Leadership Team
Chairman & Managing Partner
Andrew P. Kerai, CFA
Andrew Kerai serves as the company’s Chairman and Managing Partner and is responsible for overseeing the firm’s day-to-day activities, portfolio management, business development, and strategic planning. He is a seasoned executive with extensive investment experience across a wide range of asset classes. Andrew is a CFA Charterholder who previously oversaw multiple strategies at an investment management company with roughly six billion in assets under management. Beginning his career on the fixed income desk at Prudential Investment Management, Andrew has a broad depth of experience managing client assets and leading investment teams.
Andrew earned a B.S. in International Finance and Accounting from American University in Washington, D.C. Outside of work, Andrew is actively involved in a number of charitable organizations, including serving on the U.S. Board of Directors for the America-Israel Friendship League, the Investor Board for Gift of Adoption Fund, and as a mentor for the CFA Society.
Chairman Emeritus and Founder
Clifford J. Brott
Mr. CJ Brott, the firm's founder and Chairman, is active in the firm's day-to-day activities. His primary responsibilities include active management of client portfolios, market research, and presentation of Capital Ideas investment services to prospective clients.
CJ earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1970. He joined Weber, Hall, Cobb & Caudle, a privately held New York Stock Exchange member firm, in that year, and became an officer and shareholder in 1975. In 1984, while still with Weber Hall, he founded Capital Ideas as a separate Registered Investment Advisory firm. In 2006 CJ became a Principal and Registered Representative of Alliance Financial Group but he currently maintains his dual registrations with Rhodes Securities, Inc.
Mr. Brott has been active in the city of Dallas, serving on several boards in both a civic and business capacity. He is a recognized expert in his field. CJ is a sought-after public speaker and has been interviewed by various national and local financial publications. From 1980 until 2015 he lectured regularly on financial topics at Southern Methodist University.
President and Chief Compliance Officer
Karen Burns
Ms. Karen Burns joined Capital Ideas in 1995. As president of the company, she is responsible for investment operations, client support services and performance measurement. Ms. Burns is also involved with the active management of client portfolios.
Karen earned a B.S. in Economics and Finance from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1992. She joined Southwest Securities Credit Department in 1993 and was an Assistant Supervisor for 2 years before leaving to join the Capital Ideas team in June of 1995.
Ms. Burns has served on the Board of the Dallas County Medical Society, holding the offices of both Treasurer and Finance Chairman. She is active with her church and serves on numerous committees. For almost 20 years Karen assisted CJ Brott with his class at SMU.
Owner / Investor Advisor Representative (IAR)
James Jacobson
James Jacobson is a managing partner of Alpha Capital Dallas (parent company) and owner/Investment Advisor Representative (IAR) at Capital Ideas, Inc. He manages client & partner relationships, he is responsible for overseeing strategic initiatives relating to investments, business development, and growth planning. As an entrepreneurial executive he has extensive experience in portfolio construction, institutional fund distribution, Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s), no-load Mutual Funds, and private wealth advisory. His career has spanned private wealth advisory and institutional fund distribution covering registered investment advisors, independent broker dealers, wire houses and banks. Prior to joining as an owner of Capital Ideas Inc., he worked as a Vice President at JPMorgan.
James earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Northern Illinois University. Outside of work James serves on his local Chamber of Commerce, has been involved in charitable endeavors with Hedge Funds Care (HFC) and the Humane Society. He has unique and specific expertise in cash pay healthcare/medical spas, stays active by training Crossfit (Backland Gym) and Muay Thai (Kickboxing).
Senior Portfolio Manager / Infrastructure Plus
John Edwards
John Edwards, CFA is the portfolio manager for the Infrastructure Plus separate account strategy and John Edwards is currently jointly registered with both Principal Street and Capital-Ideas as a portfolio manager of record. Both Principal Street and Capital-Ideas are registered investment firms with the SEC. Prior to joining Capital Ideas, Mr. Edwards joined Principal Street in 2019 as Portfolio Manager for the Infrastructure Plus Strategy, a dedicated infrastructure fund. Previously Mr. Edwards had a wide range of experience in both asset management and in sell-side research including as Partner at ATLAS Infrastructure, a global infrastructure partnership with Global Infrastructure Partners, an independent infrastructure fund management company targeting the energy, transport and water/waste management sectors. Before Atlas, Mr. Edwards was a Director and Senior Analyst at Credit Suisse leading the equity research team covering midstream energy and senior research analyst for the midstream energy industry for Morgan Keegan. While at Credit Suisse, Mr. Edwards was ranked a Top 10 sell-side analyst by Institutional Investor magazine, currently owned by Euromoney Institutional Investor, London, U.K. Mr. Edwards has been widely quoted in the financial media including Barron’s and the Wall Street Journal. In his prior career, Mr. Edwards participated in power plant development across various energy sources including geothermal, wind, and gas-fired generation projects with a wholly owned subsidiary of Edison International. Mr. Edwards is a CFA charter holder from the CFA Institute, holds an MBA from California State University, Fullerton, and a bachelor's degree in economics from Occidental College.