Chief Investment Officer

Reese Thompson

Chief Investment Officer

Reese Thompson is a senior Marketing and Spanish major. The Royals Investment Fund has been a valuable part of his learning experience that has helped him to develop skills outside the classroom. Reese has been able to have exposure to many industry professionals and systems which is very helpful when searching for jobs or positions that are of interest or have components that he’s already had the opportunity to do in the fund. Besides his role as CIO, he is involved in cross country running and track and enjoys hiking. Reese is looking for a role in the business world, likely working to reach a marketing manager, project manager, digital marketing, or marketing analytics type positions. 

Esther Nelson

Assistant Director

Esther Nelson is the Assistant Director of the fund and is a senior finance and marketing major. She was interested  in joining the fund because of ther ability to add value and gain a deeper real-life experience. Outside of the RIF, she is involved in Track & Field and Cross Country. In her free time she loves to travel and read. After graduation, she hopes to work in the finance or marketing field. Fun fact: Esther has been skydiving in New Zealand!

Risk & Operations

Jacob Mccullough

Director of Risk & Operations

Jacob Mccullough is a Senior Finance and Business Analysis & Analytics major. He joined the investment fund because he was intrigued by the ability to immerse himself in the world of asset management and leverage his experiences beyond Bethel. Jacob is an avid Twins and Vikings fan and loves fantasy sports. He enjoys studying the Bible and is involved in the Gospel Life Church. Time with family is valuable to Jacob. He plans to stay in Minneapolis and work in either asset or wealth management.

Josh Brandt

Josh Brandt is senior studying Business Finance and Business Analysis & Analytics. Josh heard about the fund through friends Jacob McCullough and Puthea Song. After hearing about how beneficial it was for them in their life Josh wanted to try for himself. Josh says, “The fund offered great exposure and experience that can be used in my future career.”Outside of the fund, he is an RA in Nelson, loves golfing, and playing intramural volleyball. Post Bethel he aspires to be a financial analyst at a well known company or work as a statistician analyst for a professional sports team. Josh also loves fantasy football and Minnesota sports.

evie Hage

Evie Hage is a senior studying Finance. Evie speaks of why she joined the fund, “After hearing about the opportunity from my peers and knowing that I wanted to expand my overall understanding and knowledge of investing, I was eager to get involved and continue learning how to allocate investment capital across a variety of opportunities.” Evie is a tutor and TA for many classes in the business department. She was on the cross country and track team the past two years at Bethel. Outside of Bethel, Evie loves traveling, spending time outside, being with family, cooking, and baking. Evie’s long-term career goal is to become a personal financial advisor and help people learn how to steward their money wisely.

gabe Pearson

Gabe Pearson is studying Business Analysis and Analytics and is currently a junior. The reason he joined the fund was because of the real experience that it serves to equip students for future careers. Outside of the RIF, Gabe is a RA in Lissner. His hobbies include football, basketball, hanging with friends, and coffee. After graduating, he hopes for a position in the investment industry.

Grace Solberg

Grace Solberg is a current Junior at Bethel University studying Business Finance. She joined the Royals Investment Fund to get real world experience in wealth management while still being in college. Grace is also excited to be surrounded by students that have similar passion and drive to learn more about the investment industry. On top of being a part of the Fund, Grace is on the Bethel Volleyball team, and is also a part of the 25 at Bethel. She loves to travel, and this past year has had the opportunity to study abroad in New Zealand as well as travel to Italy and Costa Rica. Grace has a passion for meeting new people and exploring new places. Over the past two summers, she has interned in Washington D.C. and Dallas, TX. Following graduation from Bethel, her goal is to attend law school and pursue a career in private equity.

Marketing

emmalee TOLLERUD

Emmalee Tollerud is a senior Finance student. She joined the fund because she enjoys learning beyond the classroom. Two summers ago, she interned with The Salvation Army DHQ for Marketing and Communications. Last summer, she interned with Allianz Life on the FMO Distribution team. She is apart of The 25 and BethelBiz. In her free time she runs, plays pickleball, and loves a good coffee shop with friends. After Bethel she hopes to work for a larger corporate company in sales of a finance role and later be a financial advisor.

