About Capstone Investment Advisors
Capstone Investment Advisors is a global asset manager focused on derivatives and complementary investment strategies. The firm says it explores alpha opportunities across market cycles and works with investors to develop strategies and solutions intended to pursue differentiated returns and address portfolio challenges.
Capstone’s investment approach centers on derivatives and volatility across asset classes and geographies. Its flagship Capstone Global Master offering combines multiple strategies and seeks returns across varied market environments with limited correlation to equities and other hedge fund strategies. The firm describes activity spanning equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and volatility, across the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Alongside its multi-strategy offering, Capstone Solutions develops customized mandates and commingled offerings for institutional investors. The firm says its process begins with understanding clients’ portfolio objectives, existing allocations and challenges, then tailoring an approach to those needs. Solutions may be defensive, outcome-focused, or a combination of both.
The company lists strategies including equity volatility, equity events and arbitrage, fixed income, currency and commodities, dispersion, risk-recycling and trend-following. Its defensive and custom solutions include tail hedging, long volatility, currency solutions, volatility carry, diversified defensive overlays and dynamic multi-asset strategies. These strategies are described as aims or objectives, not guaranteed outcomes; the company cautions that derivatives involve substantial risk of loss and are not suitable for all investors.
Capstone’s history page traces its origins to Capstone Holdings Group, founded in 2004. The firm launched its multi-strategy offering in 2007 and Capstone Solutions in 2010. Subsequent milestones include opening offices in Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Stamford, Boston, Milan and Tokyo, and adding strategies such as dispersion, risk-recycling and trend-following. The company is headquartered in New York and lists offices in several other financial centers.
The firm describes its operating model as combining a rigorous investment process, proprietary technology and risk management. Its technology includes tools for pricing derivatives and volatility, filtering opportunities and executing strategies. Its risk platform is intended to inform decisions about risk, performance and capital allocation through research and proprietary models.
Capstone describes its culture as collaborative and knowledge-sharing, with an emphasis on innovation, experimentation and providing teams with the resources and infrastructure to develop their work. The firm says its teams share insights across strategies and that investors’ long-term objectives and challenges inform its approach. These statements reflect the company’s own description of its work and culture.
