Welcome to Graham Capital

Our MISSION

Graham Capital endeavors to deliver robust, diversifying alpha solutions and meet its fiduciary responsibility to clients through three guiding principles: Collaboration, Innovation and Integrity.

The foundation of Graham's sustainability and success is the experience and effectiveness of its people. The firm cultivates talent, encourages the diversity of ideas, and respects the contributions of all. In turn, each employee shares in the responsibility of strengthening those around them.

Collaboration

GCM’s work environment is characterized by collaboration. We aim to create a motivating and collaborative environment where people can share ideas and work together towards a common goal of creating unique and profitable investment strategies.

Innovation

Work at GCM brings new challenges and ongoing stimulation. Our industry and firm evolve over time, and each employee has the ability to contribute to this evolution. Over the firm’s history, we have developed new trading strategies, enhanced our portfolio construction and risk management techniques, and launched new investment products to a broad range of clients.

Integrity

Integrity is fundamental to our organization and is a core part of our pledge to clients. We hire professionals who are motivated to work hard and learn from peers. Our team is comprised of individuals who are fair and respectful, and employees are empowered to contribute views and opinions. Integrity guides employees when confronted by the unexpected for which no rules exist.

 

Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. The potential for profit is accompanied by the risk of loss.

Our History

GCM was founded in July 1994 by Kenneth G. Tropin and began its first year as a 4 person, $30 million quantitative trading firm. GCM has evolved into a firm with quantitative and discretionary trading strategies, with approximately $18 billion in AUM and more than 190 employees. Below, we highlight some of the milestones that we have celebrated along the way.

In 2019, GCM celebrated its 25th anniversary. We thank our investors and friends for their support and confidence through many market cycles and recognize the important contributions of our employees throughout GCM's history.


  1. 1994
  2. 1998
  3. 1999
  4. 2001
  5. 2003
  6. 2004
  7. 2006
  8. 2007
  9. 2008
  10. 2010
  11. 2011
  12. 2012
  13. 2014
  14. 2015
  15. 2016
  16. 2017
  17. 2019

  1. 1994:
    Founded by Kenneth G. Tropin and commenced trading with $30 million of proprietary capital in GCM’s flagship quantitative program.



  2. 1998:
    GCM began recruiting discretionary portfolio managers in 1998 to diversify the firm’s trading strategies.




  3. 1999:
    Launched Proprietary Matrix, a portfolio which provides broad exposure to GCM’s quantitative and discretionary trading strategies.



  4. 2001:
    Surpassed $1 billion in total assets under management.




  5. 2003:
    GCM's K4D trading strategy posts strong results during the 2001-2002 equity bear market as well as in the 2003 recovery period.

  6. 2004:
    • Brian Douglas joined the firm. Brian is currently Chief Executive Officer and a member of the firm's Executive, Investment, Risk, Compliance and Cybersecurity Awareness Committees.
    • Relocated the firm’s headquarters from Stamford, Connecticut to its current facility in Rowayton, Connecticut.
    • Launched first multi-portfolio manager discretionary fund, now known as the Discretionary Portfolio.
    • Surpassed $5 Billion in total assets under management.

  7. 2006:
    Commenced trading the Tactical Trend strategy within GCM's multi-model quantitative strategies prior to launching as a standalone fund in 2013.



  8. 2007:
    • Jennifer Ancker Whelen joined the firm. Jen is currently Chief Client Officer and a member of the firm's Executive, Investment, and Risk Committees.
    • GCM's Risk Committee, comprised of a cross-section of management expertise across the firm, established daily meetings due to concerns leading up to the Global Financial Crisis. The Risk Committee continues to meet daily to review position-level performance, exposures and related risks within the context of prevailing market conditions.

  9. 2008:
    Despite financial crisis, GCM's strategies generated strong results during this difficult period and the firm continued to provide liquidity to investors.



  10. 2010:
    Pablo Calderini joined the firm. Pablo is currently President and CIO and a member of the firm's Executive, Investment, Risk and Compliance Committees.



  11. 2011:
    Formed Graham Capital LLP, GCM's U.K. based affiliate, which is authorized and regulated by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority.

