Richard F. Schmidt

Mr. Schmidt, Executive Vice President and CFO and Board Member, rejoined IFS in its New York Office in 1996 as a Vice President responsible for evaluating sophisticated client issues related to asset allocation, manager selection, performance evaluation, custodial relationships and operating processes across all three product lines. He serves as Chief Financial Officer of Independent Fiduciary Services. Mr. Schmidt worked with IFS' predecessor, Bear Stearns Fiduciary Services, as a senior consultant from 1987 through 1990.

Mr. Schmidt previously served as Assistant Treasurer of BASF Corporation, Parsippany, New Jersey, a $5 billion diversified chemical company. His responsibilities at BASF included serving as CIO for the company's defined and 501k plans. He has also designed, implemented and operated systems for management cash, bank relationships, debt issuance, portfolio and capital structures, forecasting, and currency hedging.

Mr. Schmidt's other professional experience, includes managing his own consulting firm specializing in restructuring corporate treasury operations. Prior to joining BASF he worked in various financial capacities in the Oil & Gas and Banking industries and in military service. Highly experienced in the use of personal computers as a financial management tool, Mr. Schmidt has designed spreadsheets, flow chart and graphics systems and taught advanced techniques in the use of such software.

Mr. Schmidt earned his MBA in finance, with Distinction, from Farleigh Dickerson University and a BBA in Finance, summa cum laude, from Pace University.