First Quadrant LP (Pasadena)


First Quadrant LP is a large advisory firm based in Pasadena. It manages $20.08 billion of regulatory assets for 46 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2001 and has operated in the jurisdictions of California and Massachusetts.

First Quadrant provides portfolio management for investment companies, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, and portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

First Quadrant: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of First Quadrant LP is $20.08 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 76% since the beginning of its operation, and $8.07 billion of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $19.6 billion in discretionary accounts and $472.82 million in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $445.54 million each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $236.41 million.
First Quadrant has custody of $1.48 billion in cash and securities for 3 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in derivatives the most. They account for 73% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is exchange traded securities, which make up 9% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in sovereign bonds form 9% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay First Quadrant LP for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and performance-based fees. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients First Quadrant serves?

The firm provides services to investment companies, pooled investment vehicles, pension and profit sharing plans, and state or municipal government entities. The largest group of clients of First Quadrant is pension and profit sharing plans with 17 clients and $10.32 billion of assets under management. Among the 13 most similar advisory firms, First Quadrant has the highest percentage of pension and profit sharing plans out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $19.26 billion for 43 clients. 39% of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

First Quadrant also advises several private funds. Namely, four hedge funds. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons ranges from $10,000 to $1,000,000.

Careers at First Quadrant LP

The company employs 84 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 36 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. No employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There are 5 people with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm compensates employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Direct owners and executive officers


Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Robert Douglas Arnott Chief executive officer, limited partner 1 Apr 1988 Other 1532951
Timothy Stephan Meckel Director of client service, limited partner 1 Sep 1988 Other 4348755
Max Darnell Director of research, limited partner 1 Apr 1991 Other 2725102
Curtis Justin Ketterer Chief operating officer, limited partner 1 Jun 1995 Other 4348261
Christopher Gerald Luck Director of equity portfolio management, limited partner 1 Sep 1995 Other 4348289
First Quadrant Corp. General partner 1 Dec 1995 75% - 100% 22-2604001
Amg Ca Holdings Corp. General partner 1 Mar 1996 75% - 100% 22-2604001
William A R Goodsall Limited partner 1 Mar 1996 Other 4348921
Robert Hayes Brown Limited partner 1 Mar 1996 Other 4348930
Timothy Stephan Meckel Director of client service, limited partner 1 Apr 1996 Other 4348755
Kent Charles Roberts Director of marketing, limited partner 1 Mar 1997 Other 4348761
Lloyd Everett Cole Chief information officer, limited partner 1 Mar 1998 Other 2069957
Curtis Justin Ketterer Chief operating officer, limited partner 1 Jun 1998 Other 4348261
Phillip Todd Miller Director of options products, limited partner 1 Mar 1999 Other 1284784
Christopher Gerald Luck Director of equity portfolio management, limited partner 1 Sep 1999 Other 4348289
Christopher Justin Adolph Director of trading 1 Jan 2000 Other 4348958
Kenneth John Ferguson Director - research 1 Feb 2000 Other 4348976
Jia Ye Director - equity research 1 Feb 2000 Other 4352560
Kenneth Richard Funk Chief compliance officer 1 Jun 2000 Other 4352562
Robert Kenneth Murray Director - marketing 1 Oct 2000 Other 2197631
Mark Brewster Billings Director - marketing 1 Feb 2001 Other 810409
Phillip Todd Miller Director options and derivative products, limited partner 1 Jul 2001 Other 1284784
Mark A Arredondo Director - programming & systems 1 Jan 2002 Other 4508678
Robert Douglas Arnott Chairman, limited partner 1 Apr 2002 Other 1532951
Ronnie Max Darnell Chief investment officer, managing partner 1 Feb 2003 Other 2725102
Max Darnell Chief investment officer, limited partner 1 Feb 2003 Other 2725102
Dori Samuel Levanoni Director - research 1 Feb 2003 Other 2741857
Joel Lane Brouwer Partner, chief financial officer 1 Jan 2004 Other 4770155
Andrew Laurence Berkin Director - research 1 Jan 2004 Other 4770161
Christopher Gerald Luck Director of global equities, limited partner 1 Nov 2004 Other 4348289
Andre Francois Perold Chairman of the advisory panel, limited partner 1 Jan 2005 Other 4660204
Kenneth John Ferguson Co-director of global derivatives, limited partner 1 Apr 2005 Other 4348976
Dori Samuel Levanoni Co-director of global derivatives, limited partner 1 Jan 2006 Other 2741857
Steven Benjamin Richey Director of global derivatives trading/limited partner 1 Jan 2007 Other 3151157
Christopher Gerald Luck Co-director of portfolio management, limited partner 1 Oct 2007 Other 4348289
Phillip Todd Miller Options strategies, limited partner 1 Oct 2007 Other 1284784
Kenneth John Ferguson Co-director of research, limited partner 1 Oct 2007 Other 4348976
Dori Samuel Levanoni Co-director of research and portfolio management, limited partner 1 Oct 2007 Other 2741857
Steven Benjamin Richey Director of trading and global options, limited partner 1 Oct 2007 Other 3151157
Jia Ye Chief investment strategist, limited partner 1 Jan 2008 Other 4352560
Dori Samuel Levanoni Partner, investments 1 Mar 2008 Other 2741857
Christopher Gerald Luck Director of equity portfolio management, limited partner 1 Mar 2008 Other 4348289
Kenneth John Ferguson Co-director of global macro, limited partner 1 Mar 2008 Other 4348976
Jia Ye Partner, investments 1 Apr 2008 Other 4352560
Steven Benjamin Richey Director of global options strategies, limited partner 1 Apr 2008 Other 3151157
Sharon Marla Goldberg Chief compliance officer 1 May 2010 Other 3103791
Edgar Eugene Peters Partner, investments 1 Jun 2010 Other 2019055
Joseph Andrew Germain Managing director, head of business development 1 Jul 2011 Other 2161969
Jeffrey Tadanori Shimamoto General counsel & chief compliance officer 1 Sep 2011 Other 5983222
Jeff Chenghsun Chang Chief compliance officer 1 Jan 2013 Other 2870017
James Rutledge Tufts Managing director, chief operating officer 1 Sep 2013 Other 1444943
Eugene Park Director, general counsel 1 Apr 2016 Other 4901515

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 5 indirect owners.

Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Inc. First Quadrant Holdings Owner 1 Dec 1995 75% - 100% 04-3413545
Inc. Affiliated Managers Group Owner 1 Dec 1995 75% - 100% 04-3218510
Llc First Quadrant Holdings Sole shareholder 1 Sep 2002 75% - 100% 04-3413545
Inc. Affiliated Managers Group Sole member and manager 1 Sep 2002 75% - 100% 04-3218510
Llc Amg Ca Holdings Series a shareholder 1 Sep 2002 75% - 100% 04-3413545

Based in Pasadena

The principal office where First Quadrant LP performs its advisory services is located at 800 East Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91101, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in Framingham, MA. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 626-795-8220 or by fax 626-396-3298. The normal business hours are 8:00 am pst to 5:00 pm pst on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at firstquadrant.com.