About

1834 Investment Advisors

1834 Investment Advisors prides itself on the level of service and communication provided to its clients. We uphold a local and national presence because of our close working relationships, high level of service and attentiveness. We maintain ongoing contact with our clients via standard mail, email, meetings and phone conversations.

Our goal is to make sure you have the information and resources you need to make intelligent decisions regarding your financial picture – for you and your family.

David Becker, CFA®
President

David Becker graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting in 1991. He returned to the university and earned a Master of Science degree in finance in 1996, while participating in the school’s Applied Security Analysis program.

From 1991-94, Mr. Becker worked as a staff auditor for Deloitte in its Minneapolis and Milwaukee offices. He then joined Campbell Newman Asset Management, Inc. as an associate director of research from 1996-2001. During his time there, he earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Mr. Becker joined Northern Oak Wealth Management (now 1834 Investment Advisors) in 2001. He is president of the firm. He is also a former president of the CFA Society of Milwaukee.

Jim Steiner
Chairman and Chief Investment Officer

Jim leads an investment team of more than 30 investment professionals who provide portfolio management and holistic investment services to clients.

Prior to joining the company, Jim served as President of Abbot Downing, leading a national firm of professionals with more than 600 clients and $48 billion in assets under care. Jim led a service offering that included customized investment and wealth management services and developed an investment platform that served both taxable high net worth clients and foundation and endowment clients. Jim previously served as the CEO and managing principal of Lowry Hill Investment Advisors, where he developed the firm’s overall investment strategy, led the income equity and small cap equity strategies and served as the Outsource Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) for the firm’s foundation and endowment clients. Before his management and investment roles, he was Vice President and Senior Equity Analyst at Investment Advisors, Inc. He has more than three decades of leadership and portfolio management experience in the investment industry with multiple notable publications. Effective March 2022, Jim is serving as a dual employee at 1834 Investment Advisors as part of the investment staff.

Jim earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale University, where he played on both the hockey and golf teams. Steiner earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and a master’s degree in Education from Harvard University. Steiner is a past trustee of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. He is on the advisory council of The Global Teaching Project, an adjunct faculty member at Hamline University and on the Investment Advisory Committee for the University of Minnesota endowment.

Lindsey Riese
Operations Administrator

Lindsey Riese earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2008. During her last year of school, she worked as an intern for Stark Investments in the operations department.

Ms. Riese worked as a reconciliation analyst at Stark Investments in St. Francis, Wisconsin, from 2008-12 before joining Northern Oak (now 1834 Investment Advisors) in 2012.

David Bucur
Chief Compliance Officer

David Bucur joined 1834 Investment Advisors Co. in 2022 as the Chief Compliance Officer. A dual employee of both 1834 Investment Advisors Co. and Old National Bank, David has worked in various leadership positions at Old National Bank since 2014. Most recently, he served as the Chief Client Experience Officer for Old National Wealth Management and was instrumental in implementing technology and training to expand financial planning capabilities. He also spent time as Senior Administrative Officer for Old National Wealth Management and Director of Data Analytics for Old National Bank. Prior to joining Old National, David worked as a licensed clinical psychologist.

David earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Indiana University and a Ph.D. in psychology from Purdue University before completing an MBA from Indiana University Northwest.

John Claybon
Senior Managing Director, Institutional Advisory

With over 35 years of experience in the investment industry, John leads Old National’s Institutional and Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) group, which provides investment and consulting services for governmental entities, businesses and nonprofits. He is also responsible for oversight of Old National’s Philanthropic Services, Corporate Trust, and Retirement Plan Services. Effective August 2022, he is serving as a dual employee at 1834 Investment Advisors as part of the investment staff.

John earned two degrees in Economics and English from the University of Southern Indiana. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute®.

Matthew Bappert, CFP®
Senior Portfolio Manager

Matthew Bappert received a Bachelor of Science degree with a focus in public financial management from Indiana University in 2011.

He began his career the same year at Wintrust Financial Corporation as a credit analyst, with the principal responsibility of underwriting commercial industrial and commercial real estate credit.

In 2013, Mr. Bappert joined FactSet, a provider of portfolio management and analytics software. He consulted institutional portfolio managers, research analysts and wealth management clients. Mr. Bappert joined Northern Oak Wealth Management (now 1834 Investment Advisors) in 2015.

Chris Knappstein CFP®, CTFA
Wealth Advisor

Chris Knappstein has spent more than 20 years advising individuals and institutions in all areas of wealth and asset management. As a wealth advisor for 1834 Investment Advisors Co., Chris focuses his practice on providing a comprehensive wealth management plan to his clients, which include business owners, high-net-worth individuals, corporate executives and non-profit organizations.

It is important to Chris to provide his clients with a comprehensive full balance sheet approach to financial planning. He often works directly with his clients’ attorneys, accountants and other advisors to make sure that happens.

Chris is a graduate of the University of Iowa where he earned an undergraduate degree in economics. He earned a certificate in financial planning from the American College of Financial Services and is a Certified Financial Planner. He also obtained the designation of Certified Trust Financial Advisor (CTFA) from the Cannon Trust School & Financial Institute. Chris is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council.

Kerri Schanowski
Client Relations Manager

Kerri Schanowski works closely with Northern Oak’s clients and portfolio managers to ensure the firm fulfills all client requests. She makes customer service her priority.

Ms. Schanowski has 19 years of experience in the insurance and investment advisor industries. Her expertise lies in operations service and insurance, training, call center management, and client services. Ms. Schanowski joined Northern Oak Wealth Management (now 1834 Investment Advisors) in 2012.

Tim Marx
Vice President, Director of Fixed Income

Tim is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Fixed Income team, including credit analysis, strategy implementation and monitoring all centrally managed fixed-income portfolios, which includes individual and institutional accounts. He is also tasked with product development, communication of fixed-income strategy positioning to the Investment Strategy team and clients, and overseeing all other daily activities of the Fixed Income group. Tim has been with the company for nearly 10 years. Effective March 2022, Tim is serving as a dual employee at 1834 Investment Advisors as part of the investment staff.

Tim attended the University of Evansville earning his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics. He is active in his church and invests in the next generation through various coaching and mentoring activities.

Nick Gergen, CFA®
Portfolio Manager

Nick Gergen has nearly 15 years of experience developing and implementing investment strategies for high-net-worth individuals and families. In his role as a portfolio manager for 1834 Investment Advisors Co. he provides investment management solutions across all major asset classes, prioritizing the preservation and growth of client wealth through asset allocation, security selection, and tax and fee efficiency.

Prior to joining 1834 Investment Advisors Co., Nick spent 10 years at Abbot Downing (a Wells Fargo company) managing $750 million in client assets.

He prides himself on maintaining extensive knowledge of the markets and investment solutions so that he can create timely and tailored strategies to help meet clients’ unique needs and objectives.

Nick earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation and is a member of the CFA® Institute and CFA® Society of Minnesota. He began his career with roles at both Mount Yale Capital Group and Craig-Hallum Capital Group.

Alexandrea Parker
Securities Trading Specialist

Alex has been in the investment industry since 2019, primarily working as a fixed income trader specializing in taxable bonds. As part of the Fixed Income team Alex’s experience includes analyzing market trends, creating bond portfolios, assisting in strategy implementation, and fundamental credit analysis. Alex previously worked for Edward Jones in Indianapolis. She has a bachelor’s degree in Finance and International Studies from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and holds Series 7 & 66 Licenses. Effective April 2022, Alex is serving as a dual employee of 1834 Investment Advisors as part of the trading team.