WEST CHESTER, PA — Azarias Capital Management LP is expanding its investment platform into deepwater oil drilling while promoting Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Jocelyn Dalkin to partner, moves that strengthen the firm’s management structure as it broadens its investment strategies.
The employee-owned investment manager, which specializes in small-cap value equities, said Dalkin will retain responsibility for finance, compliance, operations and administration in her expanded role.
Dalkin joined Azarias in 2025 and has overseen changes to its financial and operational infrastructure intended to support the firm’s institutional investment business.
Her promotion comes as Azarias marks a decade since launching its Focused Small Cap Value strategy in 2015.
The firm is also preparing to introduce a thematic investment strategy focused on deepwater drilling for oil production, adding to an existing portfolio concentrated on uranium mining companies.
The planned expansion would give Azarias another sector-specific investment strategy alongside its flagship small-cap equity portfolio.
Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer Daren C. Heitman said Dalkin’s work has strengthened the firm’s operating structure, allowing its investment professionals to concentrate on research and portfolio management.
Dalkin said the firm has made progress over the past year in developing its institutional infrastructure and that she will continue overseeing those efforts.
Azarias also recognized the first anniversary of Christina Blanco’s appointment as managing director of business development and investor relations.
Blanco oversees institutional business development, investor communications and marketing initiatives.
Heitman said the firm’s institutional market presence and prospective investor pipeline have strengthened under Blanco’s leadership.
“Both our market presence and our pipeline are the strongest in our history,” Heitman said.
Azarias’ flagship strategy concentrates on publicly traded small-cap companies that management believes are approaching earnings recoveries and have identifiable catalysts for share-price appreciation.
The portfolio typically holds approximately 20 positions and follows a benchmark-agnostic investment approach, allowing managers to select securities without tracking the composition of a market index.
The firm said its flagship strategy has experienced particularly strong performance over the past 18 months, although it did not provide performance figures in the announcement.
Azarias has also launched a redesigned website as it enters its second decade of operations.
The leadership changes and planned oil-focused strategy reflect the firm’s efforts to expand its investment offerings while building the operational and investor relations capabilities needed to support a broader institutional client base.
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