Roy Niederhoffer

Roy Gary Niederhoffer
Investment Manager Roy G. Niederhoffer
Born	1966 (age 49–50)
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Harvard College (BA in Computational Neuroscience, magna cum laude, 1987)
Occupation	Hedge fund manager and philanthropist
Employer	R. G. Niederhoffer Capital Management, Inc.
Known for	Founder of R. G. Niederhoffer Capital Management, Inc. (1993) Founder of Niederhoffer Foundation
Home town	Great Neck, New York
Title	President
Board member of	The Harmony Program (Chairman) Concert Artists Guild (Chairman) NYCO Renaissance (Chairman)
Relatives	Hedge fund manager Victor Niederhoffer; brother

Roy Gary Niederhoffer (b. in 1966) is an American hedge fund manager and philanthropist.

Niederhoffer founded R. G. Niederhoffer Capital Management, Inc., in 1993, and serves as its President.^[1] The R. G. Niederhoffer Diversified Program is reported to have returned +60% in 2000,^[2] +51% in 2008, and overall have had long-term returns over +17% annualized return from 1999 through March 2009.^[3] His firm’s assets under management were reported to be $943 million as of August 2010.^[4]

Niederhoffer was noted for his efforts to provide relief to victims of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Harmony Program (which provides music education to underserved New York City Public School students) and Concert Artists Guild, and has been on the board of the Kaufman Center (consisting of the Special Music School, Lucy Moses School, and Merkin Concert Hall). He created the Niederhoffer Foundation, which is active in music education, Jewish causes, and aid to the needy. Niederhoffer is also the Chairman of the Board of NYCO Renaissance, a group that revived the New York City Opera.^[5]

Early life

Niederhoffer was raised in Great Neck, New York. His father, Arthur Niederhoffer (1917–1981), was a professor of Sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the author of several books on the police and criminology including “Behind the Shield”, “The Ambivalent Force", and “The Police Family”, as well as a 20-year veteran of the New York City Police Department.^[6][7][8] His mother, Elaine Niederhoffer (1925–2006), was an English teacher, author, and editor.^[9][10]

At age 13, he and a classmate founded a company called Software Innovations, which sold computer games such as Alien Invasion for the TRS-80 microcomputer.^[11] In 1982, when Niederhoffer was 16, the firm changed its name to Microvations, Inc. It soon thereafter employed over 30 people, mostly his classmates, and produced over 450 individual titles by 1983. Though the company closed when Niederhoffer left for college at Harvard, his interest in computers continued.^[12]

Education

Niederhoffer attended Great Neck South High School. He then attended Harvard College, from which he graduated magna cum laude in 1987 with a BA in Computational Neuroscience.^[13]

Career

R. G. Niederhoffer Capital Management

Following university, Niederhoffer worked for his brother, hedge fund manager Victor Niederhoffer, from 1987 to 1992.

Roy Niederhoffer left his brother’s firm in 1992, opening R. G. Niederhoffer Capital Management, Inc., in 1993.^[14] He serves as its President.^[1]

The R. G. Niederhoffer Diversified Program is reported to have returned +60% in 2000,^[2] +51% in 2008, and overall have had long-term returns over +17% annualized return from 1999 through March 2009.^[3] His firm’s assets under management were reported to be $943 million as of August 2010.^[4]

Business and trading strategy

Niederhoffer employs an investment strategy known as short-term trading. Niederhoffer’s computerized trading models are able to profit from the presence of cognitive biases in the human brain, which cause investors and the models they create to behave predictably. His firm was noted for strong performance during the financial crisis of 2007–2010.^[15]

Awards

• The Roy G. Niederhoffer Negative Correlation Fund was the Absolute Return Managed Futures Fund of the Year in 2008,^[16] when it returned 55%, and the Diversified Fund Offshore was also nominated for its 2008 performance of 51%.

• The R. G. Niederhoffer Diversified Fund Offshore was the HFM Week Magazine Managed Futures Fund of the Year in 2008.^[17]

• R. G. Niederhoffer Capital Management, Inc., was Futures Magazine Top Trader of 2000.^[18]

• The R. G. Niederhoffer Diversified Fund Offshore was ranked #9 of the top 100 Hedge Funds by Barrons in 2009,^[19] and #42 in 2010.

