John L. Cassady III is Managing Partner, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer for Red Cedar Investment Management. He started in the industry in 1987 and joined Red Cedar in 2018. Prior to that, he was an investment professional for ClearArc Capital where he served in varying roles from 2001- 2018, including Director of Fixed Income and Senior Portfolio Manager. While at ClearArc Capital, Mr. Cassady managed Core Fixed Income, Core Plus Fixed Income, Asset Allocation and a multi-sector low correlation strategy. Before joining ClearArc Capital, he held a similar position at Lyon Street Asset Management, a subsidiary of Old Kent Bank, which was acquired by Fifth Third Bank (an affiliated company of ClearArc Capital). Previously, he was a fixed income Portfolio Manager at Atlantic Portfolio Analytics & Management (APAM) which has since been acquired by Semper Capital Management. He is a CFA® charterholder and member of the CFA Society West Michigan. Mr. Cassady graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Industrial Management.
Jason M. Schwartz is a Partner, Senior Portfolio Manager for Red Cedar Investment Management. He started in the industry in 2004 and joined Red Cedar in 2018. Prior to joining Red Cedar, he served in various roles at ClearArc Capital including his latest position as Senior Portfolio Manager. His responsibilities comprised several investment strategies over time including multi-sector, Core Plus Fixed Income, Core Fixed Income and Intermediate Government Credit Fixed Income. In addition, Mr. Schwartz was head of securitized products research and trading responsible for oversight of the firm’s entire Asset-Backed Securities (ABS), Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) and Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS) portfolio. He also supported the risk management function by providing the firm with derivatives and hedging analysis. He is a member of the Cincinnati Society of Financial Analysts. Mr. Schwartz graduated summa cum laude from the University of Kentucky with a B.B.A. in Finance and is a CFA® charterholder.
David L. Withrow is Managing Partner, Director of Portfolio Management for Red Cedar Investment Management. He started in the industry in 1988 and joined Red Cedar in 2018. Previously, Mr. Withrow served as the President, Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Director of Taxable Fixed Income for ClearArc Capital. Prior to joining ClearArc Capital, he served in a Portfolio Management role beginning in 1999 for Fifth Third Bank Investment Advisors (an affiliated company). Before joining Fifth Third Bank Investment Advisors, he was a Portfolio Manager and Structured Product Analyst for Prime Capital Management in Indianapolis. He is a member of the Cincinnati Society of Financial Analysts and serves on the Finance Committee for the Cooperative for Education in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Withrow graduated from Anderson University with a B.A. in Economics and is a CFA® charterholder.
Michael J. Martin is a Partner, Senior Portfolio Manager for Red Cedar Investment Management. He started in the industry in 1994 and joined Red Cedar in 2018. Previously, he was the Director of Credit Research and Investment Risk Oversight for ClearArc Capital (a subsidiary of Fifth Third Bank). Prior to that, he served as the Director of Tax Free Fixed Income at Lyon Street Asset Management, a subsidiary of Old Kent Bank, which was acquired by Fifth Third Bank. He is a CFA® charterholder and member of the CFA Society West Michigan. Mr. Martin graduated from Michigan Technological University with a B.S. in Geological Engineering and received an MBA from Michigan State University.
Julia Batchenko is a Senior Portfolio Manager for Red Cedar Investment Management. She started in the industry in 2011 and joined Red Cedar in 2019. Prior to joining Red Cedar, she served as Portfolio Analyst at Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel working on small and medium cap income growth equity strategies. Previously, Mrs. Batchenko worked at ClearArc Capital (a wholly owned subsidiary of Fifth Third Bank) as an Investment Research Analyst covering large cap income growth equity strategies. Prior to joining ClearArc Capital, she worked as an Associate Wealth Management Advisor at Fifth Third Bank. Her prior experience also includes serving as a Plan Administrator at Great American Financial Resources and an Account Specialist at Union Center Insurance and Investment Company. Mrs. Batchenko is a CFA® charterholder and received a M.A. in Translation from Kent State University, as well as an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Xavier University.
Brandon F. Bajema is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Red Cedar Investment Management. He started in the industry in 2003 and joined Red Cedar in 2021. Previously, Mr. Bajema was a Portfolio Manager in the Fixed Income & Treasury Department with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) where he managed a multi-currency global credit portfolio from the United Arab Emirates. Before joining ADIA, Brandon was a Director at Fitch Ratings in the Financial Institutions Group where he covered banks, asset managers and finance companies. Prior to that, he was an Audit Manager at BDO, USA where he focused on banks and insurance companies. Mr. Bajema is a CPA and a CFA® charterholder. He has a B.S. in Economics and a Masters of Science in Accounting from Grand Valley State University.
Patricia Younker is a Partner, Senior Portfolio Manager for Red Cedar Investment Management. She started in the industry in 1987 and joined Red Cedar in 2018. She is responsible for the management of Tax-Exempt and Taxable Fixed Income accounts. Prior to joining Red Cedar Investment Management, she held a similar position at ClearArc Capital from 2001- 2018. Previously, she served as a Portfolio Manager at Lyon Street Asset Management, a subsidiary of Old Kent Bank, which was acquired by Fifth Third Bank (an affiliated company of ClearArc Capital). Her previous experience includes working as a Tax-Exempt Money Market Trader and as a Fixed Income Trader. Mrs. Younker graduated from Davenport University with a Bachelor of Applied Science.