Walter Morales

Baton Rouge Louisiana Businessman and Professor

Mr. Morales is the founder of Louisiana Achievement Charter Academies, a non-profit educational foundation that operates three charter schools. Mr. Morales is also a retired faculty member at Louisiana State University where he taught finance for 23 years. He taught courses in Investments, Fixed Income, Portfolio Management, Derivatives, and Corporate Finance.

Mr. Morales founded Commonwealth Advisors, Inc. in 1991 and serves as the firm’s President and Chief Investment Officer. He oversaw the firm’s active management of balanced, fixed income and distressed asset portfolios. His investment experience encompasses the management of portfolios for individuals, pension plans, non-profit groups, and corporations. During his career, Mr. Morales has analyzed and invested in hundreds of companies across numerous industries and throughout the entire credit spectrum.

Mr. Morales has been involved in the restructuring of several companies, including serving as Chairman of the Unsecured Creditor’s Committee in the reorganization of Conseco Finance Corporation, in which he was lead creditor responsible for recoveries of greater than $1.8 billion of debt of Conseco Finance Corporation and negotiated significantly improved recovery for creditors.

Courts and NASD arbitration panels have certified Mr. Morales as an expert witness in portfolio management, securitizations, and fixed income securities. His expert testimony and litigation support included valuation and damage calculations for various types of securities related litigation, including building proportional trading models for estimation of damages in shareholder derivative suits, fixed income analysis and equity valuation.

Prior to the formation of Commonwealth Advisors, Inc., Mr. Morales was the Chief Investment Officer of Baton Rouge Bank’s Trust division. He served as the bank’s senior investment officer and was responsible for the investment performance and operations of the Trust department.

Mr. Morales received his Master of Business Administration in 1993 and Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 1984 from Louisiana State University. He was a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts. He is devout Catholic who is involved in issues related to racial disparity. He serves on the Diocese of Baton Rouge Racial Harmony Commission and is a member of the 100 Black Men of Baton Rouge.