The Team
Silvant’s investment team is comprised of like-minded individuals who share a passion for growth investing. Our structure eliminates the reliance on 'star managers' and instead leverages each individual's skills. The senior portfolio managers average 20 years of experience.

Michael A. Sansoterra
Chief Investment Officer and Senior Portfolio Manager
Michael Sansoterra is Chief Investment Officer at Silvant Capital Management LLC. He is the lead Portfolio Manager on the Large Cap Growth and Concentrated Large Cap Growth disciplines. He is also a Senior Portfolio Manager on the Large Cap Core Growth and the Small Cap Growth disciplines....Read More
Prior to joining Silvant Capital Management's predecessor firm, Trusco Capital Management, in 2007, Michael worked at Principal Global Investors. During his tenure there, he held several titles, including Large Cap Diversified Growth Portfolio Manager, Director of Research for Large/Mid Domestic Equities and Senior Equity Analyst. Previously, he worked as a senior equity analyst for USAA Investment Management and as an equity analyst and portfolio manager for The Northern Trust Company. Michael has worked in investment management since 1996. He is regularly featured in national publications and is a frequent guest on CNBC and Fox Business News.
Michael earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from The University of Michigan. View Less

Sandeep Bhatia, PhD, CFA
Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager
Sandeep Bhatia is Managing Director at Silvant Capital Management LLC, lead Portfolio Manager on the Large Cap Core Growth and Small Cap Growth disciplines and Senior Portfolio Manager on the Concentrated Large Cap Growth and Large Cap Growth disciplines....Read More
Prior to joining Silvant Capital Management, Sandeep served as a senior research analyst for Eagle Asset Management, focusing on the healthcare sector from 2005-2007. Previously, he worked as a sell-side senior equity research analyst in the healthcare sector at Piper Jaffray and as an equity research analyst at Dain Rauscher Wessels. Sandeep has worked in investment management since 2000 and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
He earned his Masters of Business Administration degree with High Honors from the University of Chicago with a concentration in Finance, his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University and his Bachelor of Technology degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. View Less

Brandi K. Allen
Sector Portfolio Manager - Consumer Staples, Healthcare
Brandi is a Sector Portfolio Manager with consumer staples and healthcare sector responsibilities. She has 20 years of investment experience in healthcare and portfolio management....Read More
Prior to joining Silvant, Ms. Allen worked at Oak Associates where she was Co-Portfolio Manager for a healthcare biotech fund and a small cap growth fund. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with honors in Finance from Ohio University (1997) and her Masters of Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University (2000).
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Stephen (Steve) Coker, CFA,CAIA
Sector Portfolio Manager - Energy, Industrials and Materials
Steve is a Sector Portfolio Manager with industrial, energy and materials sector responsibilities. He has 21 years of investment experience....Read More
Prior to joining Silvant in 2015, Mr. Coker served as an equity analyst and portfolio manager for the growth equity strategy at Frost Investment Advisors. Previously, he worked as an equity analyst for Principal Financial Group and SunTrust Bank. He is also the holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Management from Georgia Institute of Technology (1990) and his Masters of Business Administration from Indiana University (1997). View Less

Scott Kolar, CFA
Sector Portfolio Manager - Information Technology
Scott serves as a Sector Portfolio Manager with information technology sector responsibilities. He has 22 years of investment experience....Read More
Prior to joining Silvant in 2015, Mr. Kolar served as a portfolio manager at Logan Circle Partners. Previously, he worked at Goldman Sachs Asset Management from 1995 to 2013. During his tenure there, he covered the Technology sector and held several titles, including Analyst, Portfolio Manager and Co-Head of U.S. Growth Non-Large Cap Business. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard University (1994). View Less

Sowmdeb Sen
Sector Portfolio Manager and Co-Portfolio Manager - Consumer Discretionary, Financials
Sowmdeb serves as a Sector Portfolio Manager with consumer discretionary and financial sector responsibilities and is also co-Portfolio Manager of the Large Cap Core Growth discipline at Silvant. He has 18 years investment experience....Read More
Prior joining Silvant, Sowmdeb served as a research analyst for Certium Asset Management for two years covering European Financial and Health Care sectors as well as South East Asian markets. Prior to joining Certium, Sowmdeb worked for Eagle Asset Management for eight years covering Financials. Sowmdeb earned a M.S. in Mathematical Finance from the University of Southern California in 2000, a M.S. in Economics from SUNY Buffalo in 1999, and a M.S. in Mathematics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 1998. View Less

Marc Schneidau
Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director, Client Portfolio Manager
As an active member of the investment team, Marc Schneidau is responsible for managing all aspects of the firm's client service and coordinating the support functions that Virtus Investments provides - sales, marketing, compliance, trading and finance....Read More
As Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director and Client Portfolio Manager for Silvant Capital Management LLC, Marc acts as a liaison between the portfolio management team and all firm clients. His responsibilities include directing client investment meetings and explaining investment strategy, including investment process, philosophy, performance, portfolio attribution and economic outlook. He coordinates sales, marketing, compliance, trading and finance functions in conjunction with Virtus Investments, and partners with Virtus on aspects of new business development through multiple distribution channels.
Marc began his career at the Public Securities Association in Washington, DC, now called the Securities Industry Association (SIA). In 1996, Marc moved to Atlanta, Georgia to work for Georgia Pacific Corporation as a Management Consultant. He has worked for Silvant since 1997, and served as Portfolio Manager for the firm's Large Cap Core Growth and Select Growth disciplines. Marc has worked in the financial services industry since 1989.
Marc earned his Masters of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Finance and a Graduate Certificate in Information Systems & Telecommunications from The George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Louisiana State University. View Less

Jennifer Stewart
Portfolio Specialist
Jennifer serves as Portfolio Specialist and is responsible for client service, marketing, sales and business operations. ...Read More
Ms. Stewart's career began at SunTrust Banks, Inc. in 1999. Jennifer has worked for Silvant since 2001 and served as a Marketing and Portfolio Assistant on multiple portfolios. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Berry College (1999). She has 15 years of experience within the financial services industry. View Less