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Hedge fund manager who wrote seduction guide for nerds is going it alone

Reported by Efinancialcareers
Mar 17, 2017· 2 min read
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Key Takeaways
  • • Franklin Parlamis, a senior convertibles fund partner at Pine River Capital Partners for a decade, launched his own fund, Aequim Alternative Investments, in March 2017.
  • • Parlamis holds advanced quantitative credentials (Master's in Statistics from Yale, Bachelor's in Mathematics from Princeton) and was the most senior West Coast executive at the multi-billion dollar hedge fund before departing.
  • • Prior to his hedge fund career, Parlamis authored "The Passive Man's Guide to Seduction" (1996), a book positioning introverted and analytical men as viable romantic partners without adopting traditional masculine traits.
  • • The departure reflects the ongoing trend of senior hedge fund managers spinning out to launch independent vehicles, particularly in specialized areas like convertibles investing.
Summary
Franklin Parlamis, a decade-long partner in Pine River Capital Partners' convertibles fund and one of the hedge fund's most senior West Coast executives, has launched his own investment vehicle, Aequim Alternative Investments, in March 2017. The move marks another instance of established hedge fund talent striking out independently to manage capital, a pattern consistent with industry consolidation and the appeal of smaller, specialized platforms.

Parlamis brings significant quantitative expertise to his new venture, holding a Master's degree in Statistics from Yale and a Bachelor's in Mathematics from Princeton—credentials that align with the analytical rigor required in convertibles investing, an area characterized by complex derivative pricing and structural analysis.

Before his entry into institutional asset management, Parlamis authored "The Passive Man's Guide to Seduction" in 1996, a contrarian self-help book targeting introverted and analytically-minded men. The book's central thesis challenges the notion that successful romantic outcomes require adopting stereotypically masculine traits, instead positioning qualities such as authenticity, kindness, and emotional honesty as legitimate competitive advantages. While the book's relevance to Parlamis' current institutional role is tangential, it underscores a career trajectory spanning both alternative finance and unconventional thought leadership.

The timing of Parlamis' departure and fund launch occurs amid broader industry dynamics affecting hedge fund talent retention and fund formation, though the primary source provides limited detail on Aequim's investment strategy, capital raised, or specific mandate beyond the convertibles specialization implied by his Pine River background.

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Sources

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AlphaMaven summarised this story from the reporting below. Each link opens the original article.

Efinancialcareers Hedge fund manager who wrote seduction guide for nerds is going it alone