LOS ANGELES -- Bel Air Investment Advisors, LLC announced Monday the additions of two municipal finance veterans to its fixed income team in Los Angeles.
Michael Ginestro has been hired as head of research and Barry HoAire as a portfolio manager.
The firm said the additions will bolster Bel Air’s existing capabilities and position the firm to meet the growing fixed income needs from its client base across North America.
“We are delighted that Michael and Barry will be joining our fixed income group, to broaden our expertise through their deep municipal credit and trading experience,” said Todd Morgan, senior managing director of Bel Air Investment Advisors.
Ginestro brings nearly 20 years of fixed income experience to the firm. Most recently, he served as vice president and senior municipal credit analyst within Wells Fargo’s wealth management group, where he was the lead credit analyst advising on over $15 billion of municipal assets. He was also responsible for overseeing credit criteria and strategy for the group, and communicated Wells Fargo’s view on municipal credits to investors.
Before Wells Fargo, Ginestro was a municipal research analyst at Charles Schwab Investment Management, and served in similar leadership roles for Highmark Capital Management and Morgan Stanley.
Ginestro is a board member in the California Society of Municipal Analysts and an active member of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Saint Lawrence University.
HoAire joins Bel Air from Western Asset Management in New York, where he was a senior portfolio manager. In that role, he responsible for the management of over $5 billion in municipal assets across various national and state specific strategies, including California.
The Institutional Money Market Fund HoAire managed won the iMoneynet Municipal Money Market Fund of the Year award in 2011, and his entire department was recognized as Institutional Investor’s Municipal Team of the Year in 2011.
HoAire received his bachelor’s degree from Colgate University.
Bel Air is an independent wealth management advisory firm, providing financial advisory and asset and investment management services to high net worth individuals, families, trusts and foundations. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the firm oversees and manages 7.3 billion of client assets.
