Magnetar Hires Brian Portnoy as Director of Education

EVANSTON, Ill., Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Magnetar Capital ("Magnetar"), a leading alternative asset manager, has hired Brian Portnoy as Director of Education to spearhead its effort to provide value-added educational content to investors. Portnoy brings more than 25 years of experience in education, investing and behavioral finance to Magnetar.

"This is an exciting time for Brian to join Magnetar. Our three businesses – Systematic Investing, Alternative Credit & Fixed Income and Energy & Infrastructure – are charting new territory, expanding the solutions we can deliver to investors," said Alec Litowitz, Magnetar's Founder and CEO. "The firm's mission is to connect investors with diversifying return streams which lead to better outcomes. Brian shares a passion for this mission, bringing a unique, investor-centric voice to our thought leadership development. His efforts in promoting financial literacy also dovetail with the mission of Magnetar Academy, an innovative, national financial education program for high school students.

Portnoy's career in investment management has focused on delivering clear insights and solutions for investors. He has held senior research and investing roles at Morningstar, Mesirow Financial and Chicago Equity Partners. Most recently, Portnoy was the head of investment education at Virtus Investment Partners, where he built an educational platform for financial advisors and investors, emphasizing themes of simplification, risk management and smarter decision making.

"What attracted me to Magnetar is its culture of innovation, excellence and client collaboration," said Portnoy. "Magnetar has a strong story to tell, and I'm excited to help the firm further unlock it. Both the firm and Magnetar Academy have a mission to empower and educate investors, and I'm excited to contribute."

Portnoy is an accomplished author, having published two books: The Geometry of Wealth: How to Shape a Life of Money and Meaning (Harriman House, 2018) and The Investor's Paradox: The Power of Simplicity in a World of Overwhelming Choice (St. Martin's Press, 2014). Both books aim to help investors make better decisions and achieve better outcomes. Brian speaks to audiences globally about investing and decision-making, and has lectured at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as part of its "Leading Authors" series.

After graduating with high honors from the University of Michigan, Brian pursued his research and teaching interests in international political economy at the University of Chicago, where he earned his doctorate. His dissertation research was supported by the MacArthur Foundation. Portnoy is a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) charterholder and a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.

About Magnetar Capital

Founded in 2005, Magnetar is a multi-strategy alternative investment manager with approximately 13.5 billion dollars* of assets under management, that seeks to achieve stable risk-adjusted returns by opportunely employing a wide range of alternative credit and fixed income, energy and infrastructure, and systematic investing strategies. Magnetar invests in public and private markets, regions and business structures, taking advantage of the deep rigor of fundamental and quantitative analysis. The firm is based in Evanston, Illinois and has offices in New York, London and Houston.

* The assets under management figure includes assets managed by Magnetar and its affiliated investment managers, including designated investments in side pockets and unfunded commitments (money committed to any fund managed by Magnetar and its affiliated investment managers as of the report date, but not yet transferred by the investors) as of October 1, 2018.

SOURCE Magnetar Capital