Matthew J. Haddad

Matt joined Dakota in July 2020, where he focuses on Dakota’s investment policy and portfolio management.

Matt spent the majority of his professional career at Bill and Melinda Gates Investments (BMGI), the investment office for Bill & Melinda Gates’s wealth as well as the assets of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. In total, the firm managed more than $100 billion. Matt began in BMGI’s Operations and Performance teams before moving to the Trading Desk where he was responsible for the firm’s public equity, money market, currency, and related derivatives trading. He later moved to the Equity Research team where he reported to the firm’s Chief Investment Officer, vetting new ideas and analyzing existing holdings.

To fulfill his desire to lead an investment team, Matt left BMGI after 11 years to join Willingdon Wealth Management in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. Matt ran Willingdon’s U.S. and International equity strategies for over 2 years until Willingdon was acquired in 2020. Matt was introduced to Dakota during his time at Willingdon and sought out the opportunity to form a partnership upon Willingdon’s sale.

Matt holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) designation issued by the CFA Institute. He graduated from Middlebury College with a BA in Economics.

Matt will be leading Dakota’s new Charlotte office. He lives in nearby Davidson, NC with his wife, Ariel, and their son, Hani. Matt and Ariel are members of the Innovators Network, which supports early-stage research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA.