Barron's Top 100 Institutional Consulting Teams
Institutional Consulting Services
Beacon Pointe is an independent advisory firm dedicated to providing thoughtful investment guidance and comprehensive consulting services to institutions.
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Award Disclosures

Institutional Service Offerings

Beacon Pointe consultants are proactive partners who seek to be an extension of a client’s internal staff. They are dedicated to understanding all aspects of the institution’s investment objectives, conveying knowledgeable guidance, and providing exceptional service to a wide array of clientele.  As a fiduciary, Beacon Pointe utilizes a client-focused approach to investment advice intentionally separating the key duties of consultant, custodian, and asset manager, thereby minimizing conflicts of interest and always making decisions in the best interest of clients.

Discretionary Services

Access to Beacon Pointe’s Investment Committee’s asset allocation expertise.

Fiduciary responsibility under the Investment Policy Statement.

Streamlined administrative tasks courtesy of the Beacon Pointe Operations Team.

Non-Discretionary Services

Access to Beacon Pointe’s Investment Committee’s asset allocation expertise.

Client makes all final investment decisions.

Client is responsible for all administrative responsibilities, duties and tasks.

Hybrid of Services

While Beacon Pointe consultants work with most clients in a discretionary (Outsourced CIO) advisory capacity, we do also offer a hybrid of our services. The service model utilized is entirely dependent upon the level of involvement staff and committee members find ideal, the committee’s preferred decision-making structure and investment knowledge, as well as the availability of staff and resource.

How We Work with Your Organization

Beacon Pointe’s Institutional Consulting Group emphasizes the importance of process in order to understand each unique client, design a customized strategy, and oversee the investment portfolio. Beacon Pointe partners with clients either in an advisory (non-discretionary) capacity, an outsourced CIO (discretionary) capacity or through a hybrid approach.

High-Level Objectives

High-Level Objectives

Investment Policy Development & Review
Asset Allocation Modeling
Custodial Search & Selection
Monte Carlo Analysis

Research & Performance

Research & Performance

Manager Research / Selection
Manager Monitoring
Fee Negotiation & Expense Review
Portfolio Attribution Analysis

Support Services

Support Services

Transition Analysis / Oversight
Quarterly Consultant Meetings
Fiduciary Guidance
Extension of Staff & Back Office Operations

Value Services

Value Services

Board Engagement & Strategic Planning
Donor Development
Board, Committee & Staff Education
Philanthropic Partnerships

High Level Objectives
High-Level Objectives
  • Investment Policy Development & Review
  • Asset Allocation Modeling
  • Custodial Search & Selection
  • Monte Carlo Analysis
Research & Performance
Research & Performance
  • Manager Research / Selection
  • Manager Monitoring
  • Fee Negotiation & Expense Review
  • Portfolio Attribution Analysis
Support Services
Support Services
  • Transition Analysis / Oversight
  • Quarterly Consultant Meetings
  • Fiduciary Guidance
  • Extension of Staff & Back Office Operations
Value Services
Value Services
  • Board Engagement & Strategic Planning
  • Donor Development
  • Board, Committee & Staff Education
  • Philanthropic Partnerships

Beacon Pointe Advisors has a robust arsenal of both Alternative Investments and Values-Based Investing offerings. Our Investment Research Department and institutional consultants are dedicated to understanding the goals, values, and missions of each organization. These unique needs and values are as broad and as different as every unique client. Our Institutional Consulting Group has extensive depth of expertise in these areas and is well-equipped to assist institutional clientele with aligning mission-driven purposes to create customized investment portfolios to help achieve these mission-related goals.

Learn How We Can Help
Connect with Our Institutional Consulting Group

Andrew Howard

Senior Associate, Institutional Consulting

Andrew is an associate within the Institutional Consulting Service Group at Beacon Pointe. His responsibilities range from preparing client performance reports and conducting asset allocation studies to investment research. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Andrew earned his B.S. in Business Administration from California Baptist University. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball and golf, and spending time with family.

Austin Kastenberg, MBA

Senior Associate Analyst, Institutional Consulting

Austin is a Senior Associate Analyst within the Institutional Consulting Group at Beacon Pointe Advisors. His duties range from preparing performance reports to conducting asset allocation studies to providing investment research and due diligence. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Austin worked as a commercial insurance broker and was also a graduate student researcher in Economics and Management. Austin earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and received his MBA in Finance from the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University. Outside of the office, Austin enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, being outdoors, and staying active.

Cameron Wright

Senior Client Service Associate, Institutional Consulting

Cameron is a member of the Client Service Department and is responsible for partnering with the firm’s investment and wealth management teams to provide an elevated service experience for clients. Among his duties are investment strategy implementation, portfolio performance reporting, asset allocation modeling, and client services. Cameron graduated from California State University, San Bernardino and earned his B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Financial Planning. Outside of the office, Cameron enjoys watching football, jazz music, and reading.

