Our Team

BIOGRAPHY & QUALIFICATIONS

Amy Jones, CIPM is one of the industry’s leading experts on the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS^®). Working with the GIPS standards for over 19 years, Amy has extensive experience interpreting and applying them to almost any situation. She has consulted with advisers of varying sizes and complexities, from single-owner firms to firms with over $400 billion under management.

Amy founded Guardian Performance Solutions LLC in 2013. Throughout her career, Amy has worked with advisory firms to achieve and maintain ongoing compliance with the GIPS standards and to help them produce compliant performance advertising materials. In addition, she understands the broader compliance burden that investment advisers are under as she has also worked extensively with advisers to create policy & procedure manuals compliant with SEC Rule 206(4)‐7, drafted Form ADV disclosures, and conducted compliance reviews and audits for advisers located throughout the country. Prior to working as a compliance consultant, Amy was a manager at an accounting firm that specialized in GIPS verification services, where she conducted and oversaw hundreds of GIPS verification projects for advisory firms across the country of all sizes and levels of complexity.

Amy is a member of the CFA Institute GIPS Standards Promotion Subcommittee which is tasked to engage with GIPS Standards Sponsors on outreach activities and increase promotion and adoption of the GIPS standards. Amy is former Chair of the United States Investment Performance Committee (USIPC), the official local sponsoring organization for the GIPS standards in the United States. The purpose of the USIPC is to promote the adoption and implementation of the GIPS standards throughout the United States as the common method for calculating and presenting investment performance. Amy graduated from Southern Oregon University with a BS in Business Administration and an emphasis in Accounting. She holds a Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) and is a member of CFA Institute and the National Society of Compliance Professionals (NSCP). She is also a frequent conference speaker and author on topics related to performance advertising compliance, performance measurement, and the GIPS standards.

Amy Jones, CIPM
Founder/Principal
Office: (206) 456-2464

BIOGRAPHY & QUALIFICATIONS

Arin Stancil, CFA, CIPM is a Managing Director and Principal at Guardian Performance Solutions LLC. Arin is one of the industry’s leading experts on the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS^®). Arin has been working with the GIPS standards for 23 years and has extensive experience interpreting and applying them to almost any situation.

Prior to joining Guardian, Arin served as the GIPS compliance manager for a global investment adviser with over $2 trillion in assets under management, where he was responsible for maintaining the firm’s ongoing claim of compliance with the GIPS standards. Previously, he was a partner at an accounting firm that specialized in GIPS compliance consultation and verification services, where he conducted and oversaw hundreds of GIPS verification projects for firms around the world of all sizes and levels of complexity.

Arin is currently a member of the GIPS Standards Technical Committee (TC), the body responsible for the technical oversight of the GIPS standards. The purpose of the TC includes providing technical oversight of the GIPS standards and guiding the development and adoption of the GIPS standards. He is also a past member of the GIPS Standards Executive Committee and the United States Investment Performance Committee (USIPC). He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation as well as the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM).

Arin Stancil, CFA, CIPM
Managing Director, Principal
Office: (206) 456-2464
Direct: (206) 900-9185

BIOGRAPHY & QUALIFICATIONS

Sara DiCostanzo, CIPM serves as a Senior Compliance Consultant, supporting Guardian’s clients through compliance and performance-focused engagements providing practical solutions for adhering to the GIPS standards. With over 12 years in the industry, Sara has extensive experience in all aspects of performance measurement and applying the GIPS standards to various types of firms. She has consulted with a broad range of investment advisers ranging in size from $500 million to $800 billion in assets under management, spanning multiple asset classes, including structured credit, hedge funds, private equity, long-only investments, mutual funds, fixed income, overlay and WRAP accounts.

Her technical expertise and background in project management allow her to partner with stakeholders from various business units, as well as external providers, to evaluate internal controls, processes, procedures and propose changes to strengthen operations.  Sara earned a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.  She holds a Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Sara DiCostanzo, CIPM
Senior Compliance Consultant

BIOGRAPHY & QUALIFICATIONS

Laura Richardson serves as a Compliance Consultant, supporting Guardian’s clients through compliance and performance-focused engagements providing practical solutions for adhering to the GIPS standards and SEC Marketing Rule. With over 25 years in the investment management industry, Laura has a wealth of knowledge in performance measurement and applying the GIPS standards.  She has experience working with several asset classes and account types, including equities, fixed income, mutual funds, private wealth accounts, sub-advisory accounts, WRAP accounts and UMA accounts.

Prior to joining Guardian, Laura served as a Senior Performance Analyst for a multi-billion-dollar investment firm, where she was responsible for overseeing the firm’s composites and processes necessary for maintaining GIPS compliance.  Laura earned a B.S. with a double major in Accounting and Business with an emphasis in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Laura Richardson
Compliance Consultant