:: The Company                   

- Philosophy
- Firm History
- Senior Professionals

Philosophy
Tradition Capital Management is an independent investment organization that is privately owned by its employees and is exclusively focused on providing the highest quality investment management services with honesty and integrity. We are investment counselors providing time-tested, objective advice. Since we individually manage each of our clients' portfolios in an account that belongs solely to that client, transparency and tracking of client assets are assured. We do not commingle funds. Integrity and transparency are hallmarks of Tradition. We work closely with many of the leading brokerage and banking firms to ensure a safe custody environment for all types of accounts: individual, trust, pension, foundation, partnerships and IRAs.

Our rules involving our own personal investments place our clients first and ensure that we align our personal interest with those of our clients. Our employees and principals are required to invest in the same securities that we own for clients. Our internal investing rules make certain that our clients get our best investment ideas and that we as a firm are focused on the investments that impact clients.

Firm History
Tradition Capital Management was founded in 2000 by Benjamin Halliburton, Christopher Trompeter and later joined by Michael Provine. Prior to founding the firm, Ben, Mike and Chris worked together for several years servicing and managing money at a prominent New York based money manager. They sought to create a firm grounded in the fundamental belief in equity ownership and chose the name Tradition for its meaning -- “an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought and action passed down from generation to generation.” At Tradition Capital Management, we are consistent in our investment approach, allowing our clients to build a legacy of wealth.

Senior Professionals

Benjamin C. Halliburton, CFA
Managing Director
Mr. Halliburton is a founder and chief investment officer of Tradition Capital Management.  He oversees the investment research and strategy for Tradition.  He heads the Investment Committee and is a member of the Portfolio Committee.  Mr. Halliburton has twenty one years of professional investing experience including ten years at Brundage, Story and Rose where he was BS&R's Director of Research and responsible for overseeing the firm's equity selection process.  He was a principal of the firm and a member of the firm's Investment Policy Committee.  He also designed, developed and managed BS&R’s successful Disciplined Growth Strategy.  He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and earned an MBA from Duke's Fuqua School of Business in 1990, where he was distinguished as a Fuqua Scholar.  He earned a BS degree from Vanderbilt University in three years, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1985, and graduated Salutatorian from the McCallie School.

Michael C. Provine, J.D., LL.M
Managing Director
Mr. Provine is a principal and portfolio manager of Tradition Capital Management.  He is also a member of the Investment Committee and the Portfolio Committee.  He works with clients to design and implement investment strategies for their portfolios.  Mr. Provine also works with clients to make certain their trust and estate plans are designed to best carry out their wishes as he did for the clients of Brundage, Story and Rose for the nine years prior to his founding Tradition Capital Management.  Mr. Provine utilizes his legal training for reviews of clients' financial, retirement and estate planning arrangements, and prepares recommendations for execution by their legal, accounting, and insurance professionals.  Mr. Provine was President of The Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company of New York.  He earned a law degree and an advanced tax degree from Temple University and is a licensed attorney.  He is also a graduate of St. Joseph's University.  For over a quarter of a century, he has worked in the investment management business providing strategic planning and tax review.

Christopher J. Trompeter, CFA
Managing Director
Mr. Trompeter is a senior portfolio manager and works on Tradition’s Investment Committee and heads the Portfolio Committee.  Mr. Trompeter is responsible for the Consumer sector.  He is a founder and principal of the firm and has over two and a half decades of investment management experience.  Prior to Tradition Capital Management, Mr. Trompeter was a senior portfolio manager at Brundage, Story and Rose, where he was a member of the Core Stock Selection Group and the Technology Research Group.  Mr. Trompeter’s extensive experience includes Citibank Global Asset Management as a senior portfolio manager.  Mr. Trompeter began his career at Bankers Trust Company in 1978 managing equity, balanced and fixed income portfolios for institutional clients.  He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts.  Mr. Trompeter graduated from St. Lawrence University with B.A. degrees in Economics and Government.

Joseph E. Lavin, CIMA, AIF
Managing Director
Mr. Lavin is Director of Sales and Marketing for Tradition Capital Management.  He is responsible for business strategy, relationship management with our intermediary partners, business development and client service.  Mr. Lavin is a member of the Portfolio Committee.  He joined Tradition after ten years with Rorer Asset Management.  As Regional Vice President at Rorer, Mr. Lavin was responsible for business development, marketing, and client service for over a billion dollars of assets.  Under his leadership, Rorer Asset Management grew from infancy to one of the largest Separate Account Money Managers with 11 billion dollars in assets under management.  Mr. Lavin is a graduate of Temple University with a BS in Business Administration and holds a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) Designation along with Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF).

