Stephenson brings a background spanning hedge fund portfolio management, leveraged finance, and high-yield credit. Before joining the firm, he managed long/short, multi-asset portfolios at Sandler Capital Management and Hunter Global Investors, focusing on cyclical sectors such as energy and industrials. His earlier career includes senior roles in leveraged finance at Bank of America and BT Alex. Brown, where he worked with major private equity sponsors. At Lear, he will focus on behavioral factors that drive market price divergence from underlying value.

Founder and Chief Investment Officer Rick Lear emphasized that Stephenson’s dual expertise in equities and credit will be instrumental in challenging the firm's internal assumptions. This appointment follows a broader expansion of Lear’s research capabilities, which recently included the addition of Yves C. Siegel as Senior Research Advisor and the appointment of former Bloomberg CEO Peter Grauer to lead the firm's new Advisory Board. Stephenson holds a CFA charter and degrees from Columbia University, Texas Tech University, and the University of Texas at Austin.