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Alaska Wealth Advisors Promotes Chief Investment Officer

Sep 16, 2026 | Finance, Right Moves

AKWEALTH_Halpin_RM_2026

Photo Credit: Alaska Wealth Advisors

Anchorage-based fiduciary wealth management firm Alaska Wealth Advisors promoted Kirsten Halpin to Chief Investment Officer, leading the firm’s investment platform, philosophy, and strategy. Halpin was previously Director of Investments for the past year, credited with leading the buildout of substantially deeper investment resources behind the firm’s client work.

“Kirsten’s deep technical expertise, alongside her passion for guiding our clients through complex markets, make her the ideal Chief Investment Officer for our firm’s next stage of growth,” says Chief Strategy Officer Dave Valdez.

Current Issue

Alaska Business Magazine September 2026 cover

September 2026

As Chief Investment Officer, Halpin oversees four core areas of the firm’s investment platform:

Investment Philosophy: Defining and owning a distinct investment philosophy tailored to Alaska Wealth Advisors’ clients and advisors, drawing selectively on expanded institutional research rather than adopting an outside framework wholesale.

Advisor Development: Giving the firm’s advisors direct access to the firm’s investment thinking and to a broader base of research, strategy is communicated with depth and consistency in every client conversation.

Platform and Product Governance: Leading due diligence and oversight of the firm’s expanded investment lineup, third-party partnerships, and the strategies made available to clients.

Client and Community Engagement: Serving as the firm’s investment voice with clients, prospects, centers of influence, and the broader community, reinforcing confidence through transparent communication about how portfolios are built, how decisions are made, and what current markets mean for long-term plans.

Halpin holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and earned an MBA in capital markets from UAF. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, and Financial Risk Manager designations.

Halpin joined Alaska Permanent Capital Management in 2015, serving in various roles across the investment and operations teams before transitioning to Alaska Wealth Advisors in 2025, where she oversaw the firm’s investment offerings and portfolio trading.

Halpin has served as an adjunct professor at Alaska Pacific University, where she helped prepare the next generation of financial professionals, and she served as treasurer for the Anchorage Community Land Trust board.

Alaska Business Magazine September 2026 cover
In This Issue
Mapping Whittier’s Future
September 2026

What happens when a city with fewer than 300 residents becomes a major freight and tourism hub, despite being accessible only by boat, plane, or a one-lane highway/railroad tunnel managed on a strict schedule?

If you’re in the City of Whittier, you get busy. The city has two separate transportation planning efforts underway, including a safety action plan under the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All initiative, which focuses on improving safety for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, and emergency responders. The second is Whittier Moves, the city’s transportation master plan, which serves as the long-term roadmap for growth.

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