Industry Updates

Sanford Grossman donates minority stake in hedge fund QFS to University of Chicago

Monday, January 24, 2011

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Opalesque Industry Update - QFS Asset Management, L.P. and Dr. Sanford J. Grossman are pleased to announce that Dr. Grossman has donated a minority stake in QFS to his alma mater, the University of Chicago. Dr. Grossman received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D., all in Economics, from the University of Chicago. He serves as the Chairman and CEO of QFS’s General Partner, and he and his family continue to own the majority stake in the firm.

QFS is an institutional alternative asset management firm, a predecessor of which was founded by Dr. Grossman in 1988. The firm was built upon his groundbreaking research in economics and quantitative finance. Today it is run by an experienced 30+ person team and manages approximately $1.5 billion in client assets. Dr. Grossman works with and mentors the research, programming and investment teams, which manage and develop the firm’s systematic investment strategies. QFS manages several innovative investment products in non-traditional asset classes, including the QFS Currency and Global Macro Programs.

The QFS Currency Program, which was launched in 1993, has generated average annual net returns of 13.5%, during a period in which the S&P 500 returned 10.1%. The QFS Global Macro Program, launched in 1998, has generated average annual net returns of 12.3%, while the S&P 500 returned 5.8% over this timeframe. The 2010 net Program returns were 30.4% for Currency and 13.1% for Global Macro. Both Programs have generated these strong returns while maintaining very low correlations with traditional as well as other ‘alternative’ investment strategies.

“The success of QFS has been based upon the application of the scientific tools that I was taught as a student at the University of Chicago, “ Grossman said. “These tools not only provided a basis for my successful academic career in economics and finance, but also gave me the confidence to found QFS and the belief that such tools could be applied to the ’real‘ world. I can think of no better way to express my thanks to the University, than by giving the University an opportunity to benefit from the continued success of QFS. “

“I was a Professor of Economics at the University from 1981 to 1985, and currently serve as a member of its Board of Trustees and its Investment Committee,” he added. “I have also supported the University with previous donations, and have long been committed to supporting the educational and research activities of the University. My gift of an interest in QFS demonstrates my continued commitment to supporting the high quality of teaching and research at the University, and my hope is that my work with QFS will bring benefits to the University for years to come.”

The donation continues Grossman’s longstanding commitment to innovative scholarship. A prominent and highly creative scholar of economics, Dr. Grossman taught economics and finance at Stanford, the University of Chicago, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. In 1987, at age 34, he was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal, given by the American Economic Association to the nation's most outstanding economist under 40.

(press release)

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