Clifford Asness
USA- Cliff Asness: A Biography
- Early Life and Education
- Founding AQR Capital Management
- Contributions and Views
- Personal Life
Cliff Asness: A Biography
Clifford Scott Asness, an American investor, is one of the founders of the investment management firm 'AQR Capital Management' and a prominent financial theorist. Interestingly, Asness, one of today's most successful investment managers, was an average student in his childhood and youth, with his own memories of being interested in comics and girls. His passion for the stock market came much later, but it was so strong that he managed to attend courses by the most renowned professors in the field within a few years. He proved to be a talented mathematician, and the mysterious and unpredictable world of finance completely captivated his mind – young Asness aspired to be the person who could tame the market once and for all.
Early Life and Education
Cliff Asness was born on October 17, 1966, in the Queens district of New York City. He grew up in a Jewish family, with his mother, Carol Asness, managing a firm in the field of medical education, and his father, Barry Asness, serving as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. When he was four years old, the family moved to Roslyn Heights, New York, a privileged green suburb of the city. Asness often spent his summer vacations at the 'B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp' in Pennsylvania, a Jewish children's camp that has been in existence for over half a century. He graduated from Herricks High School, one of the best in the country, where the future star of the investment market, however, did not shine brightest.
After obtaining a bachelor's degree in Management and Technology from the University of Pennsylvania, Asness pursued a doctoral program at the University of Chicago. He became an assistant to investment guru Eugene Fama, the author of the efficient market theory and one of the most influential American market theorists. Fama and his colleague Kenneth R. French spoke highly of Asness, considering him the smartest student they had ever encountered. After defending his doctoral dissertation, Asness was offered a position as managing director at 'Goldman Sachs,' one of the world's largest commercial banks, and as director of quantitative research at 'Goldman Sachs Asset Management.'
Founding AQR Capital Management
At 'Goldman Sachs,' Asness established the 'Goldman Sachs Global Alpha Fund,' a hedge fund that was one of the first in the industry to use complex computerized trading models to identify undervalued stocks, bonds, currencies, and commodities, and then use short selling to take advantage of price momentum. The fund was designed to make money regardless of which direction the market moved. However, in 1997, Asness left 'Goldman' to found his own investment firm, 'AQR Capital Management,' with a group of like-minded colleagues.
Contributions and Views
Asness frequently provides comments on financial matters in the press and on television, expressing his opposition to high hedge fund incomes, among other things. In 2012, he appeared in the documentary film 'Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged,' claiming that the financial crisis that began in 2008 was the result of American government policies. Asness generally adheres to libertarian views and the efficient market theory in his comments. He is also known as a staunch critic of President Barack Obama's economic policies. In 2012, Asness was listed among the '50 Most Influential People in the World of Economics and Finance' by 'Bloomberg Markets Magazine.' He is a member of the board of trustees of the American Institute for Entrepreneurship.
Personal Life
In 1999, at the age of 33, Asness married Laurel Elizabeth Fraser from Nebraska, the daughter of a former Methodist pastor. Their wedding ceremony followed Jewish customs and took place in New York City.
