Key Takeaways
- • Institutional Investor recognizes ten hedge fund rising stars in 2022, the first cohort since 2019 following a two-year pandemic hiatus, to be honored at the Hedge Fund Industry Awards on April 27.
- • The class spans diverse career trajectories: fund managers (Andrew Cohen of Difesa Capital Management and Michael Englander of Greenland Capital Management); portfolio managers at large institutions (Ziang Fang of Man Numeric and Alex Schiller of Bridgewater Associates); and allocators (Adrienne Clough of DUMAC, Marshall Hendler of Optima Asset Management, and Yan Kvitko of CPP Investments).
- • Honorees were selected based on distinguished performance within their organizations or previous roles, nominated by colleagues and industry peers, with no guarantee of future star status but positioned as operators to monitor closely.
- • The 2022 cohort reflects diverse educational and professional backgrounds, including mathematical specialists (Alex Schiller, whose Princeton senior thesis focused on Malliavin calculus) and individuals from varied career paths before finance.
Summary
Institutional Investor's 2022 Hedge Fund Rising Stars recognition program marks the return of the annual honor following a two-year pandemic-driven suspension since 2019. The ten honorees, set to be recognized at the Hedge Fund Industry Awards gala on April 27, represent a heterogeneous mix of rising talent across the hedge fund and institutional investment ecosystem.
The cohort includes fund managers who have launched their own operations: Andrew Cohen, founder of Difesa Capital Management, and Michael Englander, founder of Greenland Capital Management. Both are sons of prominent Wall Street figures—Peter Cohen and Izzy Englander, respectively—though their recognition reflects individual achievement within the industry rather than family legacy alone. This segment demonstrates successful capital formation and operational execution among the younger generation of fund sponsors.
A second segment comprises portfolio managers embedded within established institutions of significant scale. Ziang Fang operates within Man Numeric, the quantitative subsidiary of Man Group, while Alex Schiller works at Bridgewater Associates, the macro-focused investment behemoth. Schiller's background illustrates the mathematical rigor expected at elite investment firms: a Princeton graduate whose senior thesis addressed Malliavin calculus—a specialized stochastic mathematics discipline—he joined Bridgewater in 2009 following his undergraduate internship with the firm. Despite initial uncertainty about a finance career, Schiller prioritized working alongside "hardworking, smart, challenging, interesting people," suggesting talent attraction remains a primary driver of career selection among high-caliber professionals.
The third category encompasses allocators who direct capital deployment across multiple strategies and managers: Adrienne Clough of DUMAC (Yale's endowment), Marshall Hendler of Optima Asset Management, and Yan Kvitko of CPP Investments. These roles reflect the critical importance of institutional capital gatekeepers in the modern hedge fund industry and recognize excellence among individuals responsible for significant asset allocation decisions.
Selection for the rising stars program reflects peer nomination and recognized distinction within current or previous roles, though the publication notes explicitly that inclusion provides no assurance of eventual mainstream industry prominence. The recognition serves primarily as a curated identification mechanism for emerging talent worth institutional attention.
The cohort includes fund managers who have launched their own operations: Andrew Cohen, founder of Difesa Capital Management, and Michael Englander, founder of Greenland Capital Management. Both are sons of prominent Wall Street figures—Peter Cohen and Izzy Englander, respectively—though their recognition reflects individual achievement within the industry rather than family legacy alone. This segment demonstrates successful capital formation and operational execution among the younger generation of fund sponsors.
A second segment comprises portfolio managers embedded within established institutions of significant scale. Ziang Fang operates within Man Numeric, the quantitative subsidiary of Man Group, while Alex Schiller works at Bridgewater Associates, the macro-focused investment behemoth. Schiller's background illustrates the mathematical rigor expected at elite investment firms: a Princeton graduate whose senior thesis addressed Malliavin calculus—a specialized stochastic mathematics discipline—he joined Bridgewater in 2009 following his undergraduate internship with the firm. Despite initial uncertainty about a finance career, Schiller prioritized working alongside "hardworking, smart, challenging, interesting people," suggesting talent attraction remains a primary driver of career selection among high-caliber professionals.
The third category encompasses allocators who direct capital deployment across multiple strategies and managers: Adrienne Clough of DUMAC (Yale's endowment), Marshall Hendler of Optima Asset Management, and Yan Kvitko of CPP Investments. These roles reflect the critical importance of institutional capital gatekeepers in the modern hedge fund industry and recognize excellence among individuals responsible for significant asset allocation decisions.
Selection for the rising stars program reflects peer nomination and recognized distinction within current or previous roles, though the publication notes explicitly that inclusion provides no assurance of eventual mainstream industry prominence. The recognition serves primarily as a curated identification mechanism for emerging talent worth institutional attention.
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