AlphaSimplex Group has hired Dr Kathryn Kaminski as the firm’s chief research strategist. Kaminski (pictured), joins AlphaSimplex from the MIT Laboratory for Financial Engineering. A veteran in the hedge fund industry, she is regarded as an expert in alternative asset classes with a specific concentration in managed futures.
Effective 1 May, 2018, Kaminski will join the portfolio management team for the firm’s managed futures strategies, including the Natixis ASG Managed Futures Strategy Fund (AMFAX) in the US, and The ASG Managed Futures Fund (ASGMSFA), a Luxembourg Sicav.
“We are delighted that Katy has joined AlphaSimplex, and are confident our clients will benefit from her considerable knowledge in managed futures strategies,” says Duncan Wilkinson, CEO of AlphaSimplex. “As a co-manager on the Managed Futures Strategy portfolio management team, Katy brings over a decade of hands-on investment experience and a strong research focus.”
In the newly created position of chief research strategist, Kaminski will conduct research in support of AlphaSimplex products and will help educate investors on the use of alternatives in investment portfolios. She will report to Chief Investment Officer David Modest, PhD, and will work closely with Dr. Modest and other investment committee members, including Mr. Wilkinson and Deputy Chief Investment Officer Alexander Healy, PhD, and with the firm’s portfolio management team, including Dr. Healy, Peter Lee, Robert Sinnott, Philippe Luedi, PhD, Robert Rickard, David Kuenzi, John Perry, PhD, and Derek Schug.
“I have long admired AlphaSimplex’s accomplishments, investment philosophy and team, and look forward to applying my experience to help further the firm’s growth and success,” says Kaminski. “I am excited by the prospect of improving and expanding upon the delivery of superior investment solutions to clients, and helping to educate investors on the benefits of alternative investments.”
Prior to MIT, Kaminski most recently served as director of investment strategies at Campbell and Company, a systematic, quantitative investment firm. Previously, she was deputy managing director at the Institute for Financial Research at the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden. Before that, Kaminski was employed by RPM Risk & Portfolio Management AB in Stockholm, and was a senior lecturer in the Department of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering and a PhD in operations research from MIT, and she was a doctoral student of Andrew Lo, AlphaSimplex’s founder. Kaminski co-authored the book ‘Trend Following with Managed Futures: The Search for Crisis Alpha,’ for Wiley Trading in 2014. She is the author of numerous research papers and industry whitepapers as well as a contributory author to the CAIA and CFA Curriculum. In 2015, The Hedge Fund Journal featured her as one of the 50 Leading Women in Hedge Funds.
