# Chris Ainsworth

> Chris Ainsworth is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pave Finance, a portfolio management technology company. His career spans hedge-fund operations, U.S. Trust and Deutsche Bank Wealth Management. He founded the California Hedge Fund Association in 2010 and advocates using automation to broaden access to personalized investing while retaining human oversight.

- **Role:** Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Pave Finance
- **Organizations:** Pave Finance, Pave Securities, Pave Investment Advisors, Pave Labs, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, U.S. Trust, Maerisland Capital, MIG Capital, Mont Pelerin Capital, Banc of America Capital Management, Morgan Stanley, California Hedge Fund Association / CalALTS
- **Education:** B.S. in Economics with financial applications, Southern Methodist University
- **Known for:** Founded the California Hedge Fund Association in 2010 and led it for nearly a decade., Managed six offices and a team of 40 at U.S. Trust., Helped grow Bank of America’s alternatives business from $100 million in seed capital to more than $3.3 billion in assets under management in under three years, according to his official biography.

## Career timeline

- **1994** — Graduated from Southern Methodist University with a B.S.
- **1995–1998** — Associate Vice President, Morgan Stanley.
- **1998–2001** — Member, PAINT Management (Cayman), Ltd.
- **2001–2005** — Director, Alternative Investment Group, Banc of America Capital Management.
- **2005–2009** — COO and CFO, Mont Pelerin Capital.
- **2009–2011** — COO and CFO, MIG Capital.
- **2010** — Founded the California Hedge Fund Association; served as founding president and chairman.
- **2011–2013** — COO and CFO, Maerisland Capital.
- **2013–2019** — Managing Director and Regional Investment Executive / Senior Investment Consultant, U.S. Trust.
- **2019–2022** — Managing Director, Head of Americas – West Coast, Deutsche Bank.
- **2022-11** — Became a managing member of Pave Finance and EPI Holding, according to the March 2023 regulatory biography.
- **2026-09** — Pave announced more than $15 million in Series A financing at a $100 million pre-money valuation.

## Achievements

- Founded the California Hedge Fund Association in 2010 and led it for nearly a decade.
- Managed six offices and a team of 40 at U.S. Trust.
- Helped grow Bank of America’s alternatives business from $100 million in seed capital to more than $3.3 billion in assets under management in under three years, according to his official biography.
- Led Pave through its September 2026 Series A announcement.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Listed as a speaker for the Advice lessons from around the world panel at MMI London on October 6.
- **2026-09** — Pave announced more than $15 million in Series A funding at a $100 million pre-money valuation; the company said advisers using its platform oversaw more than $130 billion across more than 300,000 accounts. These figures describe adviser assets and accounts, not Pave discretionary AUM.
- **2026-09** — Presented Pave as an AI Demo Drop finalist at Future Proof Festival, confirmed by his public LinkedIn posts.
- **2026-06** — Discussed building relationships in Europe, including the UK, and other international markets in a Professional Adviser interview.
- **2026-01** — Published 5 Time-Saving Tips Every Advisor Should Know in Advisor Perspectives.

## Links

- Website: https://www.pavefinance.com/team/chris-ainsworth
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ainsworth-chris

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/chris-ainsworth
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-16