Emmanuel Lemelson

Emmanuel Lemelson (born Gregory Manoli Lemelson, June 29, 1976) is an American-born Greek Orthodox priest, social commentator and hedge fund manager.

Between 1999 and 2010, he ran the internet company Amvona. In 2011, Lemelson was ordained a Greek Orthodox priest. In 2012, he founded Lemelson Capital Management, which runs The Amvona Fund, a hedge fund based on Christian ethics. In September 2018, Lemelson was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for various infractions involving a short sale. A federal jury returned a mixed verdict resulting in a fine and 5-year injunction barring Lemelson from further securities violations.

Early life and education

Gregory Manoli Lemelson was born on June 29, 1976, in Phoenix, Arizona to a Jewish father and Christian mother. (Subscription required) Following high school, he attended Seattle University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Religious StudiesThe Lantern Foundation official website, "Leadership"
Retrieved April 24, 2014. in 1999. He then attended Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he received a M.Div. in 2003."33 Degrees awarded at HC/HC Commencement"
''Orthodox Observer'', June–July 2003, page 2. Retrieved January 7, 2016.

While a 17-year-old undergraduate at Seattle University, Lemelson met Robert Spitzer, a Jesuit priest and philosopher. In interviews, Lemelson has indicated that the encounter was a significant event in his religious life."Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson"
''The MetroWest Daily News'', June 16, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2016.Brown, Bria
"Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson Speaks About His Journey Alongside Amvona"
''California Business Journal'', April 18, 2013. (Archived at archive.org). Retrieved January 8, 2016.

Early career

Lemelson has written about his early business experiences, saying that his earliest recollection was selling candy on the bus ride home from school in the sixth grade.Lemelson, Emmanuel
The Amvona Fund, L.P. 2012 Annual Report
(pdf file). Page 7. Retrieved January 7, 2016 In 1994, while an undergraduate student at Seattle University, he launched a retail photography business, and in 1999 he founded the website Amvona (a name derived from the Greek word for "pulpit") from his dorm room at Hellenic College. The company, which sold photography accessories, grew quickly, generating around $40 million in revenue.Costa, Filipe R. (June 8, 2015)
"Fund Manager in focus: Emmanuel Lemelson"
''Master Investor''. Retrieved October 26, 2015.

In 2005, based in part on proprietary software the company developed, the site began a transition to a hybrid platform of social networking and ecommerce content."Amvona 720, Apple Sued, Google Video Featured, 2007 Predictions", by Pete Cashmore, Mashable, December 30, 2006.
Retrieved April 24, 2014. By 2007, Lemelson developed technology to link media creation to relevant products using exif data and aggregating shared images of the site's users as a prototype first known as "Amvona Trails" and later rebranded as the independent website Flekt."Amvona Launches Site-Specific Search for Photographers", by Kristen Nicole, Mashable, February 21, 2008
Retrieved July 8, 2014.

Between 1999 and 2010, Amvona sold more than a million photo accessories to 300,000 customers, and was one of the top ten most visited online photo retail websites. The company also registered several patents, including proprietary software to connect its customers through user profiles, product reviews, exit data and online tracking software. Similar technology was later used by other websites to track user activities."On the Value of Users, Hard Drives and Batteries," Part 1, Seeking Alpha, June 13, 2012.
Retrieved April 24, 2014. In 2010, Amvona discontinued its e-commerce business. There was no official explanation, however journalist Filipe R. Costa speculated it was due to increased competition from Chinese companies offering cheap photography equipment online, and Lemelson's business philosophy of not taking on massive debt for the possibility of future growth.

Lemelson later added a news and securities analysis content outlet for the site focused on issues of faith, technology, economics and investing.
Retrieved April 24, 2014.

Religious activity

Lemelson was ordained as a Greek Orthodox deacon on July 23, 2011, and, the following day, as a priest by Metropolitan Elpidophoros of Bursa."Προύσης Ελπιδοφόρος: "Το Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο αγκαλιάζει όλα τα έθνη" Ηλεκτρονικό ταχυδρομείο - Εκτύπωση -"Romfea. 25 Ιουλίου 2011
Retrieved April 22, 2014. He was granted the ecclesiastical name Emmanuel and was assigned to the Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America at the Holy Trinity Albanian Orthodox parish in South Boston. In June 2013, he was assigned to the Holy Metropolis of Switzerland, a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

In November 2014, Lemelson was a member of the Orthodox Church's delegation for a two-day meeting between Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and Pope Francis in Istanbul. He has said that as a young man he fostered a vision that Catholics and Orthodox Christians would soon be reunited, and he has stated that more progress towards reconciliation has been made under these two leaders than had taken place in nearly a millennium,"Three things Pope Francis hopes to accomplish in Turkey," by Josephine Mckenna, ''The Washington Post'', November 26, 2014.
Retrieved December 3, 2014. since the East–West Schism. Lemelson also argued that the timing was "critical" since, as he claimed, "Christians are facing unprecedented persecution in our modern era."

At a presidential candidate campaign rally for Donald Trump held in Keene, New Hampshire on September 30, 2015, Lemelson offered the invocation and spoke at the rally, condemning the abortion practices of Planned Parenthood. He also gave a personal blessing to Trump.

In October 2016 Lemelson called for the removal of the chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston following a clergy sex-abuse scandal. He said the incident was preventable and there were serious deficiencies in the protocols used for the oversight of clergy.