  12. 2012:
    Registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as a Registered Investment Advisor.




  13. 2014:
    • Kelly Tropin Whitridge joined the firm. Kelly is currently Chief Economist and a member of the firm's Executive, Investment and Risk Committees.
    • Commenced trading the Graham Quant Macro strategy, which is a directional, long and short strategy that utilizes fundamental and price-based indicators to establish return forecasts across global interest rates, foreign exchange, stock indices and commodities.

  14. 2015:
    Surpassed $10 billion in total assets under management.




  15. 2016:
    Created the Employee Advisory Committee to focus on the firm's culture and employee experience, with the objective of recruiting and retaining the most talented professionals in the alternative investment industry.



  16. 2017:
    Created Women's Network of Graham, which seeks to drive members to make meaningful contributions to the firm, industry and community by inspiring the confidence to participate, challenge, and evolve.



  17. 2019:
    • The firm celebrates its 25th anniversary of trading.
    • $15B in Firm AUM as of September 2019.
    • Please visit our anniversary page where we reflect on GCM's first 25 years.


 

 

Our campus

GCM is headquartered in Rowayton, CT, at a site historically named “Rock Ledge,” which has a unique history in and of itself. Originally a Tudor-style mansion and the residence of James A. Farrell, the president of U.S. Steel, the site was later the office of famed General Douglas MacArthur as well as the birthplace of one of the first business computers.

Corporate Social Responsibility

GCM’s fiduciary responsibility to investors is at the core of how we manage all aspects of the business, including Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”). GCM’s approach to CSR is based on the firm’s mission statement and highlights our commitment to our clients and to the longevity of our business. GCM's CSR statement outlines our approach and focuses on the following key areas:


  • Firm Culture
  • Governance, Oversight and Controls
  • Alignment of interests
  • Risk Management
  • Transparency
  • Environmental, Social, and Governance & Socially Responsible Investment Considerations
  • Proxy Voting and Engagement
  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • Philanthropy
  • Advocacy of Responsible Business

For more detail, our full CSR Statement is available here.

 

 

Employee Engagement

Employee Advisory Committee

In 2017, Graham’s senior management team implemented the Employee Advisory Committee (“EAC”) to increase focus on enhancing the Graham employee experience. The mandate of the EAC is to liaise between employees and senior management to facilitate the most productive environment to retain and recruit the best employees across every department. Members of the EAC help empower the Graham community by focusing on key areas including: communication and transparency, career development and mentoring, education, employee recognition and engagement, wellness & life/work balance and community outreach/philanthropy.


Women's Network of Graham

We believe that inclusion and diversity of thought are integral to Graham’s success. One key initiative is the development of the Women’s Network of Graham, which facilitates education, mentorship, and networking while seeking to address some of the needs that may be unique to the firm’s female employees. The group not only works together to promote these goals but collaborates with senior management and the broader firm to make sure ideas are heard and considered.




Philanthropy

We believe that philanthropy is an integral part of our business both in terms of supporting our external community as well as fostering a strong sense of team and community within Graham.

By participating in charitable efforts and interacting with our local community, people from different areas of the firm - with varying backgrounds and expertise - have the opportunity to connect by advocating worthy causes. Working together to help others motivates and inspires the team, creates comradery, and ultimately fuels a more engaged and productive workforce. This environment facilitates collaboration, which is an important pillar of our mission statement.

In addition to a variety of ad hoc philanthropic endeavors, Graham partners with a local homeless shelter, the Open Door. We support the shelter in their efforts to address the causes and complexities of the homeless and working poor by providing shelter, food, clothing, case management services, treatment services, transitional planning for short and long term goals, subsidized housing, education, employment, and a path towards independence and success. Graham organizes drives for food, clothing and school supplies, and team members regularly volunteer to assist with food service.

We also believe that our unique skillset can be additive to our community. For example, members of the Graham team mentor children in a local school, and we offer technology assistance to the Open Door.

Ultimately, we are grateful for the opportunities that are afforded to us by being part of the Graham team, and believe it is our responsibility to support others when we can.