Kim Olsan joined NewSquare Capital last week as a senior fixed-income portfolio manager.
The 30-year industry veteran said she hopes to bring her broker-dealer background and deep knowledge of municipal bonds to the firm.
Olsan said she looks forward to "interacting directly with advisors and investors to grow their municipal footprint and expose them to the asset class where they might not have so much exposure at the moment."
Olsan first met NewSquare Capital CEO Joseph Rizzello in the late 1990s, when he hired her to found the fixed-income brokerage desk at Vanguard.
In 2002, Olsan left Vanguard to start the fixed income desk at Spear, Leeds & Kellogg. She moved to FHN Financial when the firm acquired Spear, Leeds & Kellogg from Goldman Sachs in 2005.
Early this year, Olsan reconnected with Rizzello, and he told her that NewSquare was expanding its fixed-income team.
"It wasn't anything I went looking for and I certainly wasn't planning to make a career change, but it was just a unique situation," Olsan said. "The fixed-income portion of the business has grown dramatically over the last few years, and they were looking to expand capacity and profile, and so there was opportunity on the municipal side."
NewSquare Capital was founded in 2010. Miguel Biamon began managing the firm's fixed-income investments in 2018, Olsan said those portfolios are now large enough that the firm wanted a second senior fixed-income portfolio manager.
"The growth just necessitated an additional person with more of a unique municipal background, which is what I'm bringing to the effort," Olsan said.
In the press release announcing Olsan's hiring, NewSquare Capital President Ryan Kirk said her expertise will "significantly bolster" the firm's portfolio management team.
"Kim is a great communicator with a passion for sharing her insights and expertise. In addition to supporting our clients and expanding our fixed-income business, she will continue to publish her insightful municipal market commentary," Kirk said. "I welcome her broad skills, deep expertise, and risk-management focus which will enable us to improve how we service and expand what we offer our clients."
Kirk and Rizzello "have put a lot of energy into developing advisory relationships," Olsan said. "I'm looking forward to helping them further that in the fixed-income space and specifically in the municipal asset class."
