McMorgan & Company Equity Team
Thomas A. Derse, CFA
Managing Director, President Equity Team,
McMorgan Equity Team
Thousand Oaks, CA
Scott T. Larson, CFA
Director, Co-CIO Equity Team,
McMorgan Equity Team
Thousand Oaks, CA
Ryan J. Ross, CFA
Director, Co-CIO Equity Team,
McMorgan Equity Team
Thousand Oaks, CA
Investment Philosophy
The McMorgan Equity Team seeks to invest in high quality businesses at a significant discount to their estimate of fair value. We are analysts first, closely examining the underlying fundamentals of businesses in which we invest. We are not speculators but rather long-term investors, looking to benefit from in-depth research and focused, high conviction, portfolios. We maintain a patient, disciplined, and team-oriented process, with a focus on quality and margin of safety.
Investment Process
The portfolio managers employ a team-oriented and consistent process resulting in a portfolio of best ideas. The team patiently waits for great businesses to go on sale and takes advantage of temporary price dislocations as they arise. The strategy is benchmark and sector agnostic, which allows flexibility to invest across the entire small cap universe.
The disciplined and consistent application of our investment process embodies our investment philosophy of buying high quality companies at a significant discount to fair value. The team’s bottom-up investment process features four steps - we focus first on quality, second on evaluating disruption events, third on due diligence, and lastly on valuation.
Thomas A. Derse, CFA
Mr. Derse joined McMorgan & Company in November 2020. Previously he was with Bernzott Capital Advisors from 2004 to 2020. Prior to Bernzott, Mr. Derse was President of Channel Islands Capital Management, Inc. and a partner in an accounting firm where he managed portfolios and assisted clients with tax, estate, retirement, and business planning. Mr. Derse obtained a BS in Accounting from California State University – Fresno and an MS in Taxation from Golden Gate University. He is a CFA Charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Los Angeles (CFALA). Mr. Derse currently serves as co-editor of the bi-monthly CFALA E-newsletter.
Scott T. Larson, CFA
Mr. Larson joined McMorgan & Co. in November 2020. Previously he was with Bernzott Capital Advisors from 2007 to 2020. Prior to Bernzott, he worked as a Principal with Grayhawk Venture Partners, a venture capital firm, where he was responsible for investment due diligence, research and analysis. Mr. Larson graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University with a BS in Finance and a BA in Psychology. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Los Angeles (CFALA).
Ryan J. Ross, CFA
Mr. Ross joined McMorgan & Co. in November 2020. Previously he was with Bernzott Capital Advisors from 2014 to 2020. Prior to Bernzott, he worked at Madison Investment Advisors and American Century Investments, where he was responsible for equity research and analysis. Mr. Ross has an MBA from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and graduated magna cum laude with a BS in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Los Angeles (CFALA). Mr. Ross is also an adjunct lecturer in finance at California State University, Northridge, where he has taught upper-division finance courses on a part-time basis since January 2017.