Steve Klosterman, Regional Director at investment management firm Halbert Hargrove, brings a rich professional and volunteer background to his role as Board Member and Chair of the Investment Committee at The San Diego Foundation.
And while most of you may know him as the voice of our quarterly investment webinars, you might not know that his penchant for helping others has been part of his DNA for decades.
Growing up as the eldest of five siblings, Steve knew firsthand the value of giving. Whether it was helping his brothers and sisters around the house, or watching his parents give their time freely to friends and organizations in the community, the importance of helping others was a constant theme during his childhood. Later, it would be a driving force behind his career and personal choices.
After graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Steve began his career in finance working in real estate investments. At the time, he enjoyed the complexity and nuance of the work but also knew he wanted to expand beyond the largely transactional aspects of the role.
“When I first started out, most of my work was focused on raising money through advisors, with little communication between the individual investors I was helping,” recalled Steve. “I loved the opportunity, but I also felt it was the personal connections that made investment management worthwhile. To this day, one of the most rewarding parts of my job has been building deep relationships with my clients and the organizations I work with.”
As a result, Steve transitioned his finance career to a role as a registered investment advisor in 1990. Working primarily with high net worth clients, he was designing diversified portfolios to accomplish the long-term goals of individuals and families alike.
Over time, he developed the strong, personal relationships that he valued most and in 1995, he had the opportunity to open his own firm with many of those same individuals. Today, his firm is now part of Halbert Hargrove, and Steve works with his longstanding colleagues to invest more than $2.6 billion assets under management for their clients.
Time and Talent
It’s not just his professional success that makes Steve such a valuable leader on The San Diego Foundation Board and Investment Committee, which has seen some of the strongest endowment growth during Steve’s tenure. For decades, Steve has made time to volunteer for the organizations that mean the most to him.
A former football player at UCLA, Steve has served as Chair for the UCLA Foundation and is a Founding Member of the UCLA Investment Company, where he still helps oversee the investment of his alma mater’s approximately $3 billion endowment. He also serves on the Investment Committee for the American Lung Association, which manages more than $100 million in assets for the organization.
When asked how his professional and volunteer roles connect, Steve noted the synergy between each area.
“Clients, large universities and local nonprofits may have different individual needs, but the investment opportunities and long-term goals are often similar,” noted Steve. “Working with a variety of people and organizations over the course of my career has allowed me to learn from a long list of experts and share that knowledge with my clients and the nonprofits I support.”
The San Diego Foundation and regional community is privileged to have such an industry expert and dedicated leader serving on our Board of Governors representing the organization and serving our San Diego community.
