Jim Coats, Marc Fovinci, and Mark Kralj, Guest Speakers
JIM COATS leads efforts to introduce Ferguson Wellman’s investment expertise and services to prospective clients. He serves as a relationship manager for institutional clients and is a member of the firm’s alternative investments team. Coats joined the firm in 2006 after serving as an associate consultant for R.V. Kuhns & Associates in Portland, Oregon. Upon completing a master’s degree with a concentration in international finance from Columbia University in 2001, Coats joined Morgan Stanley Capital International in New York City as a hedge fund index product manager and business development associate.
MARK KRALJ is a portfolio manager and a member of the equity team managing the energy sector. He is a principal of the firm. Before joining the firm in 1989, he was an equity analyst and portfolio manager for high net-worth clients at First Interstate Bank. Kralj received his B.S. in business from Oregon State University. He also is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School. Kralj is a member and past president of the Chartered Financial Analysts Society of Portland. He serves as a trustee for the Providence Child Center Foundation, the Oregon State University Foundation and the Oregon Symphony Board. Kralj is a founding member of the Professional Advisory Council for the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington and is on the Investment Committee & Planned Giving Committee of St. Vincent Hospital Foundation. He is also on the Campaign Committee for the Oregon State University Cascades Campus. Kralj is past chairman of the Board of Trustees and Investment Committee of the National American Red Cross Endowment.
MARC FOVINCI, CFA, is a portfolio manager and head of Ferguson Wellman’s fixed income team. He is a principal of the firm and a member of its Investment Policy Committee. Before joining the firm in 1991, Fovinci was a senior investment officer for the Washington State Investment Board with responsibility for the state’s fixed income investments. Raised in Northern California, he graduated with honors from Stanford University with a B.S. in mechanical engineering and received his M.B.A. in finance from the University of Washington. Fovinci is a member of the Chartered Financial Analysts Society of Portland. He is a member and past president of the Northwest Taxable Bond Club. He serves on the board of Morrison Child & Family Services and is vice president of the Rotary Club of Portland. He is past president of the board of the Portland State University Foundation and past president of the board of the Portland Rotary Charitable Trust.