Our Fund Managers

Mr. Åkesson joined Thrivent Financial in 1993, and has served as an assocate portfolio manager and portfolio manager during various time periods since 1999.

Mr. Åkesson serves as associate portfolio manager of the following fund:

• Thrivent High Income Municipal Bond Fund (since 2018)

Mr. Anderson joined Thrivent Financial in 1997. He has served as a portfolio manager since 2000.

Mr. Anderson serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Opportunity Income Plus Fund (since 2005)
• Thrivent Limited Maturity Bond Fund (since 2005)
• Thrivent Government Bond Fund (since 2017)
• Thrivent Multidimensional Income Fund (since 2017)

The Thrivent Way:
“It has changed how I think about my role as a portfolio manager and responsibility to our members and shareholders so they can be wise with money and live generous lives.  The Thrivent Way is aligned with my moral qualities to be trustworthy and competent.”

Mr. Bagwell joined Thrivent Financial in 2002. He is the Chief Equity Strategist and has served as the portfolio manager of various Thrivent mutual funds since 2014.

Mr. Bagwell serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Aggressive Allocation Fund (since 2016)
• Thrivent Moderately Aggressive Allocation Fund (since 2016)
• Thrivent Moderate Allocation Fund (since 2016)
• Thrivent Moderately Conservative Allocation Fund (since 2016)

Mr. Bomgren joined Thrivent Financial in 2006 and is a Senior Equity Portfolio Manager.

Mr. Bomgren serves as a portfolio manager for the following funds:

• Thrivent Low Volatility Equity Fund (since 2018)
• International large-cap value assets of the Thrivent Partner Worldwide Allocation Fund (since 2016)

Ms. Brunner joined Thrivent Financial in 2007 serving as a research analyst covering large cap consumer discretionary and consumer staples companies. In 2018, she was named Senior Portfolio Manager and serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Large Cap Growth Fund (since 2018)
• Thrivent Large Cap Stock Fund (since 2018)

Mr. Finn joined Thrivent Financial in 2004. He is the Head of Equity Mutual Funds.

Mr. Finn serves as a portfolio manager of the following fund:

• Thrivent Small Cap Stock Fund (since 2013)

The Thrivent Mutual Funds objective: 
“Good, consistent performance without excessive risk.” 

Mr. Flanagan joined Thrivent Financial in 1994, serving as a portfolio manager since 2000.

Mr. Flanagan serves as a portfolio manager of the following fund:

• Thrivent Mid Cap Stock Fund  (since 2004)

The Thrivent Way: 
“Working at Thrivent has allowed me to be a much better well-rounded individual. Thrivent’s approach of living generously has provided me opportunities to get involved. This involvement offers many different perspectives that are useful when analyzing investments.”

Mr. Francis joined Thrivent Financial in 2001. He is the Vice President of Investment Equities.

Mr. Francis serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Aggressive Allocation Fund (since 2005)
• Thrivent Moderately Aggressive Allocation Fund (since 2005)
• Thrivent Moderate Allocation Fund (since 2005)
• Thrivent Moderately Conservative Allocation Fund (since 2005)

He also serves as lead portfolio manager of Thrivent Partner Worldwide Allocation Fund assets allocated to U.S. securities.

Ms. Grangaard joined Thrivent Financial in 1988. She has served as a portfolio manager since 1994. 

Ms. Grangaard serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Municipal Bond Fund (since 2002)
• Thrivent High Income Municipal Bond Fund (since 2018)

Priorities & Approach: 
“We stay true to this philosophy in all market conditions, which allows our shareholders to take whatever amount of risk fits their profile in other asset classes. I think it is important for people to have confidence that the product that they bought will remain consistent in its methodology.” 

Mr. Groton joined Thrivent Financial in 2007 and is the Director of Equity Research.

Mr. Groton serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Fund (since 2016)
• Thrivent Diversified Income Plus Fund (since 2016)

Mr. Landreville joined Thrivent Financial in 1983. He has served as a portfolio manager since 1998.

