Robert Ellis, CFA
Vice President
Portfolio Manager
Nothing about Rob’s golf-loving, beard-doting, marathon-training exterior would signal that if asked to describe himself in a few words, he would say “a nerdy treasure hunter.” Those who know, work and seek advice from him are acutely aware that his beloved “treasures” are tidbits of information he gleans on a particular dimension of a given municipal bond. To him, there’s nothing better than finding a “bond in the rough.”
While Rob originally joined the team in a focused, client service role, his influence and impact have expanded with the team into his primary function as a researcher and analyst for our Municipal Bond team. Rob has married the decades-old, bottom-up municipal bond research process Eric Bodner taught him with the ever-changing, technological and information frameworks available to the firm.
Rob’s responsibilities span research, portfolio construction, and structuring synthetic tax exempt investments for the firm’s clients’ municipal bonds portfolios, as well as various client coverage functions. He thoroughly enjoys simplifying the bond world for his friends and family by pointing out buildings, roads and airports that they use every day, and explaining how they are paid for through the municipal markets. His firm colleagues believe that, while not an explicit goal, he is hoping his fiancé, Brittany, won’t mind Bond Buyer weekly publications adorning their apartment.
Rob and Brittany live in Hoboken, NJ, with their dog, RU (an homage to his alma mater Rutgers University), who often tries to use the aforementioned Bond Buyers as his bed.