LIONSCREST CAPITAL is a boutique investment management firm singularly focused on merging tail-protection during periods of extreme consequential events with positive market returns in varying investment environments. As a long-standing investor and access point to Universa Investments LP, the world's foremost expert on hedging tail-risk (Black Swans), Lionscrest is able to provide accredited investors with access to Universa’s institutional investment strategies through the Lionscrest TailPro series of comingled funds.
Claude Bovet is Founder and Managing Director of Lionscrest. Claude has over 25 years of investment management expertise developed in senior positions at some of the world's leading hedge fund investment firms including Republic National Bank (part of HSBC since 1999), Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers as well as private hedge fund investment boutiques.
Claude Bovet is Founder and Managing Director of Lionscrest. Claude has over 25 years of investment management expertise developed in senior positions at some of the world's leading hedge fund investment firms including Republic National Bank (part of HSBC since 1999), Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers as well as private hedge fund investment boutiques.
The Lionscrest TailPro Funds are managed by Universa Investments LP
UNIVERSA INVESTMENTS LP is an investment management firm that specializes in convex tail hedging and investing, ranging from hedging stock market crashes and inflation to macro and equity options strategies. Universa portfolios are, by construction, exceedingly positively-skewed, robust to extreme risk assumptions, and non-linear to common risk factors (such as beta). Universa's economic edge derives ultimately from basic behavioral biases. Universa captures that edge through a focused and disciplined investment approach employing positively-skewed payoffs, empirical and fundamental-based option valuation, and trading/providing liquidity against systematic order flow imbalances and resulting mispricings in options markets.
Universa was founded in January 2007 by CIO Mark Spitznagel, with over a decade of implementation and cumulative, incremental development of its focused, positive asymmetric investment approach. Universa has thus created an innovative investment niche and risk management methodology within an increasingly homogeneous industry. The firm is registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the National Futures Association (NFA).
Investment Philosophy
Universa views investing through the lens of the scientific method; that is, investments are hypotheses that are subjected to refutation, or loss. Some investments are more exposed, in consequence, to refutation (the problem of induction) than others, and are thus riskier. Universa's basic approach is to subject its investment hypotheses to benign refutation through asymmetric, positively-skewed payoffs exposed to small losses when refuted and very large gains when not. This nonlinear positioning comes with a long-term specialization in extreme financial market tails, where Universa offers a unique combination of focused options trading experience and technical expertise in rare events (or black swans).
Universa’s edge is derived from its ability to provide tail hedging (portfolio protection) and investing in a manner that is exceedingly more efficient than that offered through "naive" options strategies and other risk management strategies. Significant edge is also derived from acting as a liquidity provider, as well as from systematic options market supply and demand imbalances, structural and behavioral biases and unrivaled access to order flows.
Key Members
Mark W. Spitznagel is Founder, President & Chief Investment Officer of Universa Investments. Mark's almost 20-year investment career has spanned from Morgan Stanley proprietary trader (head of equity options in the Process Driven Trading group) to partner and President at Empirica Capital LLC to independent pit-trader at the Chicago Board of Trade (the youngest local in the bond pit). Mark received an M.S. in Mathematics from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University and a B.A. from Kalamazoo College.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb is Principal & Distinguished Scientific Advisor of Universa Investments. Nassim is considered the premier specialist of rare events ("Black Swans") and has advised heads of states, top financial institutions, and various central banks on tail risks. He is the author of Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical & Practical Aphorisms and Dynamic Hedging, which have been translated into over 32 languages. Being among the most veteran option traders in the world, Nassim has held senior trading and managing director positions at investment banks. Currently, he is a Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering at New York University Polytechnic Institute and holds an academic position at the London Business School.
Eric Spencer is CFO/CCO/Head of Investor Relations of Universa Investments. As the Chief Financial Officer, Eric Spencer assists in overseeing Universa’s general operations, while also serving as the primary point of contact for investors and their associated service providers (tax, legal, administration). Prior to joining Universa, Eric worked for Northwestern Mutual, which involved designing non-qualified plans and company-specific employee compensation strategies for Fortune 1000 corporations and commercial banks. He was responsible for such duties as running complex P&Ls for these organizations, implementing and overseeing employee benefit programs, closely following regulatory matters (FASB, OCC/OTS/FDIC banking regulations, insurance laws, ERISA), and accounting for benefit accruals. Eric received a B.A. from Duke University.
