The key is to keep company with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.
Epictetus

We meet the challenges facing investors today by bringing what we believe are the best ideas from different fields together in a culture of research and innovation. We are committed to developing and enhancing cutting edge solutions for global allocation, equities, and risk management.

Dimitris Bertsimas, Ph.D.

Managing Partner

Dr. Bertsimas is a founding partner of Alpha Dynamics and is responsible for overseeing the firm’s business activities. He is the Boeing Professor and co-director of the Operations Research Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he has been a member of the faculty since 1988. Formerly a Senior Portfolio manager and the head of quantitative investments at RiverSource Investments where he was responsible for managing $12 billion in mutual funds, separate accounts, and hedge funds. In 1998 Dr. Bertsimas co-founded Dynamic Ideas LLC whose assets were sold to American Express in 2002. He has over 20 years of investment management experience and has served as a consultant to well-known investment managers. He has received numerous research awards and he is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Bertsimas has written over 130 papers in optimization, data mining, applied probability and quantitative finance and he has written 3 textbooks that are used in over 40 universities around the world. Dr. Bertsimas has a PhD in Applied Mathematics and Operations Research from MIT. He holds the Series 7 and 63.

Gina Mourtzinou, Ph.D.

Partner, Senior Portfolio Manager

Dr. Mourtzinou, is an Alpha Dynamics partner and heads up the equity and asset allocation strategies. Previously she was a Senior Portfolio Manager at Columbia Management and its predecessor RiverSource Investments where she was responsible for managing large-cap and small/mid cap equity and asset allocation portfolios. Prior to RiverSource, she co-founded Dynamic Ideas LLC, a consulting firm that specialized in the development of quantitative tools for the asset management industry, where she served as Vice President of Research and Analytics, 1999 to 2002. She began her investment career as a consultant to asset managers in 1996. She received her Ph.D. in Operations Research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her B.S. in Communications Systems at the National Technical University of Athens. She has spoken at numerous industry events on the use of robust optimization and applications in financial planning and investments. She has published articles in the premier academic journals for stochastic systems and optimization. She holds the Series 7, 63, and 65.

Steve Kokkotos, Ph.D.

Partner, Director of Operations, Chief Compliance Officer

Dr. Kokkotos, is an Alpha Dynamics partner and is responsible for our technology systems, model development and trading. In addition, Dr. Kokkotos serves as Chief Compliance Officer for the firm. Previously he was an Associate Portfolio Manager at RiverSource Investments where he managed the domestic small-cap strategies, oversaw daily operations, ensured data quality, and co-directed quantitative systems and database development. Prior to RiverSource Investments, he was a partner at Dynamic Ideas LLC where he was director of technology. He received his Ph.D. in Software Engineering in 1992 and his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering in 1986, both from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. Dr. Kokkotos was an early contributor to the fields of spatiotemporal databases and knowledge representation. He has written over twenty articles and has published articles in the leading technical journals in the field of software engineering. He holds the Series 7, 63, and 66.

Alexander Sauer-Budge, Ph.D.

Partner, Director of Analytics

Dr. Sauer-Budge is an Alpha Dynamics partner and is responsible for our analytics process and strategy research. Previously he was an Associate Portfolio Manager at RiverSource Investments where he led quantitative equity research for developed international and emerging markets, collaborated on domestic equity and asset allocation research, led quantitative trading research, and co-directed quantitative systems and database development. He graduated with highest honors from the University of California, Davis, with a B.S. in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering. He earned his S.M. in Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT as a student in the Information and Control Engineering Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. in Computational Fluid Dynamics with a minor in optimization methods from MIT in 2003. Much of his academic work focused on the reliability and trustworthiness of computational methods. He has published articles in the leading technical journals in the field of computational methods.

Christopher M. Moran

Partner, Head of Marketing and Products

Mr. Moran is an Alpha Dynamics partner and is responsible for leading new product and strategic initiatives. In addition, he oversees all new and existing client relationships at Alpha Dynamics. Previously he was director of asset allocation and alternative products at Columbia Management. His responsibilities included new product development, product pricing/positioning and all internal and external client communication. During his tenure at Columbia/RiverSource, he helped grow the team’s assets from $5 billion to over $12 billion in 2010. Previously, he held a variety of product and sales positions at Fidelity Investments and MFS/Sun Life. Mr. Moran began his investment career in 1996. He received he B.S. in Business Administration from Salem State University. He holds the Series 7, 6, 63 and 65.

Rick Fraelick

Director, Business Development

Rick Fraelick is Alpha Dynamic's Director of Business Development and is responsible for identifying and managing new business relationships that align with the firm's principles and solutions. He previously worked as a Business Development Associate at SCS Investments driving new business for the firm's alternative investment division. His responsibilities included developing external marketing material, client communications and establishing key consultant, private wealth, and family office relationships throughout the entire United States. Prior to SCS, he worked as a Regional Vice President and Regional Sales Director in the Midwest and New England markets. In this role, he raised assets in excess of $1 billion over a six-year period for Columbia Management, AllianceBernstein, and Putnam Investments. He began his investment and financial services career in 2001. Rick received his B.A. from St. Lawrence University. He holds the Series 7, 6 and 63.