Q&A with Daniel C. Chung of Alger
CEO, CIO & Portfolio Manager
Principal Series:
Alger is a privately owned investment boutique that has a singular focus on growth equity investing.
Alger was founded by Fred Alger in 1964, and today is owned by his three daughters: Alexandra, Nicole and Hilary. Fred’s son in law Dan Chung is the CIO, CEO and President of the firm.
Dan is also the head of the Alger family office.
Alger Dynamic Opportunities is an equity long/short strategy seeking long-term capital appreciation, and lower volatility by taking long and short positions U.S. growth equities. The strategy seeks to provide investors access to what we believe are Alger’s best ideas across the firm.
Join us for a private Family Office Insights Webinar featuring Alger CEO and CIO Dan Chung speaking about the Alger Dynamic Opportunities Fund (Long / Short Equity).
June 16th at 2:15-3:15pm EST
RSVP & Confirmation Required
Family Office Insights is a voluntary, “opt-in” collaborative peer-to-peer community of single family offices, qualified investors and institutional investors. Join the community here www.familyofficeinsights.com
Why was the Alger Dynamic Opportunities strategy created for the Alger family?
• The Alger Dynamic Opportunities strategy is an equity long/short strategy that was originally conceived for the Alger family, as a way to provide them access to the most compelling investment ideas at the firm, in a diversified, and arguably conservative structure. In line with needs of the family, the objective of the strategy is long term capital preservation, with lower volatility.
• The portfolio offers a broad exposure of Alger’s best ideas in a long/short structure that gives the portfolio managers the ability to extend their opportunity set to include short positions, and to manage the market exposure. The Alger Dynamic Opportunities strategy gives investors access to this content in a daily liquid product, granting them flexibility in their use and the role of the strategy in their portfolios.
How do you manage the Alger Dynamic Opportunities strategy?
As an equity long/short strategy, Dynamic Opportunities not only seeks to identify the beneficiaries of innovation and Positive Dynamic Change, but given the extension to short opportunities, allows the portfolio managers to express views on those firms that they believe will lose out on that change. Short exposure is primarily comprised of single name positions, which are identified using the same fundamental, bottom up research that has been in place at Alger since our founding in 1964. The structure also enables the portfolio managers to manage market exposure as a risk management tool.
Why Alger?
• Alger is a privately owned investment boutique that has a singular focus on growth equity investing. The firm has a vibrant, fundamental research culture and a time-tested investment philosophy that has been in place since its launch in 1964. Key to the Alger’s success is a deep investment team of 49 professionals covering a range companies across market cap and sector.
• We focus on identifying themes of innovation and Positive Dynamic Change across industry and rely on deep fundamental research to identify the beneficiaries and losers of that change. Alger believes that Innovation, driven by the digital economy, is accelerating change and forcing businesses and investors to think and act differently.
• Our independence has allowed us to retain our focus on our core competence of growth equity investing.
Daniel C. Chung of Alger
Daniel C. Chung is Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager of several Alger strategies. Dan joined Alger in 1994 and has 27 years of investment experience. He was named Chief Investment Officer in September 2001, President in 2003, and CEO in 2006. Dan is also a member of The Alger Partners Plan. Throughout his tenure at Alger, he has made numerous TV appearances on Bloomberg, CNBC, and Fox Business. Dan has also been featured and quoted frequently in Barron’s, Citywire, Forbes, Investment News, Pensions & Investments, and USA Today. Prior to joining Alger, Dan was an associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York City in 1989 while he earned an LL.M. from New York University. He earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1987, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating, he served as law clerk for the Honorable Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, United States Supreme Court. Dan graduated from Stanford University with B.A. and B.S. degrees, with Distinction and Phi Beta Kappa, in 1984. Dan is also a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute. Dan currently serves as a board trustee and former chairman of The Nature Conservancy in the State of New York and is a Global Campaign Committee Member of The Nature Conservancy. He is also actively involved with the Stanford in New York Internship Program, and frequently contributes to and supports various charitable organizations including the Harlem Education Activities Fund (HEAF) and Target Margin Theater.
The views expressed are the views of Fred Alger Management, LLC (“FAM”) and its affiliates as of May 2021. These views are subject to change at any time and may not represent the views of all portfolio management teams. These views should not be interpreted as a guarantee of the future performance of the markets, any security or any funds managed by FAM. These views are not meant to provide investment advice and should not be considered a recommendation to purchase or sell securities.
Risk Disclosures – Investing in the stock market involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. Growth stocks may be more volatile than other stocks as their prices tend to be higher in relation to their companies’ earnings and may be more sensitive to market, political, and economic developments. A significant portion of assets will be invested in technology companies, which may be significantly affected by competition, innovation, regulation, and product obsolescence, and may be more volatile than the securities of other companies. Cash positions may underperform relative to equity and fixed-income securities. Options and Short sales could increase market exposure, magnifying losses and increasing volatility. Issuers of convertible securities may be more sensitive to economic changes. Investing in companies of small capitalizations involve the risk that such issuers may have limited product lines or financial resources, lack management depth, or have limited liquidity. Leverage increases volatility in both up and down markets and its costs may exceed the returns of borrowed securities. Foreign securities involve special risks including currency fluctuations, inefficient trading, political and economic instability, and increased volatility. Active trading may increase transaction costs, brokerage commissions, and taxes, which can lower the return on investment. Please visit www.alger.com for additional risk disclosures.
Before investing, carefully consider the Fund’s investment objective, risks, charges, and expenses. For a prospectus and summary prospectus containing this and other information or for the Fund’s most recent month-end performance data, visit www.alger.com, call (800) 992-3863 or consult your financial advisor. Read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing. Distributor: Fred Alger & Company, LLC. NOT FDIC INSURED. NOT BANK GUARANTEED. MAY LOSE VALUE.