Michael is the Principal and Portfolio Manager of Principium Investments, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisory in Boulder, Colorado.

Michael has over 33 years of experience in the financial services industry, with over 32 years as a Portfolio Manager, and 27 years as a Certified Financial Planning Practitioner. Michael’s commitment to relationships and performance results have enabled him to maintain long term clients, with multiple 3rd and 4th generation client families.

Michael creates portfolios with ethics and values, investments that while always focused on maximizing performance, they will also be portfolios that a Principium Investments client can be proud of.

Michael began working as a portfolio manager in 1988, immediately recognizing the extraordinary potential of the companies which would over the following decades become the largest, and most well-run companies in the world. Recognizing the unique potential of that moment, Michael developed investment matrices focused on the potential of the personal computer, the internet, the cell phone, and biotechnology.

Michael and his team still target the leading companies of today while also adding in to the portfolios investment themes in Transformational Technologies such as Cloud Computing and Cybersecurity, Transformational Retailing, Transformational Healthcare and Genomics, Fintech, Automation and Robotics, Clean Energy, Clean Water, Clean Transportation, Energy Efficient Housing, and the Internet of Things.

Michael combines his investment prowess with beneficial purpose, committing profits from Principium to be used to build social enterprises - self-sustaining profit-making companies that also do societal good.

Michael is also the Co-Founder with his wife Natalia Vega-Tracy of The Global Brain Foundation, which brings together great minds from the creative and innovation industries to do good causes related to solving the issues around climate change. The Global Brain Foundation has been working with departments and agencies within the United Nations since mid 2014, creating films that are shown at major events such as the opening ceremony of the 2014 Climate Summit, the 2016 signing ceremony for the Sustainable Development Goals, and creating events such as the UN Ocean Festival leading in to the 2017 UN Ocean Conference, “A Night with Oprah Winfrey” at the UN for the showing of her series “Belief”, and Michael and Natalia were in the chamber at COP 21 as UN Observers for the vote on the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

Michael served for 8 years in the U.S. Naval Reserve and has 27 years of active martial arts training in multiple styles resulting in a Black Belt in Shuri Ryu Karate and a Brown Belt in Shinto Yoshin Ryu Jui Jitsu, among other designations in multiple other martial arts styles. Michael has three adult children and two adult Foster children who provide him with great joy and happiness.

Irina was the first full-time Boulder staff member who joined in 2013 in which she’s sustaining valuable knowledgeable about every aspect of Principium Investments. She specializes in managing the workflow of our service software, billing, budget and compliance. Her deep value for sustainable environmental practices is utilized alongside our portfolio managers when selecting clean equities. Irina’s intelligence combined with her caring nature provides a remarkable professional interaction felt among the company, partners and clients.

Prior to Principium, Irina managed the operations of global financial services and economic development programs totaling more than $100 million. She started her career working for the financial consultancy of Edwin T. Burton Inc., where she conducted financial analysis for large pension fund and high net worth clients under the mentorship of Edwin Burton, former Senior Vice President of Smith Barney and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System. She went on to manage economic development and financial services programs for the largest international development consulting firm, Chemonics International, in countries such as the Philippines, Mongolia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Albania, Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique. As Country Operations Manager, Irina co-led multinational teams to bring over $2 billion in foreign direct investment and 50,000 jobs to communities throughout Ukraine, yielding a return on investment of 73:1.

Irina studied economics and finance at the University of Virginia to build thriving economies after growing up in the scarcity of the Soviet Union. Irina currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for 350.org. Outside of work and volunteering, she tends to a beautiful private farm including goats, chickens and bountiful vegis!

Spencer’s primary role in Principium is to study worldwide market trends and stock performance metrics, and to use that knowledge to develop investment thesis and themes to be used within the Principium Investments portfolios.

Spencer started his career in Germany working in sales and marketing in international film distribution. Working directly with global film makers gave him great insight into building relationships with individuals of varying cultures around the world.

Spencer graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder where he learned to speak German fluently. He was a frequent volunteer for notable events like TEDxBoulder and the United Nations Global Climate Summit in New York. He holds a love for film and is always eager to hear about your favorite movie.