2019-20 Competition Judges

Meet the Judges

Adam Abelson, Chief Investment Officer - Stralem and Company

Adam chairs the firm’s Investment Committee and leads Stralem’s research effort, overseeing the implementation of the US Large Cap Equity Strategy. He co-authors the firm's quarterly "West of the Hudson" letter, which is the product of the team's research trips around the world. He serves as a director of Stralem’s UCITS fund. Adam joined Stralem in 1998 after managing business units within the emerging technologies, consumer products and hotel/gaming industries.

 

Michael J. Alpert, Portfolio Manager; Chair, Wealth Management Investment Committee - Stralem and Company

Michael conducts research for the firms's US Large Cap Equity Strategy and chairs the firm's Private Client Investment Committee. Prior to joining Stralem in 2010, he was managing director at J&W Seligman & Co., where he was the portfolio manager and head of the Seligman Small Company Growth Team. Michael joined J&W Seligman in 1999 from business school as an investment analyst and become portfolio manager in 2006. He had security selection responsibility in a variety of sectors including consumer, technology, industrials, financial and commercial services. Prior to business school, Michael was a manager for seven years at Andersen Consulting, where he worked in technology and strategy consulting in the Communications Industry Group.

Education: BA, University of Connecticut Honors Program; MBA, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 

 

Eddie Tam, CEO & CIO - Central Asset Investments

Eddie Tam is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Central Asset Investments. Mr. Tam founded Central Asset Investments in April 20 05, and oversees the management of the firm, as well as the CAI Global Fund and the CAI Special Opportunities Fund. Primarily, Mr. Tam is responsible for top down asset allocation between strategies, asset classes, geography and themes. Under his leadership, the CAI Global Fund has an annualized return of over 18% since its inception in September 2005. The fund was ranked the #1 best-performing multi-strategy hedge fund globally according to Bloomberg (based on 5 year annual returns) and Barclayhedge in 2013.

Mr. Tam has over 20 years of experience within the industry. Prior to founding Central Asset Investments, Mr. Tam was at Fore Research & Management as the Chief Portfolio Manager of the Fore Opportunity Fund. Before joining the buy-side, Mr. Tam worked with equity derivatives, first at Merrill Lynch, and then at Credit Lyonnais where he was most recently the Head of Sales and Marketing of Asian derivatives. During this time, Mr. Tam was credited as one of the pioneers in Asian equity derivatives.

Mr. Tam received his MPPM from Yale School of Management in 1993, holds an M.A.Sc., a B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto, and is currently an active board member of the International Center of Finance and the Greater China Advisory Board at the Yale School of Management.

In October 2010, Mr. Tam was named one of the 25 most influential people in Asian hedge funds by Asian Investors. Mr. Tam is a frequent guest on leading financial and business television channels, including CNBC and Bloomberg TV, where he shares his latest macroeconomic views and investment strategies with viewers.

Central Asset Investments Central Asset Investments is an established Asia-focused multi-strategy investment firm. Founded in 2005, Central Asset Investments capitalizes on the firm’s Asian investment background and strength in equities, convertible bonds, and fixed income in order to provide investors with long term, superior absolute returns. The Central Asset Investments team consists of professionals in both Hong Kong and Shenzhen, working across portfolio management, research, risk management, investor relations and operations. Central Asset Investments was voted as the “Asia Focused Multi-Strategy Investment Firm of the Year” by Acquisition International in 2014. Central Asset Investments manages the CAI Global Fund and the CAI Special Opportunities Fund. The CAI Global Fund has an annualized return of over 19% since its inception in September 2005. The fund is ranked the #1 best-performing multi-strategy hedge fund globally according to Bloomberg (based on 5 year annual returns) and Barclayhedge in 2013. The fund was also voted “Best Multi-strategy Hedge Fund” in 2011, “Best Hedge Fund Asia-Pacific” in 2010 and “Best Hedge Fund Asia (Ex-Japan)” in 2008 by Asian Investor.