Jeff Kautz

Jeff Kautz, CFA, is Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Portfolio Manager of Ballast Equity Management LLC. Prior to founding Ballast, he was with Perkins Investment Management from 1997 to 2015, where he held roles including CEO, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager. Mr. Kautz also served as co-manager of the Janus Henderson Mid Cap Value Fund and the Janus Henderson Value Plus Income Fund. Assets under management during his leadership at Perkins rose from $30 million to over $20 billion. Mr. Kautz began his career as a Market Maker and Specialist for GVR & Co. on the Midwest Stock Exchange. He earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA with a concentration in finance from the University of Chicago. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.