Mr. Landreville serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Limited Maturity Bond Fund (since 1999)
• Thrivent Government Bond Fund (since 2010)

Mr. Lauber joined Thrivent Financial in 2004. He has previously served as an associate portfolio manager.

Mr. Lauber serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Large Cap Value Fund (since 2013)
• Thrivent Large Cap Stock Fund (since 2013)
  

Priorities & Approach:
"My priority is to successfully deliver on our fundamental bottom-up investment process, which helps us identify attractive companies to invest in. We aim to achieve this through rigorous industry and company research focused on valuation, operating performance and catalysts."

Mr. Lettenberger joined Thrivent Financial in 2013, serving as a portfolio manager.

Mr. Lettenberger serves as a portfolio manager of the following fund:

• Thrivent Small Cap Growth Fund (since 2018)

Mr. Lowe joined Thrivent Financial in 1997. He is the Vice President of Fixed Income Mutual Funds and has served as the portfolio manager of various Thrivent mutual funds since 2009. He has also been a senior portfolio manager of the high yield portion of Thrivent Financial’s general account since 2005. Prior to this position, Mr. Lowe was, since 2004, a high yield research manager and, since 2002, an associate portfolio manager of the high yield portion of the general account.

Mr. Lowe serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Income Fund (since 2009)
• Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Fund (since 2013)
• Thrivent Diversified Income Plus Fund (since 2015)
• Thrivent Aggressive Allocation Fund (since 2016)
• Thrivent Moderately Aggressive Allocation Fund (since 2016)
• Thrivent Moderate Allocation Fund (since 2016)
• Thrivent Moderately Conservative Allocation Fund (since 2016)
• Thrivent Opportunity Income Plus Fund (since 2018)
• Thrivent Multidimensional Income Fund (since 2018)

Mr. Monsen has been with Thrivent Financial since 2000 and has served in an investment management capacity since 2008. 

Mr. Monsen serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Large Cap Stock Fund (since 2018)
• Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Fund (since 2015)
• Thrivent Diversified Income Plus Fund (since 2015)
• Thrivent Low Volatility Equity Fund (since 2017)

He also serves as a portfolio manager for the international large-cap value assets of the Thrivent Partner Worldwide Allocation Fund since 2016.

Priorities & Approach:
"My team’s priority is to build a consistent, cohesive portfolio to help our investors achieve their goals.  We work to build a process that can achieve superior returns regardless of the market environment and maintain style consistency so investors do not take on unintended risks.  We do this using systematic processes for three aspects of investment management—stock selection, portfolio construction, and risk management."

Mr. Ocenasek joined Thrivent Financial in 1987. He has served as a portfolio manager since 1997.

Mr. Ocenasek serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent High Yield Fund (since 1997)
• Thrivent Opportunity Income Plus Fund (since 2015)
• Thrivent Multidimensional Income Fund (since 2017)

Mr. Pfeifer has served as Real Estate Securities manager with Thrivent Financial since 2002. He oversees Real Estate equity investments in Thrivent’s dedicated REIT portfolios and assists in the selection and oversight of Real Estate securities in Thrivent’s general equity and equity-income portfolios.

Mr. Pfeifer serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Fund (since 2015)
• Thrivent Diversified Income Plus Fund (since 2015)

Priorities & Approach:
“My top priorities are delivering the best performance possible within the REIT asset category and minimizing the risk of underperformance versus the Fund’s benchmark and peer group. Our strategy is to maintain a well-diversified portfolio with exposure to many different property types.  We seek to capture outperformance through tactical allocation decisions in property sectors and individual securities when opportunities present themselves.”  

Mr. Royal joined Thrivent Financial in 2006. He is the President and Chief Investment Officer of Thrivent Mutual Funds.

