Our Team
CAIM is an independent, owner-run investment management firm specializing in managing customized investment portfolios for women and those of retirement age.
Catherine Maniscalco Avery, Founder
Catherine has been working in the financial markets for more than 40 years. Her fascination with investing began early. At 18, while pursuing a finance degree, she worked both in the summers and during the school year at the Oppenheimer Funds. At the time, this was an atypical career path for a woman. Financial institutions were both led and predominately staffed by men. Catherine saw this as an opportunity, not an impediment. Upon graduation, her hard work paid off and she began her career as an Assistant Portfolio Manager at Hutton Investment Management, the asset management arm of EF Hutton. Catherine’s natural passion and talent for investing was soon recognized and she earned the title of Portfolio Manager in only two short years. Her career in institutional investing progressed from there. She subsequently worked at Prudential Securities and Dean Witter (now Morgan Stanley Investment Management), where she managed teams and invested on behalf of the firms’ mutual fund products and managed accounts. During her period on Wall Street, Catherine was keenly aware of the shortage of leadership roles for women, as well as the lack of accessibility to institutional-quality products for individual investors that were not super high-net worth or institutional investors. Catherine envisioned a firm that would provide institutional-quality products that served the investment needs of women while also providing a platform for financial education and empowerment. Taking her two decades of experience and her passion, Catherine left Wall Street in 2007 to create her own firm, Catherine Avery Investment Management (“CAIM”). Over the past 17 years, CAIM has grown a loyal and strong client base. CAIM manages a dividend-focused strategy. Since its inception, the firm has consistently delivered compelling returns to its clients.
Jeffrey Cianci, Director of Investment Strategy and Research
With 30 years of experience in the investment industry, Mr. Cianci is recognized by a worldwide client base for his keen investment insight and analytical ability. He had been repeatedly elected to Institutional Investor’s All-Star team, and was ranked among the Top Ten stock pickers overall. He was also recognized as a top analyst by the Wall Street Journal.
Currently, Mr. Cianci is Director of Research for CAIM, where he is responsible for company and sector analysis, stock selection, as well as authoring research reports, quarterly letters and client marketing materials. He also serves as Assistant Portfolio Strategy for the CAIM Dividend Growth strategy.
He has also been an advisor and investment banker to small companies and technology startups. Previously, he served as Chief Investment Officer for RIA Fusion Analytics, and was General Partner and CIO of Green Science Partners, a hybrid public and private equity investment fund company.
Mr. Cianci’s Wall Street career included a decade as Senior Research Analyst at UBS Investment Bank where he focused on science-based industrial companies and another decade as Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns, where he focused on chemicals, agriculture and related technologies. He holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia University and a Master in Science from the University of Miami.
Stephanie Platt, Client Services
Stephanie Platt began her career in Financial Services in 1992 with Prudential Insurance where she obtained the Series 6 and Life Insurance licenses. She graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Economics. In April 2007, she started Financial Services Outsourcing Solutions, Inc. which specializes in assisting Registered Investment Advisors with their back-office operations and marketing. She has a lot of experience with working in the Financial Industry. Stephanie is an Ohio native and has been married to her husband David, since 1995. They have three children, Kaelyn, Haleigh, and Gabriel. She enjoys camping with her family, quilting and embroidery, and reading. 
Kurt Graham, MBA, MSA Consultant & Advisor Relations
Kurt Graham brings 25 years of financial services experience to Catherine Avery Investment Management, LLC (CAIM), where he focuses on business development and strategic partnerships. Kurt has worked with CAIM since 2023 as an outside consultant through LakeDog Partners, his financial services consulting firm. He also serves as Director of Marketing and National Sales at Accent Capital Management, LLC, a growth equity manager based in Centerville, Ohio.
Before CAIM, Kurt was a Managing Director at Sunbridge Capital Partners, where he oversaw national sales and marketing across institutional and intermediary markets for their Emerging Markets mutual fund. Earlier, he spent a decade with Apex Capital Management and, after its 2016 acquisition, Fiera Capital, where he served as Senior Vice President, Business Development. As Apex’s Regional Director for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, he helped drive the firm’s growth from $500 million to $7.2 billion in assets under management. His career also includes distribution and business development roles at Lazard Asset Management and Gannett Welsh & Kotler, where he was an external wholesaler. He began his career at Putnam Investments, rising to Senior Managed Account Specialist in the Putnam Private Asset Management division.
Kurt holds an MBA and a Master of Science in Accounting with a Data Analytics focus from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Physics from SUNY Cortland. LEARN MORE
NEWS
Catherine Avery Investment Management [CAIM] Named to PSN Top Guns List of Best Performing Strategies for Q1 2026
Quarterly PSN Top Guns List published by Zephyr identifies best-in-class separate accounts, managed accounts, and managed ETF strategies. Sarasota, FL—June 2, 2026— CAIM announced today
Catherine Avery Investment Management [CAIM] Named to PSN Top Guns List of Best Performing Strategies for Q4 2025
Quarterly PSN Top Guns List published by Zephyr identifies best-in-class separate accounts, managed accounts, and managed ETF strategies. Sarasota, FL — February 20, 2026— CAIM
