Key Takeaways
- • Anna Svahn manages Cygnus, a commodities and US equities strategy at hedge fund boutique Antiloop AB, after building her experience through personal trading, writing, and entrepreneurship rather than investment banking or research.
- • Svahn and Martin Sandquist, co-founder of Lynx Asset Management, each manage their strategies, Cygnus and Atlas, through separately managed accounts while working toward fund-structure launches.
- • Svahn says managing outside capital has made her more focused on adapting to market change than on being right about outcomes, with risk now embedded in every step of the investment process.
- • Svahn argues that explaining a strategy clearly to investors matters at least as much as presenting historical track record results.
- • Antiloop's operating principle, as Svahn describes it, is to "learn to love losing money" and manage losses on failed ideas rather than become attached to individual positions.
Summary
Anna Svahn, portfolio manager of Cygnus at hedge fund boutique Antiloop AB, describes an unconventional path into portfolio management. She built her investment experience through personal trading, writing and entrepreneurship rather than investment banking or sell-side or buy-side research. Her interest in the career was sparked by meeting Martin Sandquist, co-founder of Lynx Asset Management. Svahn and Sandquist currently manage their respective strategies, Cygnus and Atlas, through separately managed accounts while working toward launching them in fund structures.
Svahn says her path began with experimentation rather than a defined plan. As an independent trader she developed a long-term strategy allocating between commodities and US equities, which became the first version of Cygnus. "Fund management became a consequence of that work rather than the goal itself," she says. She credits experienced colleagues for much of her development. Sandquist has been particularly influential in shaping her approach to risk, and she notes that Antiloop CEO Alexander Zetterquist, who joined almost two years ago, brought a fresh perspective on both strategies and on their communication and processes. Svahn also cites Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management as an intellectual influence, particularly for his memos on market cycles.
Managing outside capital has changed how Svahn approaches risk, particularly in commodities, a market she describes as characterized by pronounced cycles and volatility. "Risk is now part of every step of the investment process, because the market takes no prisoners," she says. She adds that she is less focused on being right about an outcome and more focused on adapting as conditions change. Taking responsibility for investor capital has also added a commercial dimension, requiring her to explain the strategy clearly. Managing personal money allowed more freedom to change process, whereas professional management operates within defined rules and demands consistency.
Asked what separates a good portfolio manager from a great one, Svahn points to genuine passion for markets. At Antiloop, the team follows the mantra "You have to learn to love losing money." The principle, as she frames it, is to accept losses as an unavoidable part of investing and to manage them when ideas fail. "When the market moves against your ideas, you have to kill your darlings," she says.
Svahn says her path began with experimentation rather than a defined plan. As an independent trader she developed a long-term strategy allocating between commodities and US equities, which became the first version of Cygnus. "Fund management became a consequence of that work rather than the goal itself," she says. She credits experienced colleagues for much of her development. Sandquist has been particularly influential in shaping her approach to risk, and she notes that Antiloop CEO Alexander Zetterquist, who joined almost two years ago, brought a fresh perspective on both strategies and on their communication and processes. Svahn also cites Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management as an intellectual influence, particularly for his memos on market cycles.
Managing outside capital has changed how Svahn approaches risk, particularly in commodities, a market she describes as characterized by pronounced cycles and volatility. "Risk is now part of every step of the investment process, because the market takes no prisoners," she says. She adds that she is less focused on being right about an outcome and more focused on adapting as conditions change. Taking responsibility for investor capital has also added a commercial dimension, requiring her to explain the strategy clearly. Managing personal money allowed more freedom to change process, whereas professional management operates within defined rules and demands consistency.
Asked what separates a good portfolio manager from a great one, Svahn points to genuine passion for markets. At Antiloop, the team follows the mantra "You have to learn to love losing money." The principle, as she frames it, is to accept losses as an unavoidable part of investing and to manage them when ideas fail. "When the market moves against your ideas, you have to kill your darlings," she says.
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