CAZ Investments Expands Sales Team with Executive Director and SVP Promotions
CAZ Investments, an asset management firm with more than $9 billion in assets under management, recently announced 16 firmwide promotions, which the firm says expands its capabilities to serve its investor base and positions it for continued growth.
“Since … February 2024, we have grown from about 3,100 investors to more than 7,700,” said Christopher Zook, chairman and chief investment officer, more than doubling the number of investors and registered investment advisers connected to the firm. “That kind of rapid expansion is due to the outstanding performance of our team, and great leadership, which is why we are continuing to add and promote top talent at CAZ.”
Within CAZ’s capital formation team, Tim Brown and Harvey Steele were both appointed executive directors of the West and East regions, respectively, to lead the company’s sales efforts. They report to Geoffrey Crumrine, managing director of capital formation, and oversee a combined team of 18 sales professionals across the United States.
Brown has over 25 years of experience in external facing and leadership roles within the investment industry. He specializes in capital formation, broker-dealer relations, and investor relationship management. Most recently, Brown served as a managing director with New York Life Investment Management prior to joining CAZ.
Before coming aboard at the company in 2024, Steele was a managing director and a senior vice president before that – both within intermediary distribution – at Westwood Holdings Group from 2018 to 2024. Prior to that he also served in various roles for more than a decade at New York Life Investment Management.
Also of note, Heather Ayres, Nicole Engel, and Charlie Zeller were each promoted to senior vice president roles. Ayres and Engle had spent years building CAZ partner relationships and advancing the work of the investor relations team. Both joined the company in 2021.
Prior to then, Ayres was at J.P. Morgan from 2017 to 2021 and began her financial services career at Merrill Lynch from 2006 to 2009. Ayres earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Arizona. Prior to CAZ, Engel served in various roles at Hightower Advisors from 2019 to 2021, Astor Investment Management from 2018 to 2019, and LJM Partners from 2015 to 2018. Engel earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Zeller’s work at CAZ began in 2022. He has been a key member of the capital formation team, according to the company, helping drive capital raising efforts and supporting the firm’s rapid expansion. Prior to that, Zeller was with Baird from 2018 to 2022, and Dimensional Fund Advisors from 2014 to 2018. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
In June of this year, AltsWire reported that CAZ Strategic Opportunities Fund had surpassed $250 million. Since its inception March 1, 2024, and as of June 2025, the fund has returned 15.19% and has a trailing 12-month return of 17.9%.
According to CAZ Investments, the fund seeks to eliminate traditional barriers to entry by offering investors access to a broad portfolio of private investments with a minimum investment of $25,000. Structured as a tender offer fund, it provides investors with the security of quarterly liquidity options while maintaining a focus on long-term capital growth.
CAZ Investments is a Houston-based asset management firm with a focus on sourcing opportunities for its own proprietary investment and for its global network of investors. With over $9 billion in assets under management, CAZ has a 24-year track record of curating attractive opportunities spanning short sub-prime, disruptive technology, midstream energy, medical royalties, private credit, and GP minority investments.
Click here to visit the AltsWire directory page.
