Viraj Desai

Viraj Desai is a director of macro research for Schwab Asset Management^®. He is a member of the Windhaven^® Strategies Portfolio Management, Schwab Managed Portfolios™—ETFs Portfolio Management, and Selective Portfolios Portfolio Management teams. Viraj is responsible for market and macroeconomic research and development of tactical allocation signals within the multi-asset macro research group. He is also responsible for asset allocation and ETF implementation, including analysis on positioning, exposures, and characteristics of ETFs in the portfolios.

Prior to joining Schwab in 2017, Viraj was an associate at BlackRock Inc., where he led manager research coverage for fixed income, multi-asset, and alternative investment strategies for the firm’s global institutional clients. Prior to that, he was a senior analyst and portfolio manager on the global asset allocation portfolio management team at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, supporting management of target date, target risk, 529, annuity, and liquid alternative mutual funds. Before that, he was a research analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, supporting investment product strategy initiatives during the Merrill Lynch and Bank of America platforms merger.

Viraj earned a Master of Business Administration in finance from Fordham University, Gabelli School of Business, and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from New York University. He is a member of the CFA Institute, CFA Society New York, and the CAIA Association.