Brian Pretti CFA

Brian has been an investment management professional for over three decades.

Prior to joining Capital Planning Advisors as Partner and Chief Investment Officer, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Mechanics Bank Wealth Management since 1990 where he was instrumental in growing assets under management from $150 million to over $1.4 billion.

Brian is a sought after public speaker on the topics of the financial markets and economy, and has been quoted in Barrons, the Financial Times, San Francisco Business Times and Comstock’s.

Prior to his role as CIO at Mechanics Bank, he was an investment research analyst at value equities investment firm George B. Springman, Inc., serving institutional clients such as the State of Oregon, San Francisco City and County Public Retirees, and the Contra Costa Country Retiree Pension Fund from 1986-1990.

From 1983-1986, Brian was a research analyst in the three person headquarters based Financial Planning and Analysis division of Transamerica Corporation.

Brian was the founder, publisher and editor of ContraryInvestor.com, a subscription based investment research website serving institutional, private and retail investors from 1998-2012, and continues to write for numerous well known investment websites such as ZeroHedge and Financial Sense.

Brian holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designations as well as having earned an MBA in Finance from San Francisco State University, a BS in Economics and BA in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco.

While not living his passion for the financial markets and economy, Brian loves spending time with his wife and son, enjoying travelling, hiking, music and seeking out new adventures.