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INVEST WITH US

Our Team

Our team brings industry expertise through the entire investment cycle of alternative investments.

Deep Industry Leadership

Meet Our Team

We believe thoughtful alternative investing can create a lasting impact, and our purpose is to bring these opportunities to more investors.

Chris DeLaura

Chief Executive Officer
Picture of Austin Root

Austin Root

Chief Investment Officer
Picture of Jeff Sargent

Jeff Sargent

Chief Compliance Officer
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Jacob Abrams

Senior Investment Analyst
Picture of Mario Valente

Mario Valente

Deputy Chief Investment Officer
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George Stock

Controller

Start Your Journey

When you’re ready to explore stable, income-focused alternative investments, we’re here to guide you. Expand your portfolio. Achieve your financial goals.  

Connect with us to learn more about how SAM Alternatives can help unlock your portfolio’s potential.  

Welcome to a new standard of investment success. Welcome to SAM Alternatives.

Contact Us Today
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Picture of Austin Root

Austin Root

Chief Investment Officer

Biography

Austin Root is Chief Investment Officer for Stansberry Asset Management (“SAM”), guiding investment strategy and direction for the firm. At SAM, Austin oversees the development and management of all investment strategies across the firm’s portfolios. Under his ongoing leadership, the first two alternative investment funds have raised over $75 million and delivered strong performance for investors. 

With a career that includes roles at North Oak Capital, SAC Capital Advisors, and The Blackstone Group, Austin continually demonstrates an ability to identify and seize opportunities within alternative investments. His expertise covers public equities, venture capital, private equity, real estate, and fixed-income securities, culminating in a comprehensive approach to building income-generating strategies. Austin holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia. 

At SAM, Austin is dedicated to empowering clients through meticulously sourced and managed investment opportunities aimed at delivering consistency and long-term results.  

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Jake Abrams

Senior Investment Analyst  

Biography

Jake Abrams is Senior Investment Analyst at Stansberry Asset Management (“SAM”), where he applies his extensive expertise in research and analysis to investments across the firm. Jake has been instrumental in the ongoing management, research, and monitoring of the firm’s first two alternative investment funds, directly supporting their growth and the value delivered to clients. 

Jake’s experience spans roles at Stansberry Research and Berenberg Capital Markets, where he earned a reputation for analytical precision and identifying high-potential opportunities. He holds a BS in Management and a Master of Finance from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business. 

At SAM, Jake focuses on sourcing and analyzing investments in income-generating real estate and private credit, supporting the long-term, sustainable success of the firms and their clients. 

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Picture of Mario Valente

Mario Valente

Deputy Chief Investment Officer
Portfolio Manager  

Biography

Mario is a Portfolio Manager and Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Stansberry Asset Management (“SAM”). He is responsible for sourcing and monitoring positions across the firm’s strategies, while also serving as a principal spokesperson for the team’s investment philosophy with clients.

Prior to joining SAM, Mario was the Director of Investment Grade Research at Zazove Associates, a multi-billion dollar investment firm specializing in convertible securities management. He was previously a Senior Credit Analyst at Sandelman Partners, a multi-strategy hedge fund focused on fixed income relative-value investing. Mario started his buy-side asset management career with Citadel in 2001, where he was one of the first credit research analysts hired into the Convertible Arbitrage group.

Mario holds a BA from Stanford University where he majored in Economics. He has also completed graduate-level coursework in Statistics & Data Science at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mario earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter in 2011, and currently serves on the Board for the CFA Society of San Francisco.

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Christopher DeLaura

Chief Executive Officer

Biography

Christopher DeLaura is the Chief Executive Officer at Stansberry Asset Management (“SAM”), an independent registered investment advisory firm. SAM Alternatives is the private market arm of SAM and is focused on providing alternative investment funds to investors.

Christopher spent half of his 26-year career at UBS in several roles, including working with high net worth families as a Financial Advisor and serving as Director of the firm’s Emerging Affluent Program. After his time at UBS, Christopher joined Westport Resources, a Westport, CT based wealth advisory firm, where he served in a variety of roles including Financial Planner, Portfolio Manager, and Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure at Westport Resources, the firm became recognized as one of Barron’s Top 100 Independent Advisors.

Prior to joining SAM and SAM Alternatives, Christopher spent 6 years at Fieldpoint Private Securities, where he again worked in many capacities, including Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and President, before being named the Chief Executive Officer for the company in 2020. In 2020, he led the expansion of the business into both the Orlando and Miami areas in Florida, again achieving a Barron’s Top 100 Independent Advisors ranking after growing the firm to over $4 billion in assets under management.

Christopher is an alumnus of New York University’s Stern School of Business. Outside of his work at SAM, Christopher can most often be found spending time with his family.

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George Stock

Controller  

Biography

George is Controller at Stansberry Asset Management, where he is responsible for all aspects of accounting for SAM. George has over 20 years of accounting experience, most recently as Chief Financial Officer with LRG Venture Inc, which owned multiple subsidiary vehicles including a startup RIA that he assisted in opening.

George began his career with Deloitte as an auditor focused on alternative investments before continuing to McKinsey Investment Office. From there, George was VP leading the accounting team at Citigroup Fixed Income Alternatives managing $30 billion in AUM through 10 investment funds. George worked with KPMG as Senior Manager and Head of Accounting Services, leading a team in providing accounting, outsourced CFO, payroll and tax services. He has a M.S. in accounting from Saint John’s University and a CPA license.

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Jeff Sargent

Chief Compliance Officer  

Biography

Jeff has over twenty years of compliance experience, most recently serving as the Chief Compliance Officer of Brite Advisers USA, a New York based RIA that focused on the British Expat space.  He has also been affiliated in a compliance capacity with such respected firms as Northstar Wealth Partners, Citigroup, Robotti & Company, Principal Financial, and AXA Advisors. Jeff attended Fairfield University, where he pursued his bachelor’s degree in Finance with a minor in Economics. He holds his FINRA Series 7, 24, 53, 4, 9, 10, 53 and 63 registrations and the Series 65 registration through SAM.

Jeff broke into the business as an Operations Assistant at Alex Brown and Sons, before moving to Institutional Trading as a Trading Assistant. Additional stints as a Futures and Options Floor Trader on the LIFFE and as an Operations Manager at a Regional Broker Dealer gave Jeff the broad based experience in financial services before the migration to Compliance.

In his free time, Jeff is a competitive Masters Swimmer and is a world record holder in his age bracket in the 4 x 200 free relay.  A competitive swimmer all his life, Jeff is also a locally and nationally certified Swimming Official. Jeff and his wife, Margaret reside in Trumbull, Connecticut. They have 2 daughters, Elizabeth (BA Seton Hall ’20, MA Sacred Heart ’22) a 4-year varsity swimmer at Seton Hall and current Masters swimmer and Caroline (BS UMBC ’22), a current Graduate student at UMBC and a 4-year varsity swimmer.