Sean O’Hara joined PLANCO in 1985. Sean spent 22 years with PLANCO/Hartford where he performed various roles including wholesaler, divisional manager, and managing director of the national wholesaler team. In his time as managing director, PLANCO sales grew on an annual basis from $14 billion per year to over $30 billion per year. During his tenure, he had oversight responsibility for more than 300 wholesalers and 20 divisions. From 2001 to 2007, Sean managed all domestic wholesaling activities for variable annuities, mutual funds, and 401k’s. Additionally, Sean oversaw variable annuity sales in Japan and held a seat on the Board of Directors for the Japanese Life Company.

In July 2007, Sean joined Pacer Financial to lead the national wholesaling team. He has made television appearances on CNBC and Fox Business.

Sean holds the FINRA Series 7, 24, 26, 63, and 65 licenses as well as a Pennsylvania Resident Insurance Producer license and is also licensed as a Non-resident Insurance Producer in all 50 states and commonwealths throughout the US and the District of Columbia.

Sean is a graduate of The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.

Mr. Kernagis has 36 years of investment experience. Prior to joining VIA, Mr. Kernagis was a Senior Vice President at Northern Trust Asset Management. Before that, Mr. Kernagis spent almost 14 years at Invesco/PowerShares, where as Senior Portfolio Manager he directed the fixed income ETF PM team and helped grow assets to $40 billion in bond ETFs globally. Mr. Kernagis was also a PM at Claymore (Guggenheim) Securities where he managed both equity ETFs and bond Unit Investment Trusts. In addition, he was a senior bond trader at Mid-States (Alloya) Corporate Federal Credit Union. Prior to working in investment management, Mr. Kernagis held institutional derivative sales positions at ABN Amro, Bear Stearns, and Prudential Securities. Mr. Kernagis earned a BBA degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from DePaul University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

As President of DSC Quantitative Group, Jeff leads the development of quantitative investment solutions that replicate the core risks and returns of private equity and venture capital with greater efficiency, lower fees, and daily liquidity. Backed by a world-class academic team and exclusive partnerships with Thomson Reuters/Refinitiv and Cambridge Associates, DSC offers a fundamentally different, research-driven framework for accessing private markets.

Prior to founding DSC, Jeff held roles at Deutsche Bank Securities, Morgan Stanley, Citadel Investment Group, and AT Kearney, with experience spanning public and private markets, high-frequency trading, and alternative investments.

He is also active in global philanthropy through Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos and World Bicycle Relief, and is a longtime endurance athlete and follower of international affairs.

Over 30 years of experience. Rick spent 13 years at Wells Fargo Securities (2005-2018) where he held several senior-level positions including, Global Co-Head of Equities and Investment Solutions. In this role, Rick was responsible for overseeing the firm’s Cash Equity and Equity Derivatives sales and trading businesses as well as the firm’s multi-asset class structured notes platform. While at Wells, Rick also served as President of Wells Fargo Portfolio Risk Advisors, an SEC-registered investment advisor specializing in the design and implementation of equity-derivative overlay strategies for institutional investors. Prior to Wells Fargo, Rick was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley in the firm’s Equity Structured Products Business. Rick also worked as an index-derivatives trader for Merrill Lynch. Rick began his career in Corporate Finance at Dean Witter Reynolds. Rick graduated from Washington & Lee University in Lexington, VA with a B.A. in Economics and holds a CFA designation. 

Rupert Watts joined S&P Dow Jones in 2018 and serves as the Head of Factors and Dividends. He focuses on alternate beta strategies, including factor-based indices, dividends and quantitative strategies. In his role, Rupert works closely with the Sales, Marketing and Global Research & Design departments to bring new ideas to market.
Prior to joining S&P Dow Jones Indices, Rupert spent nearly 11 years at Deutsche Bank, where he focused on research and product development within Quantitative Investment Strategies (QIS), with stints on both the buy and sell sides. While in QIS, Rupert developed factor-based strategies across multiple asset classes and managed portfolio mandates for institutional clients.
Originally from the United Kingdom, Rupert holds a bachelor's degree in Business and Finance from the University of the West of England, Bristol. He is a Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).