:: The Company                   

- Philosophy
- Firm History
- Senior Professionals

Philosophy
Tradition Capital Management is an independent investment organization that is privately owned by its employees and is exclusively focused on providing the highest quality investment management services with honesty and integrity. We are investment counselors providing time-tested, objective advice. Since we individually manage each of our clients' portfolios in an account that belongs solely to that client, transparency and tracking of client assets are assured. We do not commingle funds. Integrity and transparency are hallmarks of Tradition. We work closely with many of the leading brokerage and banking firms to ensure a safe custody environment for all types of accounts: individual, trust, pension, foundation, partnerships and IRAs.

Our rules involving our own personal investments place our clients first and ensure that we align our personal interest with those of our clients. Our employees and principals are required to invest in the same securities that we own for clients. Our internal investing rules make certain that our clients get our best investment ideas and that we as a firm are focused on the investments that impact clients.

Firm History
Tradition Capital Management was founded in 2000 by Benjamin Halliburton, Christopher Trompeter and later joined by Michael Provine. Prior to founding the firm, Ben, Mike and Chris worked together for several years servicing and managing money at a prominent New York based money manager. They sought to create a firm grounded in the fundamental belief in equity ownership and chose the name Tradition for its meaning -- “an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought and action passed down from generation to generation.” At Tradition Capital Management, we are consistent in our investment approach, allowing our clients to build a legacy of wealth.

Senior Professionals

Benjamin C. Halliburton, CFA
Managing Director

Mr. Halliburton is a founder and chief investment officer of Tradition Capital Management.  He oversees the investment research and strategy for Tradition.  He heads the Investment Committee and is a member of the Portfolio Committee.  Mr. Halliburton has twenty five years of professional investing experience including ten years at Brundage, Story and Rose where he was BS&R's Director of Research and responsible for overseeing the firm's equity selection process.  He was a principal of the firm and a member of the firm's Investment Policy Committee.  He also designed, developed and managed BS&R’s successful Disciplined Growth Strategy.  He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and earned an MBA from Duke's Fuqua School of Business in 1990, where he was distinguished as a Fuqua Scholar.  He earned a BS degree from Vanderbilt University in three years, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1985, and graduated Salutatorian from the McCallie School.

Christopher J. Trompeter, CFA
Managing Director

Mr. Trompeter is a senior portfolio manager and works on Tradition’s Investment Committee and heads the Portfolio Committee.  Mr. Trompeter is responsible for the Consumer discretionary sector.  He is a founder and principal of the firm and has over two and a half decades of investment management experience.  Prior to Tradition Capital Management, Mr. Trompeter was a senior portfolio manager at Brundage, Story and Rose, where he was a member of the Core Stock Selection Group and the Technology Research Group.  Mr. Trompeter’s extensive experience includes Citibank Global Asset Management as a senior portfolio manager.  Mr. Trompeter began his career at Bankers Trust Company in 1978 managing equity, balanced and fixed income portfolios for institutional clients.  He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts.  Mr. Trompeter graduated from St. Lawrence University with B.A. degrees in Economics and Government.

Michael C. Provine, J.D., LL.M
Managing Director

Stephen Boyle
Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Boyle is Chief Operating Officer for Tradition Capital Management. He oversees Tradition’s client servicing and operations functions. Prior to Tradition, Mr. Boyle was Program Director for JP Morgan’s Managed Account Solutions outsourcing platform, providing the operational infrastructure for asset management firms and program sponsors in the SMA, UMA and mutual fund wrap space. Previously, he was Director of Operations for Bear Stearns’ Managed Account Services platform where he started up the firm’s SMA, UMA and mutual fund wrap platforms. Prior to that, he was Director of Client Services at Systematic Financial Management. Mr. Boyle is a graduate of Rutgers University with a B.A. in Economics

Denis M. Turko
Managing Director

Mr. Turko is a Managing Director of Tradition Capital   Management.  He will continue his research and portfolio management responsibilities at Tradition Capital Management.  In addition to his management of all cap portfolios, Mr. Turko brings special expertise in the area of dividend value portfolios.  Mr. Turko was a Managing Director and a founding member of Haven Capital Management.  He was a Principal in the group that was spun out of Goldman Sachs to form the predecessor to Haven.  His role at Haven cut across all aspects of the investment process and management of portfolios. In addition, he coordinated the Firm’s institutional business development.  He graduated from Yale University with a BS in Engineering, and from Columbia University with an MBA.  Mr. Turko is active in community and educational affairs as a member of the Investment Committee of Overlook Hospital Foundation and the area YMCA.  He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of Deerfield Academy, where he served as Chairman of both the Finance and Investment Committees.  He is also active in Yale alumni affairs.

