Skip, as his friends know him, is a nationally recognized expert in the field of municipal securities, where he has worked continuously since 1970. Before founding CFI in 1984, Skip managed the Municipal Bond Department of Crocker National Bank, with offices in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. That was followed by four years with the brokerage firm of Smith Barney Harris Upham. Over the years he acquired an in-depth knowledge of underwriting, credit analysis, portfolio management, trading, and sales of municipal bonds.

Skip has served on numerous boards during his career, including the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), created by an Act of Congress in 1975 to establish the rules governing the conduct of the thousands of municipal securities dealers across the United States. Skip was elected Chairman of this Board and during his tenure was a leading proponent of the rules that were adopted to curb abuses in political contributions, and greatly expanded the disclosure policies of municipal bond issuers. He has also had the distinction of being called to testify before Congress on two occasions: once representing the municipal securities industry as a whole and once representing municipal bond investors in the aftermath of Orange County, California's bankruptcy filing.

Skip earned his Bachelor's Degree from Utah State University before serving as an officer in the United States Marine Corps from 1965 to 1970.

Annie joined CFI in August 2014 as a Portfolio Analyst. Previously, Annie was part of the Orange County Treasurer’s investment team that was responsible for over $7 billion of fixed income assets. Her duties included researching and analyzing macro-economic and financial data; evaluating fixed income investment structures and credit quality; and monitoring activities and results. After her time with the County, she joined the commercial lending division at US Bank as a Portfolio Analyst, while also working as a Research Associate at the Fixed Income Academy.

Annie graduated with highest honors from California State University, Fullerton with an MBA in Finance and a Bachelor’s of Art in Business Economics. In 2015, she obtained the designation of Charter Financial Analyst (CFA).

In addition to monitoring the markets and analyzing compelling investment opportunities for client portfolios, Annie utilizes her extensive Bloomberg and computer skills to develop proprietary models to assist the trading and compliance processes.

As Director of Client Services and COO (Chief Operating Officer), Sharmi is responsible for insuring all clients receive timely, competent assistance whenever needed.  She oversees the coordination with every client's custodian, other professional advisors and accountants and sees that client confidentiality is strictly observed.

Since joining our company in 2012, Sharmi has become indispensable to CFI in her role of establishing and maintaining good client relationships, the smooth coordination of all client transactions and the resolution of any problems.  Her work is vital to insuring that not only are new accounts with existing portfolios are brought on board accurately, but also  in providing ongoing quality  client  services that aligns with the "client first" culture of CFI.

Sharmi has an extensive background in all aspects of fixed income securities.  She began her career 20 years ago at PIMCO and further honed her fixed income skills at Hotchkis and Wiley, a client servicing boutique investment firm acquired by Merrill Lynch Investment Management in 2003.  Subsequently she worked as a Senior Performance Analyst for BNY Mellon and as an Account Relationship Manager for Financial Information Network (FIN), where she made significant contributions assisting clients with their accounting, performance and tax reporting needs.

Born in Calcutta, India, Sharmi holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, a Masters in Geography, and an MBA in Global Management.