Tony Arsta, CFAPortfolio Manager and Senior Analyst

Joined the firm in 2009
Industry experience: 15 years
Education: M.B.A. with Distinction from DePaul University; B.S., Computer Science from University of Wisconsin-Madison

With a focus on statistical analysis and investor psychology, Tony studies companies day-in and day-out in a tireless pursuit of the select few he believes can demonstrate quality growth above their competitors – and, at a reasonable price. He’s been putting these principles into practice throughout his entire career with The Motley Fool, which took off in 2008. After working as an analyst for The Motley Fool LLC, Tony moved into his role as Portfolio Manager and Senior Analyst at Motley Fool Asset Management, where he has been managing funds for the past 15 years.

Today he serves as Lead Portfolio Manager for Motley Fool Global Opportunities (TMFG), and also helps manage Motley Fool 100 Index (TMFC), Motley Fool Capital Efficiency 100 Index (TMFE), and Motley Fool Next Index (TMFX).

JP Bennett, CFAInvestment Analyst

Joined the firm in 2024
Industry experience: 13 years
Education: M.B.A. from University of Scranton, B.S., Psychology from University of Scranton

JP’s journey with our parent company, The Motley Fool, LLC, began in 2013 as an investing intern. He returned the following year to join the Pro and Options newsletters, which he helped manage for more than four years as a Senior Analyst. In 2018, he joined the regulated side of the business to help start The Motley Fool Investment Management, LLC’s first hedge fund, 1623 Capital, and later became an Investment Analyst with Motley Fool Asset Management to research and analyze potential companies for our ETFs.

T.J. PiggottInvestment Analyst

Joined the firm in 2023
Industry experience: 15 years
Education: B.B.A., Business Administration from Roanoke College

T.J. has spent his entire career in financial services, and in various roles at some of the largest firms on Wall Street. He began his Foolish journey in 2014 as the Director of Trading for Motley Fool Wealth Management, and later entered The Motley Fool, LLC’s Investor Development Program. After completing this program, T.J. partnered with a Lead Advisor to launch Motley Fool Cloud Disruptors, Motley Fool SaaS Superstars, and Motley Fool Cloud Contenders, where he spent most of his time covering tech and tech-enabled companies. He was also promoted to
Senior Analyst during this time with The Motley Fool, LLC. Recently, T.J. joined Motley Fool Asset Management to support our Portfolio Managers with company research.

As a longtime Fool, T.J. invests with Foolishness, which means: marrying qualitative and quantitative data, seeking companies that meet our definition of Quality, and using a long-term investment mindset.

Charly Travers, CFAPortfolio Manager

Joined the firm in 2019
Industry experience: 18 years
Education: B.A., Business Administration from University of Richmond

Michael’s focus areas range across dividend-oriented stocks, UK-focused investments, value picks, small cap companies, and international equities. But for the diversity of his experience, his investment approach is singularly focused – buying high-quality enterprises at reasonable prices. He first joined The Motley Fool LLC in 2005 where he was Lead Analyst of the company’s dividend-oriented newsletter, and co-advisor for PRO UK, a UK-focused investment service. Since 2019, he has served as a Portfolio Manager for the Global Opportunities ETF with Motley Fool Asset Management. In addition to his specialty in global and international companies, Michael also focuses on technology, media, and business services.

Earlier in his career, Michael worked at the Corporate Executive Board (now Gartner), a DC-based consulting firm. He is a CFA charterholder and a graduate of the University of Richmond, where he earned a degree in business administration with a finance concentration.

Ayal CusnerHead of Investing Product

Joined the firm in 2024
Industry experience: 15 years
Education: M.S., Finance and B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis

Ayal has spent his career conducting quantitative research and developing advanced analytic solutions in the financial services industry. He began as an Analytics Senior Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he specialized in the financial services and healthcare sectors, then worked for seven years with Strategic Investment Group as a Senior Associate. There, he supported quantitative research and trading operations of an equity market-neutral hedge fund, while also contributing to the firm’s core multi-asset outsourced CIO business efforts.

Before joining Motley Fool Asset Management in 2014, Ayal spent more than five years at our sister company, The Motley Fool, LLC, overseeing the Investing Intelligence team and working as their Member Success Lead in Automation and Investing AI. During this time he managed The Motley Fool, LLC’s Showdown ‘22 Quant portfolio as Lead Advisor and developed several proprietary models and algorithms, including the Quant:5Y crowdsourced scoring system.

Continued education is paramount to Ayal’s work: He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, is a current member of the CFA Society of Washington, and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Economics at George Mason University.

In addition to serving as Head of Investing Product at Motley Fool Asset Management, where he creates new investment solutions, crafts product strategy, and monitors portfolio investment risk, Ayal serves a functional role in quantitative analysis. As an analyst, he researches broad-based equity signals and works closely with our software development team. Ayal is also the Portfolio Manager for TMFE.

Nate RonciHead of Quantitative Investing

Joined the firm in 2024
Industry experience: 12 years
Education: B.S., Finance from University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Nate serves as the Head of Quantitative Investing and Portfolio Manager of TMFE. He oversees the research, model design, and risk management of Motley Fool Management ETFs, turning complex data into insightful strategies.

From 2021 to 2024, Nate led The Motley Fool, LLC’s equity index unit and contributed research and portfolio management to several of their recommendation services as a Quantitative Analyst. Previously he spent seven years in quantitative research and trading roles, primarily in international small- and micro-cap equities, and created all- and small- cap systematic international equity strategies. Nate graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor of Science in Finance, holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and is a current member of the CFA Society San Francisco.

Nate develops the methodology for indices tracked by the Motley Fool Asset Management passive ETFs, including each index’s membership criteria, weighting, and ongoing maintenance. By turning complex data into insightful strategies, he is a key player in the firm’s capacity to offer new products.

Jonathan ThomasChief Marketing Officer

Joined the firm in 2024
Industry experience: 24 years
Education: B.A., English-Journalism, University of Delaware

Jonathan Thomas joined the Motley Fool Money Management team as Chief Marketing Officer with more than 20 years of marketing, communications, and management experience under his belt. With a background in marketing a variety of investment solutions (especially pooled investment vehicles), Jonathan is a “Fool of all trades” in the money management industry. He’s passionate about storytelling through a blend of marketing channels and collaborating with sales teams to create exciting customer experiences—all the way from awareness to investor relations.

In his current role, Jonathan is responsible for overseeing the creation and growth of all marketing strategies for Motley Fool Asset Management. He collaborates closely with our company’s president, director of investor relations, chief investment officer, investment team, and of course, his marketing team to educate investors and financial advisors across the country about our unique lineup of active and passive index ETFs.