Derek Fromm

Derek Fromm is a junior Finance and Accounting major. Derek speaks on why he joined, “I had heard so many good things about the Royal's Investment Fund. Even before I came to Bethel I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of.” Derek was a coordinator for Welcome Week this fall. He is the tournament director for intramurals this year. He also loves to lift weights and hang out with family and friends. After Bethel, he is not exactly sure where he will choose to work as he has many interests. One day Derek dreams of opening his own business. A fun fact about Derek is that he is colorblind.

katie GeMUendeN

Katie Gemuenden is a current Senior at Bethel University studying Business Finance and Marketing. She also has a minor in Graphic Design. She joined the Royals Investment Fund to try something new and learn new things. She has a passion for learning, and is excited to have the opportunity to have hands on experience. Katie is also excited to expand her network and meet new people. In her free time she loves being outdoors and being active. She enjoys traveling, hiking, playing pickleball and running. A funfact about Katie is that she ran her first marathon last year! After graduating from Bethel, she will work at Renewal by Andersen as a marketing specialist. She hopes to one day become a marketing manager.

research

David Morton

David Morton is a senior finance student. He wanted to join the Royals Investment Fund because of its reputation of providing students with a unique opportunity to learn principles and skills that they would not be able to develop in the classroom. Students are given the opportunity to gain hands-on experience that translates to the real world and build lasting relationships with alumni. Outside of the fund he plays golf on the men’s team at Bethel University. Two summers ago, he interned at Allianz Life in their project management office. Last summer, David interned at Ziegler Investment Bank as an analyst. He hopes to pursue a career in investment banking post graduation. David has a freelance production business where he composes music for media. He also noted, that he is a big Packers fan!

JT Oliver

JT Oliver is a senior studying Accounting and Finance. He joined the Royals Investment Fund to have a realistic experience of working hands on with investing. He wanted to further his knowledge and interest in the financial market and investing strategies. In his free time, he can be found golfing, playing pickleball, or watching the Vikings. After Bethel he aspires to earn his CPA license and work in a public account firm.

Josie Harms

Josie Harms is a senior Finance student. She joined the fund because of the real-world investing experience it offers. She knows that this experience will be worthwhile for the workplace. Outside of the fund, she is involved in Cross Country, Track, Pietas Honor Program, and The25. After graduating she hopes to purse a career in wealth management. An interesting thing about Josie is that she has been to all 50 states.

Lucas Johnson

Lucas Johnson is a Senior studying Business Finance with a Spanish minor. Lukas has had an interest in joining the Fund since freshman year. His freshman RA  - Ike Mendel, inspired him to join. He loves that the fund is a great opportunity to connect with other students who share his passion for investing. Along with being a part of the RIF, Lucas is a part of the Bethel Men’s Soccer team. During his sophomore year he was a shift leader, and is a freshman RA in Getsch hall for both this year and the year prior. His passion for the military and aviation lead to his hope of further pursuit in the future. He finds great value in pursuing his faith and helping others to growth in their faith as well. Following graduation, Lucas is interested in working in the fields of investments and wealth management, which was inspired by the work he is doing in the Fund. Another inspiration in life is his father who has been a huge role model in his life and has served as a pilot in the military for 30 years. In the future, he could picture himself following his dad’s footsteps in aviation. Lucas was born in Virginia, but has lived in South Dakota for the majority of his life.

Zach Luepke

Zach Luepke is a senior Accounting and Finance major. Zach explains, “I wanted to be a part of the RIF because of the networking opportunities with peers and Bethel alumni, as well as learning skills that will help in future careers.” He played football during his first three years at Bethel and has been involved in the Bethel Accounting Society, BBEA, and BethelBiz in the past. Outside of school Zach enjoys hiking, fishing, and hunting. This past summer he completed an Audit Internship with KPMG and accepted a job offer with Deloitte following graduation in December. He plans to become a CPA and work in public accounting for several years before transitioning to a new role.

Ebube Mordi

Ebube Mordi is a current Senior at Bethel University studying Business Finance. He has wanted to be a part of the Royals Investment Fund before he was even a student on campus! “I met Professor Carter on my overnight trip to Bethel and was super impressed with the Fund. Once I got to Bethel, I saw how motivated the students were in the fund and applied. I wanted to be a part of the fund because I believe it will give me a hands-on experience in the investment world but from a Christian perspective”. Along with being a stellar student and being a part of the Fund, Ebube is also the CEO of the BBEA and loves playing soccer, basketball, consulting, music, TV, and history. After his time at Bethel he hopes to start his career in consulting. Eventually he hopes to start his own business in consulting.

