Touchstone Asset Allocation Committee

Crit Thomas is the Global Market Strategist for Touchstone Investments and team leader for the Touchstone Asset Allocation Committee, which provides thought leadership on capital markets and portfolio construction. In his role as Global Market Strategist, Mr. Thomas is responsible for developing investment strategies based on current market conditions in order to meet varying investment goals and objectives. Additionally, Mr. Thomas serves as Touchstone’s spokesperson regarding investment themes and strategies. Mr. Thomas began his career over 30 years ago as an economist for the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, later moving on to positions in equity research while serving as Director of Research, Portfolio Management and Director of Equity Growth for various investment firms in the Midwest. Mr. Thomas earned a BS in Business Administration in Finance from The Ohio State University. He is a CFA Chartholder and a member of the CFA Institute, a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Chartholder and a member of the CAIA Association, and holds the Certificate in Performance Measurement^™ designation.

Erik Aarts is Vice President and Senior Fixed Income Strategist for Touchstone Investments. In this role he is responsible for advocating for the firm’s bond solutions and supporting financial professional’s fixed income needs. Additionally, Mr. Aarts is a member of the Touchstone Asset Allocation Committee which provides thought leadership on capital markets and portfolio construction. Prior to joining Touchstone Investments, he was a senior executive at PIMCO focused on delivering fixed income expertise and solutions to a broad array of wealth management clients and Allianz Global Investors where he was head of product management. He has more than 25 years of financial services experience and holds both an MBA and a bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Mr. Aarts is a Certified Investment Management Analyst^® professional.

Tim Paulin, CFA, is Senior Vice President, Investment Research and Product Management for Touchstone Investments and has experience in the financial services industry since 1986. Mr. Paulin and his team are responsible for identifying, engaging and monitoring the investment managers that sub-advise current and prospective Touchstone mutual funds and exchange traded funds. Prior to joining Touchstone in 2010, he was a Principal at Klein Decisions providing consulting services and dynamic decision making systems for investment advisors and financial services firms. The majority of Mr. Paulin’s career has focused on wealth management and consulting services for private clients and institutions. During a 10‑year tenure with RBC Wealth Management in Minneapolis, Mr. Paulin guided the firm’s fee-based, packaged products and planning services businesses and oversaw investment management research efforts. He began his career as a Financial Consultant, Private Client Group at Merrill Lynch. He earned an MBA from Georgia State University and a BBA, Finance, from the University of Georgia and is a CFA charter holder.