Our Principals
James F. Karel President
James F. Karel is president of Karel Capital, Inc., which is registered with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) as a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA).
Prior to founding Karel Capital, Inc., Jim worked with national brokerage firms in the areas of portfolio management, investment advising, office management, and marketing. He also directed a national training center where he was responsible for the training and development of thousands of New York Stock Exchange registered representatives.
Jim is the co-founder of the Karel-Holderreed Biotechnology Stock Index, the first stock index of biotechnology companies. He previously hosted an investment program for Public Broadcasting Systems and wrote a regular column, “Investment Insights,” for The San Mateo Times newspaper. He has been an acknowledged investment industry resource to San Francisco’s ABC-TV affiliate and has been quoted in such publications as USA Today, Barron's, New York Times, Technology Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, and Los Angeles Times. Jim was previously on the Investment Advisory Board for the San Mateo Community College Foundation and served on the Opera Plus Development Board in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He recently served as board president for Mobius Science Center in Spokane, WA, and now remains on the board of directors at large.
Jim received a Master of Arts degree in Educational Technology from San Francisco State University in 1978 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ancient History from the University of California, Berkeley in 1976. He resides in Spokane Washington, with his wife, Jan E. Karel and their three children, Sophia, James and Katherine.
Jan E. Karel Vice President, Research and Trading
Jan began her career in Seattle with Birr Wilson Securities. Upon graduation from the University of Washington, she relocated to the Municipal Bond Trading Desk in San Francisco as a sales trader. Jan then moved into Equity Institutional Sales at Hambrecht and Quist specializing in the technology and biotechnology sectors. She then joined Rodman and Renshaw as the West Coast Institutional Sales Manager and further increased her specialization to include the Energy sector.
Jan has been an active participant at Karel Capital since 2001 and is pursuing trading and research ideas for the firm.
She currently serves on the President Advisory Council for Whitworth University. Jan has spent the last six years as an active Board Member for CoMP, the board that oversees the Montessori Alternative Education within Spokane District 81 Public Schools. She is currently a Trustee for the Holy Names Music Center Board. Jan enjoys raising her three young “startups” Sophia, James and Katherine, and maintains her interest in being a Pilates Instructor.
Heidi Graham Office Manager
Heidi graduated from Spokane Falls Community with degrees in Administration and Information Processing. After college, she worked in the insurance business for more than three years before joining Karel Capital, Inc. in 2009 as office manager.
