Stakeholders
Each Torch Fund portfolio was funded entirely through the generosity of private donations. In addition to funding our portfolios, donors regularly meet with students to provide insights from their own experiences and get to know our student managers and their work.
We thank our donors for their generosity and support.
Carroll: Larry and Vivian Carroll
Haslam: Jim and Natalie Haslam
LaPorte: Christopher and Quinita LaPorte
McClain: G. Adam and Tabatha F. McClain
Advisory Board
Coleton E. Bragg
General Partner – Brownstone Capital Limited Partnership
Coleton E. Bragg has been the general partner for Brownstone Capital Limited Partnership since its founding in January 2016 and is responsible for all operational and investment decisions of the company. He loves deploying Brownstone’s capital into good, needed and scalable businesses alongside partners who are rational, fun to work with and of sound character.
After law school, he worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Atlanta before serving as CFO of Mollenhour Gross, LLC, a private holding company based in Knoxville.
Miranda Carr, CFA
CIO – The Trust Company of Tennessee
Miranda Carr is the chief investment officer of The Trust Company of Tennessee, where she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge. She leads the investment committee and provides investment support for relationship managers. Her expert ability to analyze complex financial information and apply the results serves clients’ portfolios exceptionally well.
Carr, who has more than 15 years of experience in the financial industry, previously served as chief operating officer of Lirio and president of its Finworx division. Finworx is a behavioral finance and engagement platform that helps advisors by identifying risk tolerance, biases and decision-making patterns. As president, she managed a team of research analysts, played a key role on the executive team and facilitated client relationships. She also previously served as managing director of public funds for Quintium Advisors LLC.
She majored in finance at the University of Tennessee, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and earned her MBA from Columbia Business School with a focus on finance and economics. She is a CFA charterholder, tnAchieves mentor and member of the CFA Society. She was named to the American Bankers Association’s (ABA) 40 Under 40 in Wealth Management class of 2022.
She and her husband, Adam, have twin girls. She enjoys reading, gardening, cooking and international travel.
Peter P. Costa
Peter P. Costa is a former governor with the New York Stock Exchange, where he was an exchange member for 37 years until his recent retirement. He is a CNBC market analyst and a frequent guest on Mornings with Maria on the Fox Business Network.
Costa serves on the business advisory boards of Meridian Wealth Management and Deep Knowledge Investing. He is the head of The Costa Family Office, which has a substantial stake in Horizon Kinetics LLC, which manages money for ultra-high net worth individuals and manages 10 top-performing mutual funds. He can be heard on Wharton Business Radio every Monday with host Dan Loney. Costa also publishes a Substack column, “Costa’s Corner,” every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Bruce D. Duggins, CFP
Senior Vice President, Area Manager – Regions Bank
Bruce Duggins is senior vice president and area manager for Regions Bank, where he serves as private wealth management leader. He has responsibility for private wealth activities across Tennessee and North Carolina, including lending, portfolio management and trust. This area is one of the largest in the Regions footprint, with over $2 billion in client assets under management, and over 2,000 private clients. Duggins manages a team of bankers, attorneys and advisors who seek to meet the needs of this diverse client base.
A 28-year veteran of Regions Bank, Duggins has held previous positions across Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Florida in private wealth, brokerage and banking, and has over 30 years of experience in the banking industry. He is a certified financial planner and graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1984 with a B.S. in finance and in 1988 with an MBA in finance and marketing.
He also serves on the University of Tennessee’s finance department advisory board, the board of directors for Junior Achievement of East Tennessee and the investment committee for the United Way of East Tennessee. Additionally, he is an adjunct instructor of financial markets for the Haslam College of Business and a financial planning instructor for Junior Achievement of East Tennessee.
Duggins and his wife, Maria (Warhurst), have two children, Cameron (25) and Hayley (23).