Musical and theatre pursuits

Niederhoffer is a violinist with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, and has performed with them in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Alice Tully Hall. He is also a classical and jazz pianist.^[20]

Niederhoffer is the Executive Producer of The Flying Karamazov Brothers, which played Off-Broadway in 2010 and in London's West End in 2011.^[20][21][22]

Philanthropy

Niederhoffer is noted for his efforts to provide relief to victims of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Beginning the week of the storm, he organized hundreds of volunteers and corporate donors including Fairway, Inc., and Exxel Outdoor Products^[23] who distributed tons of food, supplies, generators, and sleeping bags to residents of Rockaway, Queens and elsewhere.^[24]

Niederhoffer currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Harmony Program,^[25] which provides music education to underserved New York City Public School students, and Concert Artists Guild,^[26] and has been on the board of the Kaufman Center^[27] (consisting of the Special Music School, Lucy Moses School, and Merkin Concert Hall).

He also has created the Niederhoffer Foundation, which is active in music education, Jewish causes, and aid to the needy.^[28]

Niederhoffer is the Chairman of the Board of NYCO Renaissance, a group that revived the New York City Opera in January 2016.^[29][30][31]

Family

Niederhoffer is the brother of hedge fund manager Victor Niederhoffer and clinical psychologist Diane Klein,^[32] the son of sociology professor and author Arthur Niederhoffer^[33] and author Elaine Niederhoffer, and the uncle of director and author Galt Niederhoffer.

References

1. Story, Louise (October 10, 2008). "Hedge fund winners amid the rubble". The New York Times.
2. Uhlfelder, Eric (May 25, 2009). "Model Behavior". Barrons. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
3. Matthias Knab (September 24, 2010). "Opalesque Exclusive: New York CTA R.G. Niederhoffer posts strong gains in August announces new launch and asset base of $943m". Opalesque. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
4. Matthias Knab (September 24, 2010). "Opalesque Exclusive: New York CTA R.G. Niederhoffer posts strong gains in August announces new launch and asset base of $943m". Opalesque. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
6. "Arthur Niederhoffer (Author of Gang)". Goodreads.com. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
7. [ Displaying Abstract ] (January 16, 1981). "Dr. Arthur Niederhoffer, A Professor at John Jay – Obituary". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
8. "The Education of a Speculator". Business Week. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
9. "In Memory of Elaine Niederhoffer". Daily Speculations. April 23, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
10. "The police family: from station house to ranch house / Arthur Niederhoffer, Elaine Niederhoffer". National Library of Australia. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
11. "Tandy Radio Shack TRS 80 Model I Various a Roms|Free Rom Games Download|ROMS|Games". The Old Computer. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
12. "Two Freshman Entrepreneurs Put Computer Careers on Hold". The Crimson.
13. Eric Uhlfelder (May 25, 2009). "Model Behavior". Barrons.
14. "Roy Niederhoffer: Trained by Victor Niederhoffer and Monroe Trout". Street Stories. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
15. "What Crisis? Some Hedge Funds Are Gaining". The New York Times. November 10, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
16. ., Hedge Fund Intelligence
17. "HFMWeek announces winners for US Performance Awards | Hedge Fund Manager". HFM Week Magazine. October 31, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
18. "TOP TRADERS of 2000". ebscohost.com.
19. "The Hedge Fund 100" (PDF). The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
20. "A passion for music". institutionalinvestorsalpha.com.
21. "The Flying Karamazov Brothers". Fkb.com. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
22. Uhlfelder, Eric (September 10, 2010). "Artists Bound by Tradition, If Not Blood". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
23. http://www.exxel.com/
24. Fox NY Report on Brett Scudder and Roy Niederhoffer's Relief Efforts in The Rockaways. YouTube. November 12, 2012.
25. "Support Us". Harmony Program.
26. "About Us", Concert Artists
27. "Kaufman Center Celebrates Renovation, Garners Praise". New York Sun.
28. "NIEDERHOFFER FOUNDATION". CitizenAudit.org.
29. Michael Cooper (December 5, 2014). Bid for New York City Opera’s Assets Wins Board’s Support", The New York Times.
30. "Revival Meeting". Opera News.
32. "Dr. Diane N. Klein, PHD - Bloomfield, NJ - Clinical Psychology & Psychology". Healthgrades.
33. "Dr. Arthur Niederhoffer, A Professor at John Jay". The New York Times. January 16, 1981.