Brian Michael Nelson, Cfa Email & Phone Number

• Founder of Valuentum Securites, Inc, and President of Equity Research and ETF Analysis at the company.• Manager of Valuentum’s Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and editor-in-chief of both newsletters since inception. Valuentum has been highlighted in Barron’s as one of the best websites for dividend stock ideas.• Architect of the company’s research methodology and processes, developing the Dividend Cushion ratio, a forward-looking free-cash-flow-based measure of the health of a company's dividend payment. The Dividend Cushion ratio's efficacy in predicting dividend cuts is approximate 90%.• Train and manage a team of analysts and independent contributors that serve over one thousand paid subscribers across the globe, including financial advisors, individual investors and money managers. Key content contributor to Valuentum's High Yield Dividend Newsletter and Exclusive publications.• Dividend-related research and analysis has been highlighted frequently in Barron’s and in other financial publications, particularly with respect to high-yield equities and master limited partnerships (MLPs). Valuentum has been highlighted as a survivor guide for oil investors in Barron's.• Expert consultant, author, and developer of dividend growth studies for financial advisor clients and enterprise discounted cash-flow methods for institutional money managers. Experienced author of numerous white papers covering a variety of topics.• Developed an enterprise discounted cash-flow quantitative factor-based method that blends relative valuation measures and technical/momentum indicators into a stock-selection system, the Valuentum Buying Index (VBI), which has a demonstrated track record of sorting outperforming stocks from underperforming stocks.

Chicago, Il, Us

• Worked closely with department heads of equity and credit research in overseeing all aspects of research, analyst training, equity and fixed-income idea generation, with emphasis on developing and enhancing Morningstar's equity and credit-rating methodologies for application in the department.• Revamped and enhanced Morningstar’s enterprise discounted cash-flow valuation model template used by the company’s analyst team to derive the fair value estimates and star ratings for companies in its stock research coverage universe. The valuation models included a detailed assessment of a company’s valuation drivers, from revenue to free cash flow to intangible assets and stock options.• Developed Morningstar’s issuer credit-rating framework and models, blending key rating factors into a final issuer credit rating. Member of a five-person credit rating committee that approved all issuer credit rating initiations and changes across the department.• Provided equity and credit/fixed-income research coverage of the aerospace industry. Analysis included a detailed assessment of companies’ competitive advantages, financials, and outlooks, culminating in fair value estimates and issuer credit ratings for companies within the industry.Left Morningstar following the completion of the launch of the company’s new corporate credit rating business in 2010 and returned to the company a few months later before founding Valuentum.

Chicago, Il, Us

• Helped to revamp Morningstar’s institutional service by playing a key role in developing the layout and content of the company's equity research reports and offering training sessions to analysts to improve the quality of industry presentations and company visit notes.• Frequently held valuation model walk-through training sessions with institutional buyside clients and prospects and developed a curriculum for a course on stock valuation for investors.• Trained and mentored equity analysts on Morningstar's equity research and credit rating methodology (M&A, scenario analysis, fundamental analysis, industry structural analysis, discounted cash-flow valuation process, comparable company analysis, equity uncertainty/risk assessment, etc.).• Acted as the primary equity research department resource for analyst questions about Morningstar's research methodology and discounted cash-flow valuation process. Role required expertise in all facets of analytics across all sectors of the economy.

Chicago, Il, Us

• Generated fundamental analysis, derived fair value estimates, and published equity research on companies in the aerospace, airlines, construction and environmental services industries.• Supervised the analysis and recommendations of a team of three analysts that collectively covered approximately 100 equities in the industrials sector.• Presented industry views and stock recommendations in formal meetings to consultants and clients.• Interacted frequently with institutional clients and prospects, senior management of covered companies, and the media (Bloomberg TV, WBBM radio, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, etc.).

Chicago, Il, Us

• Performed research, completed write-ups, conducted presentations, and recommended stocks for addition to the firm's flagship Small Cap Aggressive Growth Fund ($260 million in assets) and Elite Fund ($60 million in assets).• Performed technical analysis to identify attractive stocks that could be timely buys for the firm’s Small Cap and Elite funds.• Analyzed news on portfolio holdings and on companies in assigned sectors (consumer, financial, technology, and business services) to discuss at pre-market open with assistant portfolio managers and the Chief Investment Officer.• Contributed to overall fund performance: Small Cap Aggressive Growth Fund (top 10th percentile); Elite Fund (top 1st percentile). Lipper Small Cap Growth Universe year-to-date rankings, as of September 2005.

Mba, Finance And Accounting

Bba, Finance