William Hankins
Vice President, Financial Consultant – Fidelity Investments
Bill Hankins serves as vice president and financial consultant at Fidelity Investments. He has been with Fidelity since 2010, assisting clients with financial planning and investment strategies. Hankins works with several types of clients, ranging from the hands-off investor who wishes to create a retirement plan to the self-directed active trader who wishes to sharpen their skills and act as a sounding board for investment ideas.
Before joining Fidelity Investments, Hankins worked on an equity trading desk and was a compliance officer for an independent broker/dealer. He has over 23 years of industry experience, holding the FINRA Series 7, 63, 55, 24, 53, and 4 licenses. He received his B.A. from the University of Tennessee, where he also enjoys returning to guest lecture on occasion.
Hankins enjoys spending time with his family (wife, Amy, and sons, Jack and Luke), coaching youth sports and traveling.
Matt Prince, AIF
Vice President of Wealth Management – The Trust Company of Tennessee
Matt Prince has been with The Trust Company of Tennessee since 2017. In his current role as vice president of wealth management, he specializes in working with physicians and university professionals who often have complex savings plans and financial planning needs. He leads the wealth management committee, serves as a member of the investment committee and heads a client service team.
Utilizing The Trust Company’s team of experts, Prince’s clients benefit from a spectrum of financial and planning services, including financial and estate planning, charitable giving and tax strategies.
He holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) designation, which focuses on fiduciary best practices and legislation.
Prince served in the United States Air Force and is a recipient of the National Defense Service Medal and the Air Force Achievement Medal.
Joseph Siragusa
Vice President, Branch Manager – Fidelity Investments
Born and raised in New York City, Joe Siragusa received his B.S. in modern foreign language education from Boston University in 2000. After a brief stint as a high school language teacher in the Boston area, he has been in the financial services industry since 2000, all with Fidelity Investments. Having served in a variety of roles, including advisor, coach and manager, across 14 locations, he is happy to be back in his previous role of vice president and branch manager in Knoxville. He holds his series 7, 66, 9, 10, life, health and variable insurance licenses, along with the CFP® and ChFC®.
Happily married to Kelly and proud father of three great kids, he also stays involved in the community as the CEO of the KiMe Fund, assistant coach of UT men’s rugby, a trustee of Catholic Charities of East TN and an advisory board member for the finance department at the Haslam College of Business.
J. William Waltman, Jr., CPA, CFP
President – PYA Waltman Capital LLC
Bill Waltman graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. in business with an emphasis in accounting in 1992. He worked in public practice as a CPA for 8 years before assuming his current role as president of PYA Waltman Capital LLC, which provides investment and financial services. Waltman is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Financial Planning Association.
He currently serves on the board of directors of the Sedes Sapientiae Foundation, Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Planned Giving Advisory Committee and the University of Tennessee’s economics and finance advisory councils. He previously served on the board of directors of Magdalen College.
Waltman and his family are active members of Holy Ghost Catholic Church. He enjoys reading, biking and traveling with his wife, Kristine, and their five children. He can be reached at 865-693-6301 or wwaltman@pyawaltman.com.
Ray West
Managing Partner-Rayburn West Financial
Ray West, managing partner of Rayburn West Financial, has been a registered investment advisor specializing in individual portfolio management since 2007. He is also a Charles Schwab asset custodian and a founding member of Pinnacle National Bank in Nashville (in 2000). West worked at First American National Bank, where he met friends Rob McCabe Jr. and Jennie McCabe before leaving with others to form Pinnacle Bank, including Pinnacle Asset Management.
West enjoys mentoring students, and his former interns are now working at Blackrock, J.P Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Stifel Financial, Piper Sandler, Wells Fargo, Raymond James, Google, Capital One, Blackstone, Soros Family Office and other top firms.
His career began 1991 at Merrill Lynch in Nashville. A University of Tennessee graduate with a B.S. in finance, he works with the Haslam College of Business and Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School to help students achieve top placements. West also formed the Stock Market Club at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville (which now has 114 student members). He currently serves as housing corporation officer for the University of Tennessee’s chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, where he previously served as chapter advisor.
