Home to Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund by AUM, Westport is just a short 10 minute drive from the hedge fund capital of the world in Greenwich, CT. Although Westport has only 20 square miles of land, there are dozens of hedge funds in Westport, CT.
Here is a non-comprehensive list of hedge funds in Westport, CT in no particular order.
1. Balance Point Capital
Before starting Balance Point Capital in 2009, Seth W Alvord worked in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley. While primarily interested in long-term investing, this Westport hedge fund invests in middle market businesses with a history of stable cashflow. In addition to 32 other companies, some of Balance Point’s investments include:
- CorePower Yoga the nation’s largest operator of yoga studios
- Fresh & Ready Foods convenience foodservice products and fresh gourmet “grab-and-go” prepared food
- City Tap House a restaurant chain with an extensive selection of craft beers
As of Q3 2018, Balance Point Capital had an AUM of $835 million.
2. Bridgewater Associates
The Ray Dalio hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, was founded by Ray in 1975. In addition to being known as one of the top hedge funds, Bridgewater’s culture is famous for its radical truth and radical transparency. While Bridgewater offers numerous funds, Bridgewater’s flagship funds include:
- Pure Alpha
- All Weather
- Pure Alpha Major Markets
As the largest hedge fund in the world, Bridgewater AUM is nearly $160 billion according to its website and around 1,700 employees work there.
3. Fermat Capital Management
Fermat Capital Management was founded in 2001. While Fermat has clients from every continent, it invests in nontraditional fixed income. Another interesting fact about this Westport hedge fund is that it was named after the French lawyer from the 1600s Pierre de Fermat.
As of December 2018, Fermat Capital Management had $6.3 billion in assets under management.
4. Greenfield Partners
Eugene A Gorab started Greenfield Partners in 1997. Greenfield focuses on real estate investing. In addition to its headquarters in Greenwich, this Westport hedge fund has additional offices in Chicago and Arlington.
According to their website, Greenfield Partners has over $4 billion in AUM.
5. True Green Capital Management
Panos Ninios established True Green Capital Management in July 2011. While True Green has several private equity funds under management, this hedge fund specializes in energy infrastructure asset management. Because of its focus on energy, True Green has invested into a distributed solar power portfolio across eleven U.S. states at the time of this writing.
True Green’s AUM value is unclear at this time.
6. Westport Capital Partners
Russel Bernard established Westport Capital in 2005. Although the hedge fund has only been around for a few years, Westport has a team with over 100 years of real estate investment experience. While Westport focuses on domestic real estate investments, it also partakes in international real estate investing on behalf of its clients.
According to their website, Westport Capital has approximately $2 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2018.
7. Wolverine Asset Management
Warren H Bree established Wolverine Asset Management in October 1988. Warren was president and CIO until he passed away from pancreatic cancer. Although Wolverine Asset Management is headquartered in Westport, it also has an additional office in Harwich, Massachusetts. Investments include fixed income securities with less than 11 year maturities rated BB/BBB or better:
- Municipal bonds
- Government bonds
- Corporate bonds
- Convertible bonds
In 2001, Wolverine introduced its flagship product, the Yield-Enhanced Convertible. By 2003, Wolverine’s AUM surpassed $100 million.
Although Westport doesn’t have as many hedge funds as Greenwich, it is home to the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. It is for this reason that Greenwich, and more broadly this area in Connecticut, is known as the hedge fund capital of the world.
Since leaving my hedge fund job in 2018, I am still very much interested in the topic of hedge funds. Seems like you are too, so check out some of my other hedge fund blog posts here.