Mr. Royal serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Aggressive Allocation Fund (since 2018)
• Thrivent Moderately Aggressive Allocation Fund (since 2018)
• Thrivent Moderate Allocation Fund (since 2018)
• Thrivent Moderately Conservative Allocation Fund (since 2018)

The Thrivent Mutual Funds difference:

"At Thrivent, we don’t seek to make a quick buck by doing a lot of short-term trading. We are investors, not traders. We do our homework, through rigorous, bottom-up assessment of companies and through disciplined credit analysis.  If there’s one characteristic that defines our investment approach, I would say it is that we take a long-term view of the markets and of our performance. As an organization that’s been around for more than 100 years, the concept of taking a long-term approach is ingrained in our DNA."

Mr. Simenstad joined Thrivent Financial in 1999. He is the Chief Investment Strategist.

Mr. Simenstad serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Aggressive Allocation Fund (since 2005)
• Thrivent Moderately Aggressive Allocation Fund (since 2005)
• Thrivent Moderate Allocation Fund (since 2005)
• Thrivent Moderately Conservative Allocation Fund (since 2005)
• Thrivent Diversified Income Plus Fund (since 2006)
• Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Fund (since 2015)
  
• Thrivent Multidimensional Income Fund (since 2017)

Mr. Smith is on his second stint with Thrivent Financial. He joined Lutheran Brotherhood, one of Thrivent’s predecessors in 1993 and was with the firm through 2002 before leaving to pursue another opportunity. In 2004, he returned to Thrivent. In mid-2007 he initiated Thrivent’s leveraged loan effort in order to provide diversification to the high yield securities investments. Conrad oversees Thrivent’s leveraged loan efforts and also manages the high yield bond portfolio of Thrivent Financial’s Insurance Company general account. 

Mr. Smith serves as a portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Opportunity Income Plus Fund (since 2013)
• Thrivent Multidimensional Income Fund (since 2017)

The Thrivent Way: 
“I’m energized by the fact that we are working to help people meet their goals, help their families and have an impact in their area of interest.”

Mr. Stouten joined Thrivent Financial in 2001. He was a research analyst and trader for the Thrivent money market funds since 2001.

Mr. Stouten serves as a portfolio manager of the following fund:

• Thrivent Money Market Fund (since 2003)

The Thrivent Mutual Funds difference: 
“Whether that greater good is achieved by providing better service to our members and shareholders so that their lives are positively impacted, by providing financial security to our members, or by increasing our generosity to the community through Thrivent’s various outreach and volunteer opportunities.  The focus on benefiting our members and shareholders gives our daily work purpose, and no matter else I do, I will always want my work with a purpose.”

Mr. Tinucci joined Thrivent Financial in 2014. He previously held various positions at Thrivent Financial from 2007 to 2012. Prior to rejoining Thrivent Financial, Mr. Tinucci was a manager at Deloitte Consulting.

Mr. Tinucci serves as a portfolio manager of the following fund:

• Thrivent Small Cap Stock Fund (since 2015)

Priorities & Approach:  
“My top priority when approaching active fund management is to provide superior risk adjusted returns through stock selection, with a bias towards well-operated companies with strong competitive positions.” 

Mr. White is the Director of Investment Grade Research at Thrivent Financial and has been with the firm since 1999. 

Mr. White serves as a senior portfolio manager of the following funds:

• Thrivent Opportunity Income Plus Fund (since 2015)
• Thrivent Multidimensional Income Fund (since 2017)
• Thrivent Income Fund (since 2017)

Priorities & Approach
“We have a great team of very experienced credit analysts here at Thrivent so one of my top priorities is to leverage that experience and implement their ideas into our portfolios. The corporate bond portfolio is managed on a top down/bottom up basis so it’s important that their recommendations are being reflected. I believe it is important to foster a culture that values the input of the professionals closest to the assets they cover.”

Thrivent Asset Management has engaged Aberdeen Standard Investments (“Aberdeen”) as investment subadvisor of the following funds:

• Thrivent Partner Worldwide Allocation Fund
• Thrivent Partner Emerging Markets Equity Fund

Aberdeen has been an active advisor on the Thrivent Partner Worldwide Allocation Fund since its inception on February 29, 2008. Aberdeen has been engaged with the Thrivent Partner Emerging Markets Equity Fund since February 26, 2015.

