T. Neil Bathon

Mr. Bathon has been an independent trustee for Vertical Capital Income Fund since August of 2011. In 2008, Mr. Bathon formed FUSE Research Network LLC in order to improve the effectiveness of the sales, marketing and product functions associated with the distribution of investment products. FUSE delivers customized market intelligence which improves decision making and tactical execution. As of the end of 2019, FUSE provides ongoing support to 50 investment management firms which range in size from less than $500 million in AUM to more than $1 trillion.

Prior to FUSE, Mr. Bathon founded Financial Research Corporation (FRC) in 1987 and over the next 20 years built a business that delivered innovative business intelligence to more than 200 fund groups who collectively accounted for over 95% of U.S. mutual fund assets under management. He maintains an extensive network across all facets of the asset management industry and has a unique vantage point from which he has observed 35+ years of evolution of investment firms – leading to a keen sense of how and why companies succeed or fail.

Mr. Bathon has served as an independent director for BNY Mellon Charitable Gift Fund and Financial Investors Variable Investment Trust. Neil has appeared on CNBC and Bloomberg and is a regular contributor to a wide range of business publications including Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Ignites, Barron’s and InvestmentNews. He is also active with industry trade groups (ICI, MMI, MFEA, PAICR) and is a regular speaker and judge (WealthManagement.com Awards) at industry events. Mr. Bathon began his professional career in 1983 as an analyst with Zacks and later moved to Kemper Financial to lead the competitive research effort. Mr. Bathon received his undergraduate degree from Marquette University and an MBA from DePaul University.