James Patrick O'Shaughnessy (born May 24, 1960) is an American

investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of pr ...

and venture capitalist, who is the CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures. He is the founder of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC, an

asset management Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of all value for which a group or entity is responsible. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as complex process or manufacturing plants, infrastr ...

firm that Franklin Templeton later acquired. O'Shaughnessy's areas of expertise include

quantitative Quantitative may refer to: * Quantitative research, scientific investigation of quantitative properties * Quantitative analysis (disambiguation) * Quantitative verse, a metrical system in poetry * Statistics, also known as quantitative analysis ...

equity analysis, portfolio management, research decisions, and

investment Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

models. He has authored several books that use Standard & Poor's Compustat database to provide extensive quantitative analysis of

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange a ...

performance. O'Shaughnessy has been awarded several U.S. patents for his

investment strategies In finance, an investment strategy is a set of rules, behaviors or procedures, designed to guide an investor's selection of an investment portfolio. Individuals have different profit objectives, and their individual skills make different tactics ...

and was recognized as a legendary investor by

Forbes.com ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The c ...

Early life and education

James P. O'Shaughnessy was born and raised in

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, where he attended

Saint Thomas Academy Saint Thomas Academy (abbr. STA), originally known as St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary and formerly known as St. Thomas Military Academy, is an all-male, Catholic military high school in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. The academy has a middle school (gr ...

as a youth. His fascination with the stock market began at an early age when he started to manually track characteristics common to the 30 companies in the

Dow Jones Industrial Average The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity indice ...

stock index. After studying

international economics International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns an ...

and business diplomacy at the School of Foreign Service of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, O'Shaughnessy graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in 1986. O'Shaughnessy continued to apply his research of the stock market, and in 1994, his first book, ''

Invest Like the Best James Patrick O'Shaughnessy (born May 24, 1960) is an American investor and venture capitalist, who is the CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures. He is the founder of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC, an asset management firm that Franklin Templeton l ...

'', was published, followed by the first edition of ''

What Works on Wall Street James Patrick O'Shaughnessy (born May 24, 1960) is an American investor and venture capitalist, who is the CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures. He is the founder of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC, an asset management firm that Franklin Templeton l ...

'' in 1997, ''

How to Retire Rich James Patrick O'Shaughnessy (born May 24, 1960) is an American investor and venture capitalist, who is the CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures. He is the founder of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC, an asset management firm that Franklin Templeton l ...

'' in 1998, and ''

Predicting the Markets of Tomorrow James Patrick O'Shaughnessy (born May 24, 1960) is an American investor and venture capitalist, who is the CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures. He is the founder of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC, an asset management firm that Franklin Templeton l ...

'' in 2006.

Career

Mutual funds

O'Shaughnessy started his own

mutual funds A mutual fund is an investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV in Europe ('investmen ...

under the names Cornerstone Growth and Cornerstone Value in 1996. In 1997, the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...

(RBC) launched the RBC O'Shaughnessy mutual funds for Canadian investors. Currently, there are seven mutual funds in the RBC O'Shaughnessy funds family.

O'Shaughnessy Capital Management

After graduating, O'Shaughnessy worked for a family-owned venture capital firm. During this time, his interest in quantitative research was recognized by a colleague who was on the board of directors with O'Shaughnessy at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. The colleague suggested that O'Shaughnessy's research might be well suited for pension plan management. In 1988, O'Shaughnessy started O'Shaughnessy Capital Management, Inc. and began consulting large pension funds and foundations.

Netfolio

In 1999, O'Shaughnessy started

Netfolio James Patrick O'Shaughnessy (born May 24, 1960) is an American investor and venture capitalist, who is the CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures. He is the founder of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC, an asset management firm that Franklin Templeton l ...

, The Personal Fund Company, to offer individual investors the ability to build their own diversified portfolio over the internet. The company was closed in 2001. As part of Netfolio's concentration on "personal funds", O'Shaughnessy Capital Management sold its mutual fund family to Hennessy Advisors in June 2000.

Bear Stearns Asset Management

In 2001, O'Shaughnessy and his team from O'Shaughnessy Capital Management moved to Bear Stearns Asset Management (BSAM), where O'Shaughnessy was a senior

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and the executive director of Systematic Equity.

O'Shaughnessy Asset Management

In 2007, O'Shaughnessy reached an agreement with Bear Stearns to spin his Systematic team out of BSAM to form O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC. O'Shaughnessy Asset Management was acquired by Franklin Templeton in 2021. O'Shaughnessy later announced that he would retire at the end of 2022.

O'Shaughnessy Ventures

In January 2023, O'Shaughnessy launched his self-described passion project, O'Shaughnessy Ventures, a "creative company that inspires creators". O'Shaughnessy Ventures focuses on 4 specific areas: Infinite Adventures, Infinite Films, Infinite Media, and the O'Shaughnessy Fellowships program. In addition to its flagship investment into Stability Ai, O'Shaughnessy Ventures' other key investments include Positive Sum, Chaotic Capital, Permanent Equity, Anchorless Bangladesh, Prefect, Synthesis School, Eighty-Seven Capital, Entrepreneur First, and Ladder.

Personal life

O'Shaughnessy married his wife Melissa in August 1982. O'Shaughnessy has three children and five grandchildren. In 1991, he moved his family to Greenwich, Connecticut, to be closer to the New York area, where most of his business was located. O'Shaughnessy is the former

chairman of the board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

for the

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) is an American organization dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music in New York City and around the world. It is the largest organization of its kind in the country for chamber m ...

and currently serves as the chair of the capital campaign for CMS. He is also a member of the

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

for Common Good. In September 2022, O'Shaughnessy joined the board of directors for Stability AI as its executive chair.

Bibliography

Books authored by

* ''Invest Like the Best: Using Your Computer to Unlock the Secrets of the Top Money Managers'', 1994,

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

. . * ''How to Retire Rich: Time-Tested Strategies to Beat The Market and Retire in Style'', 1998,

Broadway Books Broadway Books is an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.. It released its first list in Fall 1996. Broadway was founded in 1995 as a unit of Bantam Doubleday Dell, a unit of Bertelsmann. Bertelsmann acquire ...

. . * ''What Works on Wall Street: A Guide to the Best-Performing Investment Strategies of All Time'', 3rd Edition, 2005,

. . (1st Edition, 1997, ; 2nd Edition, 1998, ) * ''Predicting the Markets of Tomorrow: A Contrarian Investment Strategy for the Next Twenty Years'', 2006,

Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media company, media Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a Mergers and acquisitions, mer ...

. .

Commentary authored by

* "A Generational Opportunity." Yahoo! Finance, March 17, 2009. * "Successful Active Stock Investing is Hard: Here are Seven Traits that I Believe are Required for Active Investors to Win in the Long Term." Yahoo! Finance, March 13, 2017. * "What Works on Wall Street." Talks at Google, March 21, 2017 (Published April 5, 2017).

Books about

* * * * *

References

External links

O'Shaughnessy Ventures

O'Shaughnessy stock market commentary: archive

Manager Profile: Bear Stearns Asset Management
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oshaughnessy, James 1960 births Living people American financiers American money managers American chief executives of financial services companies American philanthropists Economists from Minnesota American investors American finance and investment writers University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Stock and commodity market managers American financial analysts American stock traders 21st-century American economists Chief investment officers