Katharine Bray
Katharine is responsible for marketing and trading for VSIRP. Katharine previously served as Managing Director of the Derivative Products Group at a regional bank marketing and structuring derivative trades, developing hedging strategies and providing ASC 815 accounting support for derivative clients. Her previous experience includes financial roles with two large banks. Katharine received her undergraduate degree from Averett University with a Bachelor of Science in finance and her MBA from Wake Forest University.
John Crawford, CFA
John joined Vining Sparks in August 2008 and is responsible for developing and directing business lines that will further enhance the value we bring to our customers. John’s responsibilities include directing the Interest Rate Products and Loan Trading groups as well as Vining Sparks’ Asset Management business. He has over 27 years experience with financial services companies, including positions as Executive Managing Director / Head of Investment Banking at an institutional equity capital markets firm from 2004 – 2008, EVP / Treasurer of Union Planters Corporation from 2000 – 2004, and various financial and treasury positions over fifteen years with Bank One Corporation. John graduated from Texas Tech University in 1983 with a BBA in Finance and a BBA in Accounting. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute.
Craig Dismuke
Craig Dismuke is a Senior Vice President and Chief Economic Strategist for Vining Sparks IBG. Advising portfolio managers ranging from some of the largest foreign banks to some of the smallest domestic financial institutions, he evaluates economic developments and fixed income sector performance to identify risks and opportunities within the U.S. market. Craig publishes daily, weekly, and monthly articles for Vining Sparks as well as other national publications. He is also a frequent speaker at investment and industry conferences on the health of and expectations for the U.S. economy. Prior to joining Vining Sparks, he was a Managing Director in Institutional Fixed Income at Bear Stearns and Company. Craig is a graduate of Union University and completed his Master’s of Science in Policy Studies at the University of Memphis.
Mark Evans, CFA
Mark has been with Vining Sparks since 1994, and is currently Director of Investment Strategies, a group that provides research and technical assistance to the firm’s customers and sales representatives. Mark is a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences and has presented at the FFIEC’s Capital Markets Specialists Conference. He has written countless research reports, published articles, and developed many analytical models. Prior to joining Vining Sparks, Mark was employed by Union Planters National Bank where he traded and securitized loan portfolios. Mark earned his BBA in Finance from the University of Memphis.
Chris Goodson
Chris is responsible for marketing and trading for VSIRP. Chris previously served as Managing Director of the Derivative Product Group of a regional bank and has over 10 years experience with regional broker / dealers marketing and structuring derivative trades, developing hedging strategies and providing ASC 815 accounting support for derivative clients. His previous experience includes senior roles responsible for management of investment, venture capital and bank owned life insurance portfolios, as well as execution, management, accounting and regulatory compliance related to derivatives portfolio at large banks. Graduated cum laude from Wofford College with a Bachelor of Arts in Finance and Spanish and studied Latin American economics at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica in Santiago, Chile.
Wade Oliver
Wade joined Vining Sparks in 2003. He is currently Director of Asset/Liability Management, a group that provides outsourced A/L reports and other technical assistance to the firm’s customers and sales representatives. Wade has been a frequent speaker at various industry and regulatory seminars, has also written numerous articles for various trade publications, and serves as instructor for A/L at the Barret School of Banking. Prior to joining Vining Sparks, Wade was employed by a $3bb financial institution in the Mid-West, where he served various treasury functions including chair of the ALCO. Wade earned his BFA degree from the University of Memphis.
James Plunkett
James is a Senior Vice President in the Investment Strategies Department of Vining Sparks. He provides assistance to customers by comparing merits and relative value of security structures and sectors and helps determine the optimal portfolios for achieving specific objectives. Previously, James managed the investment portfolio and served as chair of the ALCO for bank holding companies with assets over $20 billion. His background includes management of mutual fund portfolios, hedging debt issuance and loan originations, and asset/liability modeling. He received his bachelor’s degree in Finance from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Rick Redmond, CMA
Rick has 25 years of experience with large regional banks, with responsibilities including the customer derivative business, interest rate risk management, mortgage servicing hedging, loan pricing, and risk adjusted performance management. Rick has managed derivative positions hedging over $200 billion in assets. He graduated from Auburn University with a BS in Accounting and Finance in 1979 and the BAI Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin in 1992.
David Visinsky
David joined Vining Sparks in November 2008 in the Loan Trading Group. Since joining the firm, the loan trading desk has traded over $500mm in loans across various asset classes. Previously, Mr. Visinsky spent 5 years in investment banking for financial institutions where he advised on over $200 million in M&A transactions and raised over $1 billion in capital. Prior to that, he was in the Treasury Department for a $35 billion regional bank doing treasury and asset/liability management. Mr. Visinsky received his MBA with concentration in Finance and Operations from Vanderbilt University and a BBA in Finance from Southern Methodist University.
Randy Wade, CFA
Randy began his career with KPMG Peat Marwick where he provided accounting and audit services to banks, broker-dealers and public funds. Subsequent to that, he headed Vining Sparks’ Investment Strategies Department, which is responsible for product research and specific customer recommendations based on stated strategic objectives. Currently, he is Director of Sales for the firm’s sales staff. He serves as a frequent speaker for industry seminars and has authored numerous articles for trade magazines. Randy graduated from Abilene Christian University with a BBA degree in Accounting.
Wade Walker
Wade joined Vining Sparks in October 2008 to develop and manage Loan Trading. The Loan Trading desk was established to help financial institutions manage their loan portfolios, including residential, commercial, and consumer loans. Mr. Walker brings over 20 years experience in fixed-income capital markets, with extensive background in mortgage sales and securitizations. He has brokered over $5 billion of loan packages and acted as lead underwriter on $20 billion of CMO/ABS deals. His experience on both the buy-side and sell-side allows Mr. Walker to help clients through the nuances of loan transactions. Mr. Walker holds an MBA from the University of Utah.