Patricia D. Byrnes
Senior Vice President
Ms. Byrnes joined Tradition Capital Management in January 2001 with 24 years of professional experience.  Eighteen of those years were with Brundage, Story and Rose where she was a Senior Portfolio Manager working with individuals and pension and profit sharing plans.  In conjunction with her investment responsibilities, she did extensive research analysis on companies in the Consumer Sector with a focus on innovative retail companies.  Ms. Byrnes began her professional career with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC).  She is a graduate of Long Island University and earned her Masters of Business Administration from Adelphi University.

G. Graydon Curtis
Senior Vice President
Mr. Curtis joined Tradition Capital Management with over 25 years of professional investment experience.  Fifteen of those years were with The Chase Manhattan Bank where he was a Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager working with both individual and institutional clients.  In addition to portfolio management responsibilities, he had numerous research responsibilities in the Consumer Sector focusing on growing retail companies.  Mr. Curtis began his investment career with The Chase Manhattan Bank and subsequently was associated with several investment advisors including Brundage, Story and Rose.  He was a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts for over 20 years and completed Security Analysis at the New York Institute of Finance.  He graduated from the University of Rochester and earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University.

Gregg. E. Bullwinkel
Senior Vice President
Mr. Bullwinkel is a portfolio manager and oversees the firm's trading function.  He is a member of both the Investment Committee and the Portfolio Committee.  Mr. Bullwinkel has over a decade of experience in the financial services industry where he began his career as a financial advisor.  He was employed by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter immediately prior to joining Tradition Capital Management in 2001.  At Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, he received extensive training in investments and financial planning.  He earned the titles of Retirement Planning Specialist and Lump-Sum 401K Distribution Specialist.  He concentrated on the implementation and management of long-term financial plans for high net worth individuals.  He graduated from Rutgers University in 1987 with a BS degree in Business Administration.

Marc L. Davis, CFA
Senior Vice President
Mr. Davis is an equity research analyst working on the Health Care, Financial and Consumer Staples sectors for Tradition Capital Management.  He works on the Investment Committee and Portfolio Committee.  Mr. Davis joined Tradition in 2002 and started his investment management career in equity research at Brundage, Story and Rose where he was a junior equity analyst following Health Care, Consumer, Financial, Technology and Basic Materials.  He was also a member of the firm's Health Care and Basic Materials industry working groups.  He earned a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and the New York Bar.  Mr. Davis graduated from Columbia College in 1985 and earned his J.D. degree from the New York University School of Law in 1989.

John P. Heslin
Vice President
Mr. Heslin is a junior portfolio manager and an equity research analyst covering Industrials for Tradition Capital Management.  He joined Tradition in 2005 as a portfolio assistant responsible for trading, reconciling accounts, and opening of new accounts. Prior to joining Tradition, Mr. Heslin worked for Hennion & Walsh, a broker/dealer specializing in municipal bonds.  Mr. Heslin was promoted to equity research analyst in January of 2007 and to junior portfolio manager in November of 2007.  He is currently a member of the Investment Committee and the Portfolio Committee at Tradition Capital Management.  Mr. Heslin earned a BS degree from Siena College in 2004 and is currently a level I Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) candidate.

George Kurian
Vice President
Mr. Kurian is an equity research analyst covering Technology and Telecom Service sectors.  He joined Tradition Capital Management in 2007 and is a member of both the Investment and Portfolio Committees.  He has 8 years of direct work experience in the Information Technology industry as he worked in the United Kingdom, India and the United States. Before joining Tradition, he interned with Citigroup Investment Research in New York in 2006.  From 2001-2005, he worked on technology in the financial services sector with insurance majors such as Aviva.  From 1997-2000, he worked globally in the technology outsourcing sector primarily with companies such as Satyam Computer Services.  This extensive travel has also helped Mr. Kurian learn three languages.  He earned an MBA from the Duke Fuqua School of Business majoring in Finance-Investment Management in 2007.  He graduated from University of Pune, India in 1996 with an Engineering degree in Electronics and Telecommunications.  He currently is a level II Charter Financial Analyst (CFA) candidate.