Luke Peterson

Luke Peterson is a senior studying accounting and finance. He knew the RIF would be an amazing opportunity to get hands-on experience with investing and the research that goes into making good investment decisions. It also has helped his understanding of macro trends within the economy and how certain sectors are influenced by business and governmental decisions. Furthermore, he enjoys being apart of a fantastic team in addition to the access of  Bethel alumni who work in investing every day. Over the past year,  he has worked at two accounting firms (CLA and Ballenthin, Funk and Johnson) as a tax and audit intern. At Bethel, I compete on the XC and Track and Field teams. In my free time, I enjoy fishing, hunting, and being outdoors. After school, I will work as a tax associate at CLA, and hopefully pursue a CPA.

David Price

David Price is a Junior Business Finance and HR major. He wanted to be a part of the Royals Investment Fund because of his interest and passion for investments and to gain real-world experience that is not attainable in the classroom. He is also looking forward to learn how to be apart of a team that works together to manage investments. Along with being part of the Royals Investment Fund, David is on the cross country and track and field team. After his time at Bethel, he plans on obtaining a job in wealth management or working in the human resources field.

Sarah ReY

Sarah Rey is a Senior Business Finance major. She joined the fund because she thought that this would be a great opportunity to gain experience in the field of investing. Sarah also wanted to create valuable connections that would be lifelong. One hobby that she is passionate about is downhill skiing. A fun fact about Sarah is that she began downhill skiing since she was two and went downher first double-black diamond slope at the age of 8. Additionally, Sarah loves film photography. She especially enjoys taking landscape photos. After her time at Bethel, Sarah’s biggest career aspiration it to find a finance job abroad, working for a non-profit organization. She would ideally like it to be in Ecuador or Thailand.

Puthea Song

Puthea Song is a current Senior at Bethel University studying Business Finance and Business Analytics.He joined the Fund after taking an Investment class. He is excited to continue learning about Investments and learning in a hands on way. The Fund was a great opportunity for Puthea, to grow his skills and pursue his interest in the investing world. Puthea is an international student from Cambodia and in his free time he likes to hike, watch movies, bake and cook. Following his time at Bethel, he plans on pursuing a career as a financial analyst or business analyst.

Bre VerMeer

Bre VerMeer is studying Marketing and Finance and is in her senior year. She joined the fund looking to gain real world experience allowing her to apply what she has been learning in the classroom into a team setting. At Bethel, Bre plays on the Varsity Bethel Volleyball team, a member of BethelBiz mentorship, and plays intramural basketball. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing spikeball, and playing card games. She currently works at an RIA and is passionate about the personal financial advisory industry. Bre intends to continue working at Petros Family Wealth as a client associate and paraplanner. She looks forward to helping individuals achieve their financial goals. 

Jack Wellen

Jack Wellen is a junior studying finance. He joined the Royals Investment Fund because of the fantastic opportunity to learn about investing outside of the classroom, as well as be a part of a vast networking group to help gain connections upon enter into the finance world. He plays on the Bethel men’s golf team and played hockey all throughout high school. He enjoys watching sports and love hanging out with family and friends. After graduating, Jack would like to pursue a career as a financial advisor and use the knowledge that he has learned from Bethel and the RIF to help people manage their money.

Andrew Wright

Andrew Wright is currently in his junior year and studying Finance. He recalls joining the RIF because, of his interest in investing and desire to learn about the Wealth Management industry. Andrew enjoys reading books on Finance and Real Estate. During the summer he loves jet skiing, boating, hiking, and spending time with his siblings. Andrew plans to either join the Wealth Management industry or go into Real Estate Investing/Development. Either one of those would make him excited to do it for a living. Andrew wants to eventually retire in his 40s and travel the world visiting different places like Greece, Italy, and Spain. A fun fact about Andrew is that he is the oldest grandchild on his mom’s side of the family.

annika Zachor

Annika Zachor is a Junior Finance major at Bethel. Annika mentions the reasons she joined, “I knew the RIF would challenge and grow me in my investing skills. I was also excited to work with such a great team that shared similar passions to me.” She is a Junior Mentorship Fellow for BethelBiz, a member of The 25 and was the Freshmen Program Committee Head last year, also Annika is a Shift leader. Some of her interests include plays volleyball and broomball intramurals, working in the cafe at Lifetime Fitness, traveling and staying active whether a triathlon or pickleball with friends. After Bethel, ultimate she hopes to make an impact for a business that shares her values. A few areas of finance Annika is interested in include wealth management, investment banking, and consulting.