The Aberdeen Standard Investments brand was created in connection with the merger of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC and Standard Life Plc on August 14, 2017 to form Standard Life Aberdeen plc. Standard Life Aberdeen plc is the parent company of an asset management group managing approximately $778.8 billion in assets as of December 31, 2017 for a range of pension funds, financial institutions, investment trusts, unit trusts, offshore funds, charities and private clients.

The Aberdeen Team

Aberdeen uses a team-based approach, with the following team members being primarily responsible for day-to-day management of the Fund. The same team manages the Aberdeen portions of both Thrivent mutual funds. 

• Devan Kaloo has been with Aberdeen since 2000. He is the Head of Global Emerging Markets/Global Head of Equities; he formerly served as a senior investment manager on Aberdeen’s Asian Equity team. 
• Joanne Irvine is the Head of Emerging Markets (ex-Asia) and has been with Aberdeen since 1996. 
• Mark Gordon-James, CFA, is a Senior Investment Manager and has been with Aberdeen since 2004. 
• Flavia Cheong, CFA, is Head of Equities - Asia (ex Japan), has been with Aberdeen since 1996. 
• Hugh Young is Managing Director-Asia and has been with Aberdeen since 1985.

Thrivent Asset Management has engaged Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. (“GSAM”) as investment subadvisor for the following fund:

• Thrivent Partner Worldwide Allocation Fund

GSAM has been an active advisor of the Thrivent Partner Worldwide Allocation Fund since its inception on February 29, 2008. The Fund’s emerging market debt assets have been managed by GSAM’s Emerging Market Debt Team (the “EMD” team) since February 29, 2008. The Fund’s international small-cap equity assets have been managed by the GSAM Quantitative Investment Strategies team (the “QIS” team) since September 25, 2013. GSAM has been registered as an investment advisor since 1988 and is an affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co. As of December 31, 2017, GSAM, including its investment advisory affiliates, had assets under supervision of $1.29 trillion. Assets under Supervision include assets under management and other client assets for which Goldman Sachs does not have full discretion.

The GSAM Team

• Samuel Finkelstein is a Managing Director, Global Head of Macro Strategies and a member of the Fixed Income Strategy Group and Cross-Sector Strategy Team at GSAM.  As head of Macro Strategies, Sam leads the Global Rates, Fundamental Currency, Emerging Market Debt, and Commodities teams.  He joined GSAM in 1997.
• Ricardo Penfold is a Managing Director and member of the EMD Portfolio Management Team, responsible for sovereign research coverage.  He joined GSAM in 2000.
• Len Ioffe is a Managing Director and member of the QIS Equity Portfolio Management Team. He joined GSAM in 1995 and has been a portfolio manager since 1996.    
• Osman Ali is a Managing Director and member of the QIS Equity Portfolio Management Team.  He joined GSAM in 2003 and has been a portfolio manager since 2005. 
• Takashi Suwabe is a Managing Director, a member of the QIS Equity Portfolio Management Team, and Co-head of active equity research on the QIS team.  He joined GSAM in 2004. 

Thrivent Asset Management has engaged Principal Global Investors, LLC (“Principal”) as investment subadvisor for the following fund:

• Thrivent Partner Worldwide Allocation Fund

Principal® has been an active advisor on this fund since its inception on February 29, 2008. Principal is a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Principal Life Insurance Company. Principal and its predecessor firms have subadvised mutual fund assets since 1969. Principal, together with its affiliated asset management companies, had approximately $453.5 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2017.

The Principal Team

• Paul Blankenhagen, CFA is a Portfolio Manager and has been with Principal since 1992.
• Juliet Cohn is a Portfolio Manager and has been with Principal since 2003.
• Mark R. Nebelung, CFA  is a Portfolio Manager and co-lead of Principal’s global systematic solutions team. He has been with the firm since 1997.    
• John Pihlblad, CFA is a Senior Investment Officer and has been with Principal since 2000.

Mr. Blankenhagen and Ms. Cohn lead and are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund while Mr. Nebelung and Mr. Pihlblad support the quantitative aspects of the process.