Joe is CEO of Pinnacle Capital Management, LLC. He has extensive experience with mergers, acquisitions, conversions, tender offers, reinsurance and joint ventures based on over 35 years in the life insurance and related financial services industries. This includes completing the first merger ever between New York-domiciled and non-New York domiciled life insurers.
Having served in numerous senior executives positions, his responsibilities have spanned marketing, sales, investments, compliance, legal, corporate governance, government relations and risk management. While involved in product-development, Masella brought the first equity-indexed annuity to market in New York State.
Masella has served on a number of corporate boards in addition to being actively involved with the committees and boards of various life-insurance industry trade organizations. A resident of Syracuse, New York, Masella is a U.S. Army veteran and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Rutgers, where he earned both bachelors’ and law degrees.
jmasella@pcm-advisors.com
Stephen J. Fauer, CFA is Pinnacle Capital Management’s Chief Investment Officer and principal Portfolio Manager. He has served in these roles since Pinnacle Capital Management’s founding in 2006, overseeing all separately managed and mutual fund portfolios totaling in excess of $100 million in assets. Steve is also responsible for coordinating and supervising the research efforts of his investment team.
Having earned his B.S. degree from Michigan State University in 1980, Steve began his investment career in 1981 as a Junior Investment Analyst with J&W Seligman & Co. in New York City. Taking mostly evening courses, he earned his M.B.A. degree from New York University in 1984, and subsequently went on to earn his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1987. In addition to his current position at Pinnacle Capital Management, Steve has held investment leadership positions at Strategic Investments, Manning & Napier Advisors, and J.W. Burns & Co.
Over his 30 year career, Steve has developed an investment philosophy designed to identify companies positioned for success within their current competitive and economic environments. He then overlays a pricing discipline which adds a value element to this approach. This philosophy now forms the basis of Pinnacle Capital Management’s core investment strategies. As Steve puts it, our objective is to “get out of the way of negative events, get in the way of positive events, and not pay a whole lot of money for that privilege.”
sfauer@pcm-advisors.com
In the fall of 2016, Paul Tryon, CFA joined PCM in overseeing client portfolios as a Principal, and Senior Portfolio Manager. Mr. Tryon has almost 20 years of experience in investment banking, securities research and portfolio management, including managing over $700 million in assets as Director of Investments at his previous firm. In addition to his membership in the CFA Institute, Paul is a member of the Boston Security Analysts Society. Among other investment awards, Mr. Tryon has been recognized for his investment success by Informed Investment Solutions, a leader in intelligence and software for investment professionals, which awarded Paul the coveted “Top Gun” status on multiple occasions.
Paul currently manages PCM’s newest separately managed account strategy, the PCM Dividend Income Growth — US strategy.
Paul and his wife Joey, a practicing physician, have three children. Paul is a sports enthusiast, having run five marathons and played football for four years at his alma mater, Yale University. When not chasing down good investments or his three high-energy boys, Paul has been known to perform occasionally in a cappella ensembles.
tryon@pcm-advisors.com
Bob started his career in the financial services industry in 1980, after receiving his Bachelor’s degree from the Syracuse University School of Management in 1978. He went on to earn his Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) from Syracuse University in 1982. Prior to joining Pinnacle Investments in 2008, Bob was a partner and branch manager of a local investment firm for 17 years.
Bob is a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) General Securities Principal (Series 24), Municipal Securities Principal and is New York State Insurance Licensed for Life, Accident and Health. In addition to advising clients, Bob is a member of Pinnacle Capital Management’s Investment Committee. He has extensive knowledge and experience in research, portfolio management and trading of fixed- income securities. Bob served on the board of trustees of WCNY for 6 years. Presently Bob serves as a member of the Board of the Centro New York Regional Transportation Authority (CENTRO). Bob, his wife Susan and daughter Megan reside in Syracuse, New York.
rcuculich@pcm-advisors.com
Education
Bachelor of Science, Finance and Economics, Providence College
Professional Experience
9 years
kmcclelland@pcm-advisors.com
Cortland “Chip” Schroder began his career at Lehman Brothers – as a licensed retail prospector in 1990. From there, he was a Financial Advisor and licensed insurance rep in Syracuse and Ithaca; then working for his family-owned insurance agency. Next he spent 6 years at Gabelli Asset Management in Institutional Mutual Fund Sales. After that, Schroder was a Regional Sales Director with a Marketing Research Group in Westport, CT. Most recently, Schroder was the director of Employer Relations, advisor and an architect for the Finance and Investment Club at Colgate University. In 2014 Schroder was hired as Chief Marketing Officer of Pinnacle Capital Management, LLC (PCM). He was promoted in July, 2014 to Chief Marketing Officer of the firm’s parent, Pinnacle Holding Company, LLC. In 2016, Schroder was named Vice President of Business Development for Pinnacle Capital Management LLC, where he creates and develops new relationships for distribution of PCM’s growing suite of investment products. Schroder earned a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Manhattan College.
cschroder@pcm-advisors.com
Mr. Dean S. Dellas joined Pinnacle Capital Management (PCM) in the fall of 2016, while still practicing as a financial advisor and portfolio manager with sister company, Pinnacle Investments, LLC. In September of 2017, he was named Managing Director – National Sales and Distribution.
At PCM, Dean takes a white glove approach in meeting the portfolio management needs of investment firms and other financial advisors in the industry. His knowledge and experience as a practicing financial advisor allow him to understand and satisfy the complex needs of other industry colleagues in their pursuit of bespoke asset management strategies.
Dean is a native of Cazenovia, NY. He is a graduate of Christian Brothers Academy and holds a bachelors degree in Economics from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. He holds the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) General Securities Representative (Series 7), State Securities Agent & Registered Investment Advisor Representative (Series 66), NYS Insurance Licensed for Life, Accident & Health, and has earned the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC) designation from the College of Financial Planning.
Dean@pcm-advisors.com