Guide to Altegris Research and Investment Process

Our research goes beyond the numbers.

We don't just crunch data. With years of alternatives experience, we know what to look for, what to ask, and most importantly — what to avoid. This expertise equips Altegris to navigate the universe of alternatives to find those that we believe best meet our clients' needs.* And our job doesn’t stop there. We continually evaluate and analyze our choices and make changes when necessary to ensure our line-up represents what we believe are best-of-breed managers.

Our research process leverages the knowledge and insight of the Altegris Investment Committee and the Research and Investments Group to find, analyze, select, and continually evaluate best-of-breed managers in each of our core strategies. We divide our process into five key steps, which typically takes three to six months to complete.


1. Identification

Altegris continually searches the universe of alternative investment strategies and managers to identify new opportunities for our clients. Blending the Investment Committee’s top-down viewpoints and the Research and Investments Group’s bottom-up analysis helps us to continually bring new ideas into the Altegris investment review process.

2. Assessment

Once the preliminary list of managers has been identified, the Research and Investments Group gathers initial information that includes reviewing key documents, interviewing managers, and analyzing performance. The results of this assessment are submitted to the Altegris Investment Committee for its initial review.

3. Manager qualification and approval

After the initial review by the Investment Committee, a decision is made whether to proceed with formal manager review. The Research and Investments Group conducts three separate levels of due diligence for manager qualification: investment due diligence, operational due diligence and document review.

The Research and Investments Group presents its detailed due diligence findings to the Investment Committee for its final review and decision. Manager approval requires unanimous Investment Committee consent.

4. Portfolio management

For those funds within our suite that represent a multi-manager approach, our Portfolio Managers review various metrics, such as return analysis and risk profiles, to build a portfolio of approved managers based on the investment objectives of each individual strategy. The information utilized by the Portfolio Managers is developed by the Research and Investments Group, which also provides additional input from their findings. This careful construction by the Portfolio Managers can only come from decades of experience in alternative strategies.

5. Ongoing evaluation and analysis

Our job isn’t over once a manager has been approved. The Research and Investments Group continually performs in-depth analysis of each manager through constant investment, operational and risk monitoring. Each monitoring group is directly involved in conducting formalized meetings, ongoing quantitative analysis, monitoring of material market events and any material changes. These ongoing reviews look for “red flags” such as material changes in processes, operations, service providers and personnel, abnormal returns or unexpected changes in the risk or profile for the portfolio. If a “red flag” is identified, review by the Investment Committee is triggered, which may result in the manager losing its approval.*


The Altegris Investment Committee champions the investment process.
The six person Altegris Investment Committee consists of the senior executive team of Altegris and its affiliates, the Chief Investment Officer, and the Director of Research and Investments. The Investment Committee performs an ongoing top-down alternative strategy review and determines if there are gaps in the lineup of strategies that have the potential to deliver sustainable alpha. It directs the Research and Investments Group to identify potential managers that meet performance objectives and investment strategy themes. The Investment Committee is ultimately responsible for approval or re-allocation of all managers within the Altegris suite.

Our Research and Investments Group is expert in the art and science of alternative investments.

The Research and Investments Group is composed of experienced professionals with history in the alternatives industry. They have the relationships, the knowledge and the sensibilities to uncover opportunity.

Focused solely on alternatives, the team identifies, analyzes and continually evaluates premier private funds across a variety of strategies, managed futures funds, and other alternative investments. This team specializes in detailed operational and investment evaluation for new and existing funds and investment managers. Our extensive process has given us a deep understanding of how managers can add value as well as a high degree of confidence in their abilities.

Allen Cheng

Senior Vice President, Chief Investment Officer

Allen Cheng brings 20+ years of hedge fund and alternative investment experience to his role as Senior Vice President & Chief Investment Officer of Altegris Advisors where he is responsible for the Research and Investments Group. Prior to Altegris, Cheng served as Managing Director, Head of Fund of Funds Portfolio Management at Bank of America's Alternative Investment Group. His previous experience includes responsibility as Managing Director-Head of Research for Optima Fund Management; an investment advisory firm specializing in alternative investments.

Lara Magnusen, CAIA

Vice President, Director, Investment Products

With 10+ years of industry experience Lara Magnusen currently serves as Vice President, Director of Investment Products for Altegris Advisors. Magnusen has worked at Altegris since 2005, previously serving as the Director of Research and Investments at Altegris Advisors. Magnusen was also previously Director of Manager Research for Cabezon Capital LLC/Borton Hermeneutics LLC. Additional experience includes her tenure at Helix Investment Partners, a capital structure arbitrage hedge fund, as well as several years as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs.

Eric Bundonis, CFA

Vice President, Co-Director, Research and Investments

Eric Bundonis serves as Vice President, Co-Director of Research and Investments for Altegris Advisors. Bundonis joined Altegris from OneCapital Management Partners in New York. As a member of OneCapital's investment committee, he was responsible for identifying, selecting, and monitoring investments for multi-manager funds of hedge funds serving institutional and high net worth investors.

Ryan Hart, CFA, CAIA

Vice President, Co-Director, Research and Investments

Ryan Hart serves as Vice President, Co-Director of Research and Investments for Altegris Advisors. Hart joined Altegris from Wachovia Securities, where he served as Alternative Investment Strategist, responsible for analyzing and recommending alternative investments. In this role, Hart also advised the investment network on the best utilization of alternative investments in client portfolios.

Ashish Dasaur, CAIA

Associate Vice President, Senior Quantitative Analyst

Ashish Dasaur serves as a Senior Quantitative Analyst at Altegris Advisors. Ashish joined Altegris from Pacific Alternative Asset Management Co., where he served as a Senior Risk Analyst, and was responsible for monitoring and analyzing the risk of the fund of hedge funds portfolios. He started his career at Deloitte Consulting where he addressed business problems revolving around a client's information management and information technology delivery capabilities.

Evan Akutagawa

Associate Vice President, Senior Research Analyst

Evan Akutagawa serves as a Senior Research Analyst at Altegris Advisors. Akutagawa joined Altegris from Rosehill Capital Management, LLC, where he served as Senior Operations & Finance Analyst, responsible for executing day-to-day operations, performing fund accounting, overseeing third-party annual audit and tax preparation, managing investor relations and generating investment trade ideas.

David Lin

Associate Vice President, Research Analyst

David Lin serves as a Research Analyst at Altegris Advisors. Lin joined Altegris from Wilshire Associates with the Funds Management Group, where he served as an Associate, working on both the mutual fund and hedge fund multi-manager platforms, assisting the firm's portfolio managers in portfolio holdings review, performance attribution and group peer analysis.

Marissa Gottlieb

Associate Vice President, Research Analyst

Marissa Gottlieb serves as a Research Analyst at Altegris Advisors. Gottlieb is responsible for helping to maintain the Altegris managed futures platform. Gottlieb joined Altegris from Cabrillo Advisors, LLC, a boutique investment bank and financial advisory services firm. In Gottlieb's previous role as a Financial Analyst, she conducted business valuations for clients and conducted company and market research.

Christine Ngo

Research Data Analyst

Christine Ngo serves as a Research Data Analyst at Altegris Advisors. Ngo is responsible for data related to approved and prospective managers.