EVANSTON, IL – August 26, 2021 – Magnetar Capital (“Magnetar”), a leading alternative asset manager, today announced the hire of Stuart Davies as head of Business Development, Systematic Investing. A 24-year industry veteran, Davies brings a wealth of alternative investment, client partnership and product innovation experience to Magnetar’s Systematic Investing team.

“Our Systematic Investing business is seeing an increase in demand for our products and solutions as investors continue to adopt our belief that systematic hedge fund returns are a critical portfolio component,” said Alec Litowitz, founder, CEO and head of Systematic Investing at Magnetar Capital. “I’m happy to welcome Stuart to the team. He is one of the true innovators in the systematic alternatives space and innately understands investors’ wants and pain-points. I know our clients will utilize him as a strategic, trusted partner.”

Davies comes to Magnetar from AllianceBernstein, where he served as co-head of AB Custom Alternative Solutions. Previously, he was a partner and co-head at Ramius Alternative Solutions LLC, where he built a more than $3B business that sold to AllianceBernstein in 2016. In both roles, Davies worked closely with large global institutions to design and implement customized alternative solutions that incorporated systematic strategies in managed accounts, fund structures and unfunded implementations via total return swaps. Before Ramius, Davies was a managing director and global head of investments at Ivy Asset Management and worked as a portfolio manager for Coronation Fund Managers prior to that.

“Magnetar’s Systematic Investing business has always stood out for its active management practitioners’ DNA coupled with the longevity and high-quality nature of the systematized hedge fund return streams it has delivered investors to-date,” said Davies. “I look forward to connecting more investors to Magnetar’s differentiated approach, while strengthening current client partnerships and adding value to their interactions with us every step of the way.”

Launched in 2014, Magnetar’s Systematic Investing business leverages the firm’s decades of active practitioners’ experience and proprietary data to offer investors products and solutions that aim to extract the systematic components of hedge fund strategy returns in a more transparent, liquid, cost-effective and diversifying manner.

“As many institutional investors’ portfolios today are dominated by equity risk, both public and private, the need for sensible portfolio diversification has never been greater,” Davies continued. “While a significant portion of the hedge fund industry’s return streams are derived from equity risk premium, Magnetar’s Systematic Investing approach is different. Its sustainable, high-quality return streams often originate from structural market anomalies which Magnetar has a rich history of systematically capturing throughout market environments and cycles. Coupled with the support of a best-in-class infrastructure, risk management platform, research capabilities and a robust operational team, Magnetar’s Systematic Investing business is well-positioned to play an increasingly important role for investors in the years to come.”

Davies is a CFA charterholder. He earned a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance and a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He joined Magnetar on August 16 and is based out of its Evanston office.