Derek Derman

Derek Derman is a partner and co-portfolio manager at Poplar Forest Capital LLC, based in Los Angeles, CA. At Poplar Forest, he is responsible for managing the firm's Fusion Strategy and co-managing the Balanced Strategy, and he serves as an analyst covering the financial services, energy, and REITs sectors.

Derman's expertise centers on U.S. large-cap value equities, with a focus on value-oriented, bottom-up investment strategies. His sector specializations include financial services, energy, and real estate investment trusts (REITs), both as an analyst and portfolio manager. He played a key role in the management of the Poplar Forest Partners Fund (PFPFX) and has been instrumental in shaping the firm's asset allocation and security selection within these sectors.

Prior to joining Poplar Forest in 2011, Derman spent 16 years in the financial services industry, including roles as managing director and co-portfolio manager at Trust Company of the West (TCW), and as senior vice president and co-portfolio manager at Provident Investment Counsel. He began his career as a sell-side analyst at Wedbush Securities. Derman holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BA in Economics from UC San Diego, and has been a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) since 1997.