Jean-Philippe is Chairman of CFM. He founded ‘Science and Finance’ in 1994, the research arm of CFM with Jean-Pierre Aguilar, which merged with CFM in 2000. He supervises the research team alongside Marc Potters. Jean-Philippe maintains strong links with the academic world and is a professor at École Normale Supérieure (ENS). Prior to CFM, Jean-Philippe was a researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique until 1992. Following this he spent a year at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge before joining the Service de Physique de l’État Condensé at the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique in Saclay, France. He holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the ENS in Paris.
We are an investment management firm whose investment strategies are based on a quantitative and scientific approach to financial markets.
Founded in 1991, we are one of the most established firms of our kind, with a track record built on a carefully managed expansion process, rigorous risk framework and distinct culture that blends a unique mixture of the scientific background of our researchers and IT engineers, supported by an experienced corporate team. The firm is owned by management and employees, with a minority stake held by Dyal Capital.
Research and technology are the key enablers of the investment process at CFM, which involves creating strategies derived from analysing large quantities (petabytes per annum) of financial data allowing trading decisions to be executed in a highly systematic and disciplined way. We look for statistically significant patterns from which we create investment strategies that are rigorously tested before being implemented by algorithms that control the buying and selling of securities. CFM manages a large set of quantitative strategies which trade liquid instruments across global markets including futures, equities, bonds, options, foreign exchange and various derivatives. In view of these challenges, collaboration, humility and innovation are key components to our culture.
Our investors include Pension Funds, Endowments, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Foundations, Fund of Funds, Private Banks, Insurance Companies and Family Offices. We have offices in Paris, London, and New York and a local contact in Sydney.
In addition to carrying out research on new strategies, we have strong links to a number of universities and our researchers seek to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in finance and economics by lecturing and regularly publishing academic articles.
Our entities are registered with the:
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AMF in France |
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CFTC and SEC in the USA |
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FCA in the UK |
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FSA in Japan |
We are a member of:
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AFG - Association Française de la Gestion financière |
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AIMA - Alternative Investment Management Association |
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SBAI - Standards Board for Alternative Investments |
Our Vision
Big-data and technology are set to have as profound an impact on the world as the industrial revolution. In fields as varied as medicine, science and finance, we are already seeing massive advances. CFM has been a pioneer of econophysics. It has innovated by applying research and academic techniques to finance and economics, seeking to create consistent returns not correlated to wider market performance and applying appropriate risk parameters.
Data proliferation is a modern phenomenon that looks set to continue. This combined with huge technological change, means we believe structural change in finance is inevitable. Systematic techniques will become the norm in asset management and firms with the research capability and technology to harness data are likely to be winners. Our aim is to remain at the vanguard of this revolution, whilst staying true to our philosophy and culture.
Our History
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CFM founded by Jean-Pierre Aguilar.
CFM's first Managed Futures program established.
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Creation of Science & Finance, founded by
Jean-Philippe Bouchaud and Jean-Pierre
Aguilar, as the research arm of CFM. -
Marc Potters joins.
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Laurent Laloux joins.
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Jean-Philippe and Marc co-author Theory of Financial Risk and Derivative Pricing.
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CFM and Science & Finance merge, creating
the structure of the firm that exists today.
Intraday trading research commences. -
The Equity Statistical Arbitrage strategy is introduced;
Jacques Saulière joins. -
Starts intraday trading.
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Launch of the Quantitative Multi-Strategy
program, marking the diversification of the firm. -
Launch of the Equity Volatility
Arbitrage strategy;
Philippe Jordan joins. -
Launch of the Directional Volatility strategy;
creation of the CFM Foundation for Research. -
The management team of CFM and Dyal
Capital buy the estate of Jean-Pierre Aguilar,
following his death. -
Launch of a new, high capacity, low fee
Long Term Trend Following program. -
The Diversified Alternative Beta program is
launched; creation of CFM-Imperial Institute
of Quantitative Finance. -
CFM Foundation establishes data science program at École Normale Supérieure.
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Launch of a dedicated Equity Market Neutral program as part of our alternative beta strategies.
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CFM passes the $10bn AUM milestone.
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Sponsor of the Capital Fund Management Chair for Econophysics and Complex Systems at Ecole Polytechnique.
Our board
Jean-Philippe Bouchaud
Chairman
Philippe Jordan
President
Philippe is President of CFM International having joined the firm in 2005. He manages the Investor Relations team at CFM. Philippe has an extensive background in the alternatives space, having worked for a variety of global financial institutions including Credit Suisse, Daiwa and Oppenheimer. He has deep knowledge and understanding of the investment community developed through his time at CFM and through the previous senior roles he has held, including capital markets hedge fund coverage, FoF management and hedge fund incubation. Philippe also sits on the Board of Directors of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA).
Marc Potters
Chief Investment Officer
Marc is the Chief Investment Officer of CFM, having joined the firm in 1995 originally as a researcher in quantitative finance. He oversees the investment process of all CFM funds. Marc also supervises the research team together with Jean-Philippe, with a particular focus on developing concrete applications in financial forecasting, portfolio construction, risk control and execution. Marc maintains strong links with academia and is an expert in Random Matrix Theory. He has taught at UCLA and Sorbonne University and he continues to publish papers in statistical finance and co-authored the ‘Theory of Financial Risk and Derivative Pricing’ with Jean-Philippe. Marc obtained his PhD in physics from Princeton University.
Jacques Saulière
Chief Executive Officer
Jacques is the Chief Executive Officer of CFM, having joined the firm in 2001. He co-heads Technology and oversees operations, compliance and finance at CFM. Prior to joining CFM, Jacques worked for Ubitrade, an information software vendor established by CFM’s founder Jean-Pierre Aguilar, which was subsequently acquired by FIS Global. Jacques' experience has spanned information technology and engineering, having worked or consulted in the defense electronics sector for groups such as Thales and Dassault Aviation. Jacques graduated from the École Centrale of Paris in 1985 and holds MSc degrees in electrical and aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California and an MBA from INSEAD at Fontainebleau.
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Laurent Laloux
Chief Product Officer
Laurent is Chief Product Officer of CFM, having joined the firm in 1997. He manages product development with a particular focus on evolving CFM’s research and IT capabilities. Laurent originally joined the firm as a researcher to work on Discus, the managed futures/FX program. In 1998, he started focusing on equities to develop the Equity Statistical Arbitrage program before it was launched in 2001. Prior to taking on his current role, he acted as Head of Equity Strategies until 2017. Laurent obtained his PhD in theoretical physics from Université Pierre et Marie Curie in the Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de l'École Normale Supérieure.