Chris Perras
CFA®, CLU®, ChFC®, Chief Investment Officer
Notable Career Highlights
- Managed AIM Large Cap Opportunities to a National #1 Lipper ranking for one year performance
- Managed Quaker Strategic Growth Fund to a National #2 Lipper ranking for both three- and five-year performance
- Managed Invesco Constellation fund and helped implement a performance turnaround that helped grow assets from $14 billion to a peak of $33 billion over a three-year period
Education
- Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, summa cum laude, Georgia Tech
- MBA, Harvard Business School
As CIO, Chris is lead investment strategist and director of research. Chris develops the firm’s core market outlook, putting his decades of experience and expertise to work for our clients. He hosts Oak Harvest’s podcast, “Stock Talk,” available on the website with new episodes each week.
Chris completed his undergraduate studies at Georgia Tech, and went on to obtain an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Driven by a desire to maximize his knowledge and skill set, Chris acquired a plethora of financial planning and investment management qualifications, becoming a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®), and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®).
Chris has over 25 years of experience, has worked for some of the largest money management firms in the world, including Citadel and Invesco, and has been recognized nationally for his efforts. Chris has made it a point in his career to focus on adapting as the market landscape changes, seeking to utilize the most appropriate investment strategy for any given market environment. His transition from managing billions of dollars at the institutional level to helping individuals and families retire is guided by a desire to see the difference he makes in the lives of clients at Oak Harvest.
Chris is a devoted husband and father. He is passionate about his faith and enjoys cooking for friends, fly fishing and spending time with his two golden retrievers.
Charles Scavone
CFA®, Director of Investments
Notable Career Highlights
- Built and managed the Fixed Income Research Department for JP Morgan Chase Bank in Houston, supporting Corporate Bond, Municipal Bond, and Money Market funds
- Co-managed the Van Kampen American Capital Emerging Growth Fund to a 44% return and a #1 Lipper ranking
- Managed the AIM (now Invesco) Constellation Fund from $7.5B in assets to $28B in assets and a 4-Star Morningstar rating, delivering a 24% annual return
- Developed and managed the $3.5B in assets long/short AIM Special Opportunities family of funds which all debuted with 5-Star ratings from Morningstar
- Chief Investment Officer of Patriot Wealth Management
Education
- Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, Southeastern Louisiana University
- MBA, University of Houston
As Director of Investments, Charles supports the Investment Team by bringing a disciplined, process-driven approach blending fundamental and quantitative analysis to help drive investment performance across all asset classes.
Charles completed his undergraduate studies at Southeastern Louisiana University and moved to Houston to complete his MBA at the University of Houston. Charles also completed the requirements for his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) designation and is a member of the Houston Financial Analysts Society.
Charles has over 30 years of experience in the investment management industry across multiple asset classes, serving various investor bases. He has worked for some of the largest money management firms in the world, including Invesco, Van Kampen and JP Morgan Chase. Charles is excited to bring a process-driven approach to investing to our clients at Oak Harvest.
Charles and his wife Laura enjoy living in the Heights and have two children. He loves competitive road racing, and is an SCCA champion, and driving instructor at MSR Houston.
Dwane Bacak
CFA®, Director of Research
Notable Career Highlights
- Diverse experience throughout all levels of an institutional investment firm, from Marketing, Operations, Technology, and Investments (Quantitative Analyst, Equity Analyst, Trading Analyst, and Global Head of Transaction Cost Analysis for the trading desk).
- Was part of the team that managed the AIM Constellation and long/short AIM Special Opportunities family of funds, focusing on quantitative and risk projects.
- Designed and built proprietary trading analytics and business intelligence systems for use by all members of the global trading team at Invesco.
- Global Head of Transaction Cost Analysis for the Capital Markets Trading Desk at Invesco.
Education
- Bachelor of Business Administration, The University of Texas at Austin
As Director of Research, Dwane supports the Investment Team by bringing business intelligence experience combined with past risk, quantitative, and fundamental experience.
Dwane completed his undergraduate studies at The University of Texas at Austin. He also completed the requirements for his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) designation and is a member of the Atlanta Financial Analysts Society.
Dwane has over 27 years of experience in the investment management industry. He is excited to apply his unique set of skills to the team at Oak Harvest Financial Group.
Dwane and his wife, Dawn, have two children. He loves exercising in his home gym, experiencing Japanese language and culture, and spending time with his family and their dog, Willow.
James McFarland
MIB, Director of Trading and Investment Operations
Notable Career Highlights
- Director of specialized derivatives business unit for Morgan Stanley managing equity risk for institutional clients with $600 billion+ AUM
- Senior Trader at Nissan Securities for equities, futures, currencies, and commodities; lead the team to becoming the largest dealer by volume on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange
- Oversaw Nissan’s Block Trading business, successfully managing daily billion-dollar trades for hundreds of clients and counter-parties
- Managed the development and execution of proprietary investment strategies Nomura Securities, State Street, and Morgan Stanley
- Frequently lectured at Japanese universities on the topics of capital markets, investing, and global business
Education
- Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Houston Baptist University
- Master of International Business, Sophia University
James joined Oak Harvest in 2016 and immediately set to work developing the firm’s investment management practice, building out the division’s operations, trading, compliance, and portfolio management functions. James currently oversees the whole of the firm’s investment management practice, and continues to build and manage the firm’s investment models.
Born in Scotland and raised in Houston, James graduated at the top of his class from Houston Baptist University, and then promptly moved to Japan. During his years in Japan, he completed a Master’s in International Business (MIB) at Tokyo’s prestigious Sophia University, graduating summa cum laude.
James has 15 years of investment management and capital markets experience. He has worked at one of the oldest financial trading house in Japan, Nissan Securities, as well as for some of the largest firms in the world, including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. He brings his wide markets expertise to bear for the clients of Oak Harvest, and enjoys seeing the impact of his work firsthand.
James is married, speaks fluent Japanese, loves karaoke and is an accomplished classical guitarist.