Cristopher Zavala

Associate, Institutional Consulting

Cristopher Zavala is an associate analyst within the Institutional Consulting Services team at Beacon Pointe. His duties range from preparing client performance reports and conducting asset allocation studies to investment research. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Cristopher interned for a family office wealth management firm and for Constellation Brand’s revenue management team. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis on finance from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. In his free time, he enjoys staying active by working out, playing golf, and playing tennis.

Felix Lin, CFA®

Senior Advisor, Institutional Consulting

Felix has been with the firm since its inception and is a founding partner.  Felix is responsible for overseeing Beacon Pointe’s Institutional Consulting Services Group. In addition, he is a member of Beacon Pointe’s Investment Committee. As a consultant, his responsibilities included asset allocation, investment manager structure, and investment manager due diligence and evaluation. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe Advisors, Felix was Vice President at Canterbury Consulting. Felix began his investment consulting career as a member of the client service and consulting team for Wilshire Associates’ institutional fund management tool, the Wilshire Compass. His clients included large endowments and foundations, corporate, insurance, and defined benefit plans. Felix was an Eagle Scout, graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a BA, and received his MBA from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. He previously served as the Investment Chair for the Goodwill of Orange County, was a member of the Human Society of Silicon Valley Finance Committee, and serves as an Ambassador for Free Wheelchair Mission. Felix has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation and is a member of the CFA Society of Los Angeles.

Gabriel Kennan

Senior Associate, Investment Research

Gabriel is a senior associate within the Investment Research Group at Beacon Pointe Advisors, with a focus on alternative investment strategies. His responsibilities include conducting due diligence of investment opportunities, maintaining ongoing diligence and monitoring of investment managers, and developing alternative investment programs for institutional clients. Gabriel earned his B.A. in Business Administration with a specialization in finance from the University of California, Irvine. Gabriel has a passion for film-making and enjoys watching, writing, and making movies in his spare time.

Garth K. Flint

Partner, Founder

Garth has over 40 years of experience as an institutional investment consultant. He is a member of Beacon Pointe’s Investment Committee. Prior to launching Beacon Pointe Advisors, Garth was a founder and Managing Director with Canterbury Consulting, responsible for Advisor Services to Institutions and High Net Worth Individuals. Garth was a founder and principal for the Kidder Peabody West Coast Institutional Consulting Services of Newport Beach and served eight years as Vice President with Merrill Lynch as an institutional investment consultant. Garth holds a BS degree in Economics from St. Mary’s College of California. He serves on the board of Boys Hope/Girls Hope of Southern California, is a former Trustee of St. Mary’s College of California where he was Chairman of the Advancement Committee as well as the Investment Committee. He currently is on the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet Province Finance Advisory Board and serves on the Presidential Advisory Council of Concordia University. Garth spent 15 years as a Naval Aviator flying in the F-4 Phantom II. Garth is married, has six children, ten grandchildren, and lives with his wife in Newport Beach, California.

Lance Allende

Associate, Institutional Consulting

Lance is an associate analyst within the Institutional Consulting Services team at Beacon Pointe. His duties range from preparing client performance reports and conducting asset allocation studies to investment research. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Lance interned for the firm and earned his B.S. in Business Administration with a focus in Finance (FRL) from California Polytechnic University, Pomona. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, running, and spending time with friends and family.

Michael G. Dow, CAIA, CFA®

Chief Investment Officer

Michael is the Chief Investment Officer of Beacon Pointe Advisors and the Chairman of the Beacon Pointe Investment Committee. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Michael served as Managing Director and Head of US Core Plus Bonds, Head of Sovereign Credit Research, and Head of Emerging Market Corporate Debt at UBS Global Asset Management, where he was responsible for portfolio management, research, trading and strategy across the UBS global platform for these products. Prior to joining UBS, Michael was enrolled at the University of Chicago and studied in several post-graduate programs including Economics and in the School of Public Policy and had begun the core coursework in the PhD Finance program at the Chicago Booth School before returning to the capital markets in early 2008. He remains affiliated with the University of Chicago and has taught the undergraduate Intermediate Accounting course at Lake Forest College as an adjunct professor, and as a guest lecturer taught the fixed income and interest rate course sections of undergraduate finance and graduate quantitative finance programs at the University of Illinois, Northwestern University and Notre Dame University. Prior to academia Michael was an Investment Grade Corporate Bond Portfolio Manager at PIMCO and was the PIMCO Funds National Sales Manager, as well as a senior member of the Consultant Relations Group.  He started his career at Salomon Brothers as a fixed income salesman in the Private Investment Department. He received a BS in Accountancy from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he played intercollegiate water polo, and his MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago.  Michael is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®), received his certificate to practice as a CPA (inactive) and is a member of the CFA® and CAIA Societies of Chicago.  He is married and has four children, and lives with his wife in Western Springs, Illinois.

