Ed started at Continental Bank in 1973 after graduating with an MM degree (with distinction) from Northwestern's Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 1972. He also holds a BS degree (with honors) from St. Louis University. 

Ed is an owner of the firm and is the architect of the firm's value equity approach. He leads the equity investment approach and the asset allocation work on balanced portfolios in addition to managing client relationships. 

Stephen W. Rost, Managing Director

Steve joined Continental Capital Management in 1988 after five years in the Fixed-Income Department at Stein Roe & Farnham, Inc. His responsibilities there included the management of the Managed Bond Fund, the Governments Plus Fund, and the Total Return Fund, as well as the management of the Department's larger institutional accounts.  He also served as the head of the Department's Taxable Strategy group and Secretary of the Fixed-Income Policy Committee. 

Steve received his undergraduate degree (BA) from the University of Iowa in 1979 and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983 with an MS in Finance, Investments and Banking. While in graduate school, he participated in the Applied Securities Analysis program.  He has been featured in the Asset Sales Report published by American Banker Inc. and has been a guest speaker, most recently at the Illinois Public Pension Fund Association (an Association of Police and Fire Pension Funds). Steve serves as a board member for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of McHenry County.

Wells joined Great Lakes Advisors in November, 1998. He brings to the firm more than 22 years of investment experience in various markets with an emphasis in common stocks. At Great Lakes, Wells is involved in the management of the firm's equity assets and client relationships.

He was previously a senior equity analyst and deputy director of equity research at First Chicago NBD, and most recently an equity portfolio manager. Wells is a graduate of Lake Forest College and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He is a member of the Association for Investment and Research and The Investment Analysts Society of Chicago. 

Emily joined Great Lakes Advisors in September, 1996. Prior to joining Great Lakes Advisors, she spent twelve years at Harris Investment Management where she was Chief Financial Officer and then Principal, Portfolio Manager, managing institutional fixed-income portfolios. At Great Lakes, Emily is directly involved in the management of the firm's fixed-income assets, with particular emphasis on the corporate and treasury sectors of the marketplace.