Social commentary and media appearances

In 2010, Lemelson began to write about investment-related topics, including security analysis, Christian investment philosophy and ethics. For example, in a 2015 Fox Business video interview, he criticized the Federal Reserve for keeping interest rates artificially low and contributing to economic inequality, and in a June 2016 op-ed for ''The National Interest'', he advocated strengthening of US immigration policy, which he claimed would oppose Islamic extremism.

In 2014 and 2015 Lemelson appeared on Benzinga, CBS Radio Boston, and on Fox News. He was briefly profiled on Russia's NTV in 2018.

Film

In October 2015, Lemelson was featured in a documentary short produced by ''The Wall Street Journal'' and directed by Gabe Johnson and cinematographer Shiho Fukada.

In April 2021 Lemelson was featured in the documentary series '' Wahl Street'' for his role as a mentor to actor Mark Wahlberg. The series premiered on HBO Max to mixed reviews that were critical of the characters, including Lemelson. Executive producer Archie Gips later compared Lemelson to John Forbes Nash Jr.

Hedge fund manager

In 2012, Lemelson founded Lemelson Capital Management, LLC, the sole sponsor and general partner of The Amvona Fund, L.P. that focuses on deep value and special situations."Lemelson Capital Management" official website
Retrieved July 7, 2014."Priest by Day, Hedge Fund CIO by night – Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson of Lemelson Capital
Retrieved August 26, 2022.

In 2014, he shorted the stock of World Wrestling Entertainment, questioning the value of the company's brand. and stating that he believed the company had made material misrepresentations about both its performance and operating model. When the share price subsequently fell, Lemelson went long the stock and called for new leadership or a sale of the company.

In late April, 2014 Lemelson announced he was building a stake in the semiconductor and LED equipment maker Kulicke & Soffa Industries (NASDAQ: KLIC), saying the company was "absurdly" undervalued. In a letter to the company's CEO Lemelson said he had amassed a stake of nearly 1% and planned to continue buying. Following his commentary, shares rose nearly 10% on triple the normal trading volume.

In June 2014, he shorted the stock of Ligand Pharmaceuticals, criticizing its business practices, drug Promacta, and relationship to Viking Therapeutics while publishing open letters to Congress regarding the alleged abuses. Lemelson's fund made $1.3 million when he covered the short position in October of the same year; by then, Ligand had lost $500 million of its market capitalization. Company executives and congressmen Duncan Hunter later urged the SEC to charge Lemelson with a scheme to defraud investors.

Lemelson's activities led the Amvona Fund to be ranked in three months during 2013–14 among the world's top performing hedge funds,"SA author ranks first among hedge funds, again," Seeking Alpha, November 25, 2013
Retrieved April 24, 2014.
, Retrieved June 4, 2014. and by mid 2015 the company reported a net return of 150 percent since its launch.

His investment research and analysis has been cited in ''The Wall Street Journal'',"The priest who moonlights as a hedge-fund manager," Wall Street Journal video, October 26, 2015
Retrieved November 12, 2015. ''USA Today'',"World Wrestling pummeled four out of five rounds this week", by Gary Strauss, ''USA Today'', April 11, 2014
Retrieved April 24, 2014."Kulicke & Soffa shares surge after investor urges buyback," by Gary Strauss, ''USA Today'', April 22, 2014.
Retrieved April 24, 2014. ''New York Post'',Fox Business Network and ''The Street,'' but has led to conflicting views, with The Motley Fool characterizing Lemelson as "especially harsh," while Benzinga compared his firm to Smith Barney.

In October 2015, ''The Wall Street Journal'' published an article about Lemelson that included a claim that he boasted of his ability to "crash" stocks and quoted him as saying "My whole life I always knew things before they happened. I guess it's just a gift from God". Lemelson later published a response to the story, calling it a "directory of fallacies," and outlined what he described as 14 major factual errors and omissions, but did not deny the quote regarding prescience. Dow Jones (the owner of ''The Wall Street Journal'') stated that they stood by their story.

In March 2016 Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, published an article stating that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was examining whether Lemelson had spread false rumours about stocks. Lemelson called the article "irresponsible and libelous" and later sued Bloomberg. His complaint was eventually dismissed.

In September 2018 Lemelson was sued by the SEC for irregularities over his 2014 Ligand short sale. In November 2021, a federal jury returned a mixed verdict. In December 2021, the SEC sought $2.3 million in penalties against Lemelson, to include disgorgement and interest along with a lifetime injunction barring Lemelson from the securities industry. At the end of March 2022, U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris rejected the SEC's proposed penalty, fining Lemelson only $160,000. She noted that jurors did not accept the SEC's argument that Lemelson had engaged in a "short and distort" scheme. Citing Lemelson's statements criticizing Ligand and Viking, Judge Saris enjoined Lemelson and his firm from further securities violations for the next five years. The SEC intends to seek a lifetime ban to prevent Lemelson from working as an investment advisor.

Personal life

As of 2014 Lemelson was married to Theodora Anjeza Lemelson and lived in Southborough, Massachusetts. As of 2015, he had four children.

References

External links

*

Amvona

Lemelson Capital Management

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemelson, Emmanuel
1976 births
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century Eastern Orthodox priests
American chief executives
American Eastern Orthodox priests
American finance and investment writers
American financial analysts
American hedge fund managers
American people of Jewish descent
Businesspeople from Massachusetts
Businesspeople from Phoenix, Arizona
Chief investment officers
Eastern Orthodox priests in the United States
Eastern Orthodox theologians
Greek Orthodox Christians from the United States
Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology alumni
Living people
Massachusetts Republicans
Religious leaders from Phoenix, Arizona
Seattle University alumni
Shareholder-rights activists
Stock and commodity market managers
Writers from Massachusetts