The Altegris Investment Committee is currently comprised of six senior investment
professionals from various affiliates of the Altegris group of companies.
In its search for unique investment opportunities, the Committee continually performs
a top-down strategy assessment of the alternative universe, taking into consideration
the macroeconomic landscape as well as market fundamentals. As part of its manager
selection process, the Committee also reviews bottom-up manager research conducted
by the Research and Investments team.
The Committee is responsible for the approval and ongoing review of all investment
managers on the Altegris Fund Platform.
Jon Sundt
Jon Sundt has more than 24 years of experience in the alternative investment industry.
As a co-founder of the Altegris group of companies, and President & CEO of Altegris
Investments, Altegris Advisors, and other affiliates, he leads a team of 70 professionals
dedicated to providing investors access to some of the world’s leading alternative
investment managers. Altegris clients include investment professionals, institutional
and sophisticated individual investors, and family offices, with over $2.7 billion
in trading level allocated through Altegris to alternative investments.
Mr. Sundt began his career as an options trader in 1986. Prior to co-founding Altegris,
Mr. Sundt served six years as Director of Managed Accounts and Senior Vice President
of the Managed Investments Division of Man Financial, a subsidiary of the Man Group
– the world’s largest hedge fund provider, based in London and listed on the FTSE
100. An expert in Managed Futures and alternative investment strategies, Mr. Sundt
is widely quoted by leading financial media and a variety of industry publications.
In his leadership role for the Altegris group of companies, Mr. Sundt also champions
the development of leading-edge productivity tools for professional and individual
investors, applying the skills he gained while studying computer science and economics
at the University of California, San Diego.
Mr. Sundt is an active member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) and Vistage
International. He is also the Founder and President of the Sundt Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed
to preventing substance abuse among today’s youth. Mr. Sundt actively participates
in the Vistage Chief Executive Coaching Program, an organization and program designed
to enable business leaders to gain fresh perspectives, test ideas, overcome obstacles
and seize opportunities to generate results.
Matt Osborne
Matt Osborne has more than 22 years of international business and financial market
experience. As a co-founder of the Altegris group of companies, an Executive Vice
President and Managing Director of Altegris Advisors, and a senior advisor of other
affiliates, Mr. Osborne is responsible for Strategic Initiatives. Prior to co-founding
Altegris, Mr. Osborne was Director of Research for the Managed Investments Division
of Man Financial.
Mr. Osborne had a 12-year career with a preeminent family office in his native New
Zealand. In his role as Investment Manager, he was responsible for formulating investment
policies and implementing a global asset allocation program that specialized in
alternative investment strategies such as hedge funds and Managed Futures. He also
gained significant trading expertise in foreign currencies, stocks, fixed income,
global futures and options.
Mr. Osborne actively participates in the Vistage Key Executives Business Coaching
Program, a 14,500+ member organization that serves as the world’s foremost executive
leadership association.
Bob Amedeo
Bob Amedeo has over 30 years of legal expertise in the financial industry. As a
co-founder of the Altegris group of companies and an Executive Vice President of
Altegris Investments, Altegris Advisors, and other affiliates, Mr. Amedeo is responsible
for Business Development.
Mr. Amedeo began his career at the SEC, serving in the Division of Enforcement.
He then joined a Chicago law firm Abramson & Fox where he specialized in securities
and commodities law. He was made partner and later served the firm as "Of Counsel".
Prior to co-founding Altegris in 2002, Mr. Amedeo was founder and President of Rockwell
Futures Management, Inc., a predecessor to what is now known as Altegris Funds,
and also founder and President of Rockwell Investments, a predecessor to what is
now known as Altegris Investments.
Mr. Amedeo is the past chairman of an advisory committee to the North American Association
of Securities Administrators (NAASA). He has acted as a member of the NFA Hearing
Committee and is currently the Chairman of its CPO/CTA Advisory Committee.
Mr. Amedeo is a 1975 graduate of Northwestern University and received a Juris Doctor
degree from DePaul University in 1978.
Dick Pfister, CAIA - Executive Vice President, Managing Director
Dick Pfister has over 17 years of alternative investment experience. He is an Executive
Vice President, Managing Director of Altegris Investments, where he leads all sales
and client services.
Mr. Pfister began his career on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as
a technical analyst and trader. After trading in the currency and stock index futures
markets for several years, he managed the Global Macro CTA Trade Desk for Dean Witter
Reynolds.
Later, he joined Man Financial, leading the growth of International Traders Research
Inc. (now a member of the Altegris companies) to its preeminent role of providing
dedicated Managed Futures data services. In June 1998, Mr. Pfister was appointed
Institutional Research Executive at the Man Financial Managed Investments Division,
a role he held until joining Altegris in 2002.
Mr. Pfister is an inaugural member of the Chartered Alternative Investment Association
and earned the first-ever Chartered Alternative Investments Analyst (CAIA) designation
in September 2003. The CAIA is a specific designation that distinguishes individuals
who are best qualified in dealing with alternative investments.
Mr. Pfister actively participates in the Vistage Key Executives Business Coaching
Program, a 14,500+ member organization that serves as the world’s foremost executive
leadership association.
Mr. Pfister holds a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance
from the University of San Diego.
Allen Cheng - Senior Vice President & Chief Investment Officer
Allen Cheng brings over 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.
Before joining Altegris Advisors, Mr. Cheng served as Managing Director, Head of
Fund of Funds Portfolio Management at Bank of America’s Alternative Investment Group.
In this position, Mr. Cheng built and directed the hedge fund portfolio investment
team and additionally oversaw numerous hedge fund products across diverse strategies.
He has significant experience in the alternative investment industry, particularly
in the area of identifying, selecting, and monitoring hedge fund managers across
multiple investment disciplines.
Mr. Cheng’s previous experience includes responsibility as Managing Director, Head
of Research for Optima Fund Management, an investment advisory firm specializing
in alternative investments. He began his alternative investment career at Moore
Capital Management managing asset allocation and research for hedge fund multi-manager
products.
Mr. Cheng earned his B.A. in Finance from the University of Maryland and M.B.A.
from the University of Michigan.
Lara Magnusen, CAIA - Vice President, Director
With over 10 years of industry experience Lara Magnusen currently serves as Vice
President, Director of Research and Investments for Altegris Advisors. Ms. Magnusen
previously served as Director of Manager Research for Cabezon Capital LLC / Borton
Hermeneutics LLC, responsible for monitoring and developing seeded managers.
Additional experience includes her tenure as an Associate Portfolio Manager and
Director of Investor Relations at Helix Investment Partners, a capital structure
arbitrage hedge fund, as well as a several years as a financial analyst at Goldman
Sachs.
Ms. Magnusen holds a B.A. in Economics with a minor in Business Administration from
the University of California, Berkeley. She also has an M.B.A. from the Rady School
of Management at the University of California, San Diego.
Read Research and Investments
Team Bios
Read Team Member Bios
Contact Altegris directly