Damir Delic is Portfolio Manager of Universa Investments. Prior to joining Universa in 2009, Damir was a Senior Vice President within the proprietary group of KBC Financial Products (the ex-subsidiary of D.E. Shaw). From 2005-2008, he was responsible for structuring and distributing the risks of that firm’s insurance derivatives book, co-running the relative value volatility strategies within its $1.5B hedge fund (AIM), and establishing and implementing in-house relative value arbitrage software and analytical parameters used in their strategies. From 2000 to 2005, he worked as proprietary trader on KBC’s market making desk in both listed and exotic equity options, and also was responsible for overseeing the funding of the New York branch of KBC Financial Products in US Treasuries and in US Equity swaps. Damir has experience trading volatility products from OTC options, variance swaps, barrier options, equity-linked notes, convertible bonds, dividend swaps and credit derivatives. Damir graduated from the University of Indianapolis in 1999, in affiliation with the University of Nicosia (Cyprus).
Universa was founded in January 2007 by CIO Mark Spitznagel, with over a decade of implementation and cumulative, incremental development of its focused, positive asymmetric investment approach. Universa has thus created an innovative investment niche and risk management methodology within an increasingly homogeneous industry. The firm is registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the National Futures Association (NFA).
Investment Philosophy
Universa views investing through the lens of the scientific method; that is, investments are hypotheses that are subjected to refutation, or loss. Some investments are more exposed, in consequence, to refutation (the problem of induction) than others, and are thus riskier. Universa's basic approach is to subject its investment hypotheses to benign refutation through asymmetric, positively-skewed payoffs exposed to small losses when refuted and very large gains when not. This nonlinear positioning comes with a long-term specialization in extreme financial market tails, where Universa offers a unique combination of focused options trading experience and technical expertise in rare events (or black swans).
Universa’s edge is derived from its ability to provide tail hedging (portfolio protection) and investing in a manner that is exceedingly more efficient than that offered through "naive" options strategies and other risk management strategies. Significant edge is also derived from acting as a liquidity provider, as well as from systematic options market supply and demand imbalances, structural and behavioral biases and unrivaled access to order flows.
Key Members
Mark W. Spitznagel is Founder, President & Chief Investment Officer of Universa Investments. Mark's almost 20-year investment career has spanned from Morgan Stanley proprietary trader (head of equity options in the Process Driven Trading group) to partner and President at Empirica Capital LLC to independent pit-trader at the Chicago Board of Trade (the youngest local in the bond pit). Mark received an M.S. in Mathematics from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University and a B.A. from Kalamazoo College.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb is Principal & Distinguished Scientific Advisor of Universa Investments. Nassim is considered the premier specialist of rare events ("Black Swans") and has advised heads of states, top financial institutions, and various central banks on tail risks. He is the author of Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical & Practical Aphorisms and Dynamic Hedging, which have been translated into over 32 languages. Being among the most veteran option traders in the world, Nassim has held senior trading and managing director positions at investment banks. Currently, he is a Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering at New York University Polytechnic Institute and holds an academic position at the London Business School.
Eric Spencer is CFO/CCO/Head of Investor Relations of Universa Investments. As the Chief Financial Officer, Eric Spencer assists in overseeing Universa’s general operations, while also serving as the primary point of contact for investors and their associated service providers (tax, legal, administration). Prior to joining Universa, Eric worked for Northwestern Mutual, which involved designing non-qualified plans and company-specific employee compensation strategies for Fortune 1000 corporations and commercial banks. He was responsible for such duties as running complex P&Ls for these organizations, implementing and overseeing employee benefit programs, closely following regulatory matters (FASB, OCC/OTS/FDIC banking regulations, insurance laws, ERISA), and accounting for benefit accruals. Eric received a B.A. from Duke University.
Damir Delic is Portfolio Manager of Universa Investments. Prior to joining Universa in 2009, Damir was a Senior Vice President within the proprietary group of KBC Financial Products (the ex-subsidiary of D.E. Shaw). From 2005-2008, he was responsible for structuring and distributing the risks of that firm’s insurance derivatives book, co-running the relative value volatility strategies within its $1.5B hedge fund (AIM), and establishing and implementing in-house relative value arbitrage software and analytical parameters used in their strategies. From 2000 to 2005, he worked as proprietary trader on KBC’s market making desk in both listed and exotic equity options, and also was responsible for overseeing the funding of the New York branch of KBC Financial Products in US Treasuries and in US Equity swaps. Damir has experience trading volatility products from OTC options, variance swaps, barrier options, equity-linked notes, convertible bonds, dividend swaps and credit derivatives. Damir graduated from the University of Indianapolis in 1999, in affiliation with the University of Nicosia (Cyprus).