Donald R. Jowdy
Founder & Chief Investment Officer
Prior to founding Suncoast Equity Management, LLC. in 1997, Donald Jowdy was a Portfolio Manager with Polen Capital Management. During his tenure, Polen Capital consistently performed in the top 10% of its peer group for three-, five- and ten-year periods, as measured by several industry consultants including Effron/PSN and Nelson’s Investment Manager Database. Mr. Jowdy played a key role in the company’s growth from $20 to over to over $1 billion in client assets. Previously, Mr. Jowdy was an equity analyst with 13D Research, Inc., advising institutional clients through an independent investment research organization. He provided an in-depth analysis of domestic as well as global investment opportunities in areas such as Latin America, Southeast Asia and the People’s Republic of China. Mr. Jowdy began his career in accounting in audit with Price Waterhouse Coopers (formerly Coopers & Lybrand).
Mr. Jowdy is a graduate of Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He currently serves on the Finance Committee and Golf tournament Co-Chair after serving on the board of Quantum Leap Farm, a nonprofit that exists to improve the quality of life and inspire personal growth through equine assisted therapies. Don also currently serves on the Governance Board of Directors for the First Tee of Tampa Bay as well as supports various additional local charities.
Amy A. Lord, CFA
Senior Vice President and Co-Portfolio Manager
Amy Lord joined Suncoast Equity Management “SEM” in September 2008. She was previously Vice President/Portfolio Manager with Intrepid Capital where she was sole manager of the company’s Large Cap Equity and Investment Grade Fixed Income portfolios. Prior to joining Intrepid in 2001, Ms. Lord was Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager of The Investment Counsel Company. During her nine years with the firm, her responsibilities included equity and fixed income portfolio management and analysis; marketing and client servicing; and overseeing GIPS performance compliance.
Ms. Lord earned a Bachelor of Science in Advertising, with a minor in Mathematics, from the University of Florida. She is a CFA charter holder and past President of the CFA Society of Orlando, as well as a member of the CFA Institute. Ms. Lord is also active in her church as well as Circles USA, a non-profit organization which inspires and equips individuals and families to permanently move out of poverty and thrive.
Dan T. McNichol
President – Institutional Asset Management
Dan McNichol joined Suncoast Equity Management LLC in 2020 with over 35 years of executive experience in the investment management industry.
In 2001, after holding various positions in the wealth management industry, he became one of the founding partners and a Managing Director at the investment firm Snow Capital Management, LP (now a division of Easterly Investment Partners LLC). At its peak, Snow Capital managed over $6 billion for institutional clients in the wealth management, banking, insurance, endowment, foundation and pension fund marketplaces. Dan was responsible for sourcing and maintaining much of that business. He also served as the firm’s National Sales Manager. In this capacity he handled the firm’s institutional wealth management relationships with companies such as UBS, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Raymond James, Janney Montgomery Scott, RBC, Citibank and PNC Investments among others. He also oversaw the firm’s team of institutional salespeople. Dan is a 1986 graduate of Fairfield University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Business.
Cole M. Wasson, CFA, MSF
Institutional Relationship Manager
Cole Wasson is a former December 2020 valedictorian graduate from the University of Tampa upon earning a Masters in Finance (MSF) and Bachelors in Finance (BS). He was the valedictorian in both his graduate and undergraduate class, twice receiving summa cum laude honors with a cumulative GPA of 4.0. His demanding high school schedule allowed him to skip his freshman year at the University of Tampa and enroll as a sophomore at 18 years of age in 2016. Cole has earned his MSF in the AACSB accredited Sykes College of Business. As opposed to the typical 2-year program, he received his MSF in 1.5 years, graduating with an undergraduate and graduate degree in December of 2020. Throughout his education, he was the recipient of the Delta Sigma Pi Scholarship Award for graduating with the highest GPA in the Sykes College of Business. He is a former Vice President for the Florida Zeta chapter of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. He consecutively passed the CFA Level 1 (August 2021) Exam, CFA Level 2 (February 2022) Exam, and Level 3 Exam (August 2022) all on the first attempt at 24 years of age. As of November 2, 2022, Cole earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is an active member of the CFA® Tampa Bay Society. Cole intends on using his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation to broaden Suncoast Equity Management’s institutional relationships. In addition to his full-time investment career, Cole is a part-time faculty member at his alma mater, University of Tampa. He is an Adjunct Professor, Finance teaching FIN 310 – Financial Management in the Sykes College of Business.