*CPA license is inactive

Mike Breller

Managing Director, Institutional Consulting

Mike is a managing director for Beacon Pointe’s Institutional Consulting team and possesses over 25 years of institutional investment experience. As a consultant, Mike advises institutional clients on policy development, strategic planning, asset allocation, and portfolio construction. He is a member of Beacon Pointe’s Investment Committees including Beacon Pointe Alternatives and the Macro-Economic Sub-Committee, and has been with Beacon Pointe since 2010. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, he worked for 11 years as a Financial Analyst and Investment Specialist for the institutional services group of Capital Research and Management Company, the investment advisor to the American Funds. In these roles, he represented the investment management team to large institutional clients and research groups for major financial intermediary firms. Mike graduated, magna cum laude, from Boise State University with a BBA in Finance. Outside of the office, Mike stays involved in his community as an Irvine Public Schools Foundation Board member, Finance Committee member, and former Chair over the last 8 years. He also enjoys traveling internationally with his wife and daughters and playing the occasional round of golf. 

Mitchell Hughes

Senior Consultant, Institutional Consulting

Mitchell (Mitch) is responsible for consulting Beacon Pointe’s institutional clients and handling new client development. He serves large foundations, endowments, non-profits, high net worth family offices as well as corporate 401(k) plans and institutional 403(b) plans. Mitch is a member of Beacon Pointe’s 401(k) committee and helps the firm maintain fiduciary standards and mandates issued by the regulatory authorities. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Mitch worked at Merrill Lynch with the Global Institutional Consulting Group and at J.W. Cole Financial as a financial analyst. Before his financial career, Mitch played NCAA ice hockey for Bethel University in Minnesota with a short stint of playing semi-professionally. He had been elected as the captain at various levels and was the “enforcer” for his teams. Mitch obtained his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of California, Irvine. He serves on the board of Upon this Rock Ministries and is an active member of Mariners Church in Irvine, CA.  Mitch is married and resides in Orange County, and in his spare time he enjoys golfing, surfing and mountain activities.

Robyn Marotta

Senior Associate, Institutional Consulting

Robyn serves as an associate for Beacon Pointe’s Institutional Consulting Services Group. She is tasked with supporting Beacon Pointe’s institutional consultants’ business development efforts including completing requests for proposals, coordinating conferences and events, managing databases and other administrative duties. She possesses a strong eye for detail and phenomenal writing and communication skills. As a graduate of California State University, Long Beach, Robyn brings 15 years of experience within both non-profit and for-profit sectors. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Robyn’s background includes the areas of education, real estate and property management, and business development. Outside of the office, Robyn has a passion for international travel, cooking, spending time with friends and family, and finding the adventure in every day.

Stephen Marshall

Director of Asset Allocation

Stephen oversees Beacon Pointe’s asset allocation efforts focusing on portfolio modeling and construction, and is also a significant contributor to the firm’s investment research and due diligence efforts. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Stephen was a Managing Director and the Head of Asset Allocation for Wilshire Consulting.  In his previous role, he was responsible for the development of broad investment policies and risk management of portfolios for clients including foundations, endowments, corporate and public defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, and other asset pools. Stephen was instrumental in developing Wilshire’s proprietary Cost-Risk Optimization and Dynamic De-Risking models.  Stephen has an actuarial background, and brings extensive experience in asset/liability analysis to Beacon Pointe.  Stephen graduated from the University of New Orleans with a B.S. in Mathematics.  He speaks frequently on asset allocation and risk-related topics at industry conferences.  Stephen lives with his two sons in Orange, California.

William (Bill) Thompson

Director, Institutional Consulting

Bill Thompson possesses over 20 years of institutional portfolio, risk management, and leadership experience. He advises institutional clients on strategic investment planning and portfolio construction including asset allocation, manager selection, investment program evaluation, performance measurement, and governance. Bill has extensive experience working with board members, senior executives, and investment committee members to understand an institution’s investment and financial goals to thoughtfully construct an investment strategy that is synergistic to the respective mission of each organization. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Bill led the institutional business practice as Director of the Endowments and Foundations Group at Litman Gregory Asset Management, and prior to that served as Managing Director at Cambridge Associates. Bill earned his BA from Denison University and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Bill serves on the Board of Directors for Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, where he chairs the Audit, Compliance, and Enterprise Risk Committee. Bill resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and three children.

William Draper

Associate, Institutional Consulting

William (Will) is an associate analyst within the Institutional Consulting Services Team at Beacon Pointe. His responsibilities range from preparing client performance reports and conducting asset allocation studies to investment research. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Will earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, concentrating in Finance from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and his master’s in finance and management from the University of St Andrews in Scotland. In his free time, he enjoys playing competitive golf, hiking, running, and enjoying time with family and friends.

We are here to be of service, guiding your organization to best achieve its desired investment goals and objectives.  If you are looking for a trusted partner, please contact us.

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