual clients, and served as a member of the investment committee. Earlier, he was assistant vice president of private banking at Credit Suisse in both New York and Geneva, where he managed client portfolios, defined investment strategies for individual clients, and served on the investment committee. He held various other positions during his tenure at Credit Suisse, including assistant treasurer and branch manager of the Chateau-Banquet office. He began his financial services career in 1977 at Swiss Bank Corporation in St. Margrethen, Switzerland.
Rudolf earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from the Swiss Mercantile School of Business in Rheineck, Switzerland. He completed the Internship for university graduates at Credit Suisse in Geneva, where he received concentrated training in private banking, lending, and securities trading. He studied security analysis at the New York Institute of Finance and business principles, economic statistics, quantitative portfolio strategies, and market psychology at New York University.
Richard L.D. Saxton
With a career in the financial industry that also spans television, radio, and the Internet. Richard started his career more than 30 years ago as a licensed retail investment broker and retirement plan coordinator for Dean Witter Reynolds (now Morgan Stanley) in San Diego, California. Four years later he joined Financial News Network as a senior anchor covering the world's financial markets and hosted AutoTrends, an automotive industry program.
In 1991, when FNN was bought by CNBC, Richard became Chief Editor and anchor at KWHY-TV22 – The Business Channel – in Los Angeles, continuing his coverage of global financial markets. While there, he produced a documentary series on the stock, options, and futures exchanges in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Hong Kong, China, Australia, Canada, and Mexico.
When KWHY became a Spanish language station in 2001, Richard was hired by Bloomberg Radio to provide market updates and Bloomberg Market Minutes to KFWB News 980 Los Angeles, WBBR 1130 New York, and the Bloomberg Radio Network.
In 2006, Richard became a business development executive at Seattle-based technology companies, where he helped grow their revenues. He was also a contributing editor for projects at Edmunds.com, a top consumer automotive website.
Richard currently holds a California property & casualty insurance license.