Stephen Ely
Managing Director

Mr. Ely is a Managing Director of Tradition Capital             Management. He manages portfolios for individuals at Tradition Capital Management.  In addition he is a contributor to Tradition’s research process, focusing on industry and economic trends.  Mr. Ely was a Managing Director and one of the founding members of Haven Capital Management. In addition to equity and economic research, he managed portfolios for individual clients. Mr. Ely began his career at Kuhn Loeb & Co. where he became a Partner in charge of the firm’s Investment Advisory Department.  He joined Haven’s predecessor as a Principal, and was a member of the original group that founded Haven.  He graduated from Princeton University with a BA in History, and attended the Graduate School of Business at New York University.   Mr. Ely serves as Chairman for the Finance and Investment Committee for the Grenville Baker Boys & Girls Club.

Gregg. E. Bullwinkel
Senior Vice President
Mr. Bullwinkel is a portfolio manager and oversees the firm's trading function.  He is a member of both the Investment Committee and the Portfolio Committee.  Mr. Bullwinkel has over a decade of experience in the financial services industry where he began his career as a financial advisor.  He was employed by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter immediately prior to joining Tradition Capital Management in 2001.  At Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, he received extensive training in investments and financial planning.  He earned the titles of Retirement Planning Specialist and Lump-Sum 401K Distribution Specialist.  He concentrated on the implementation and management of long-term financial plans for high net worth individuals.  He graduated from Rutgers University in 1987 with a BS degree in Business Administration.

Marc L. Davis, CFA
Senior Vice President
Mr. Davis is an equity research analyst working on the Health Care, Financial and Consumer Staples sectors for Tradition Capital Management.  He works on the Investment Committee and Portfolio Committee.  Mr. Davis joined Tradition in 2002 and started his investment management career in equity research at Brundage, Story and Rose where he was a junior equity analyst following Health Care, Consumer, Financial, Technology and Basic Materials.  He was also a member of the firm's Health Care and Basic Materials industry working groups.  He earned a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and the New York Bar.  Mr. Davis graduated from Columbia College in 1985 and earned his J.D. degree from the New York University School of Law in 1989.

John P. Heslin
Vice President
Mr. Heslin is a junior portfolio manager and an equity research analyst covering Industrials and Materials for Tradition Capital Management.  He joined Tradition in 2005 as a portfolio assistant responsible for trading, reconciling accounts, and opening of new accounts. Prior to joining Tradition, Mr. Heslin worked for Hennion & Walsh, a broker/dealer specializing in municipal bonds.  Mr. Heslin was promoted to equity research analyst in January of 2007 and to junior portfolio manager in November of 2007.  He is currently a member of the Investment Committee and the Portfolio Committee at Tradition Capital Management.  Mr. Heslin earned a BS degree from Siena College in 2004 and is currently a level I Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) candidate.

Marty Fetherston, CFA
Managing Director of Fixed Income
Mr. Fetherston is the Managing Director of Fixed Income for Tradition Capital Management.  He oversees all fixed income investments and portfolios for the firm and is a member of the Investment Committee. Marty has almost twenty years of experience building and managing Fixed Income Portfolios ranging in style from Enhanced Cash to Core Plus.  His previous roles include Managing Director at TCP Global Investments and Senior Portfolio Manager at the Dreyfus Corporation where he managed a basket of Investment Grade debt and was lead Portfolio Manager for Dreyfus’ institutional separate accounts business.  Mr. Fetherston is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts. He earned a BA in Mathematics from The College of the Holy Cross and an MBA with distinction in Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Joseph Staszkiw, JD
Managing Director Mr. Staszkiw is Managing Director of National Sales and Marketing at Tradition Capital Management.  With over forty years in the Financial Services Industry, he brings a broad range of experience to TCM.  He is an auditing member of the Investment Committee.  Most notably, prior to joining TCM he was a Managing Director of Separately Managed Accounts at Boston based Eaton Vance Corporation.  Mr. Staszkiw founded and developed the Separately Managed Account practice at New York based Lazard Freres.  Mr. Staszkiw has also held senior marketing positions at Regent Investor Services as well as Shearson American Express. He was Associate Director of Estate Planning and Business Valuation at Prudential.  Mr. Staszkiw holds a B.A. in Government and Political Science from Seton Hall University.  He attended the National Law Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and received a Juris Doctor degree at Seton Hall Law School.  He was admitted to the practice of law in New Jersey and Federal Courts in 1974.