As a Midwestern asset management startup divides, one of its starting executives is on the rise.

Charles A. Ragauss CSAT Investment Advisory, L.P. (dba Exponential ETFs and Exponential Capital Markets) Chief Operating Officer

Charles Ragauss, managing director at CSAT Investment Advisory, L.P. (dba Exponential ETFs [profile], is being promoted to the newly created position of chief operating officer, confirms founder and CEO Phil Bak. Meanwhile, Detroit-based Exponential is dividing into two businesses: Exponential ETFs, a proprietary ETF shop with two ETFs; and the newly named Exponential Capital Markets, which subadvises a dozen ETFs for outside firms. Meanwhile, Bak hints at expansion plans for next year.

"We're seeing tremendous growth," Bak tells MFWire. "We're expected to add one portfolio manager in 2020."

"We have a couple of things in stealth mode," Bak adds. "We'll be bringing more services to market in 2020."

As for Ragauss, in his new role he still reports to Bak and will serve as COO of both EE and ECM, Bak confirms, and both sides area still part of the same RIA, CSAT. The team of seven people now manages $440 million across the two units.

"Charles [Ragauss] has been with the company since we started in April of 2016 and has really taken on an incredible amount of work," Bak says, lauding Ragauss' efforts in "managing the day-to-day" and automating Exponential's processes. "Charles joined initially to run our portfolio management ... He's taken on responsibilities that go far beyond what he initially started with as a portfolio manager."

"Charles is a true partner and a leader at the company," Bak adds. "Charles has been really instrumental in getting Exponential Capital Markets up and running."

Ragauss, an alumnus of Grand Valley State University, worked at Huntington National Bank before joining Exponential (then called ACSI Funds) in 2016. 

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