Strategy · market neutral, low risk budget · Leyland Cypress
AC Market Neutral
The Alpha Convergence long book, hedged with a short position in RSP, the equal-weight S&P 500, so the account carries our selection edge and not the market. Built for investors who want returns that do not move with stocks or bonds.
- Manager
- Leyland Cypress LLC
- Live since
- 8 Jan 2026
- Correlation to RSP
- 0.05
- Account
- Margin-enabled, at Schwab
- Record as of
- 19 Oct 2026
What it is
Buy the edge, sell the market
AC Market Neutral buys a US-based Alpha Convergence portfolio while selling enough of the S&P 500 Equal Weight index (RSP) to remove, as far as possible, all market influence on returns. What is left is the difference between the stocks we chose and the average stock, plus the yield on the cash held against the short.
- For family offices, institutions and sophisticated investors looking for investments that do not move with the market by design.
- Runs on the same selection engine and the same signals as Alpha Convergence, but with an uncorrelated result: uncorrelated to the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index (RSP).
- Managed by Leyland Cypress, our long-short house, where Brenden O’Connell leads the long-short strategies.
Conflict of interest. Life UnLocked Partners holds a 50% interest in Leyland Cypress and receives a share of its fees. Leyland Cypress manages this strategy. See Form ADV for this conflict of interest.
How it is built: three sleeves
- Long equity
- The Alpha Convergence book, rebuilt at each rebalance.
- Short RSP
- The hedge, held on margin and sized so the book’s beta to RSP is close to zero, adjusted between rebalances as the long book drifts.
- Treasury bills
- The cash held against the short.
An example of how the book is built, not a fixed formula: the size of each sleeve changes as the hedge is adjusted.
The live record
Since January 2026, against market-neutral and hedge-fund ETFs
* Net figures deduct a 2% model fee, the highest fee we charge. Our fees range from 1% to 2% a year, depending on the size of the account. The full schedule is in Form ADV Part 2A.
- Return, gross+9.85%Since inception: 9.3 months, not annualized
- Annual volatility5.47%Daily, annualized
- Maximum drawdown−2.47%Peak to trough
- Sharpe · Sortino1.54 · 2.42Gross, against the 3-month T-bill · 9.3 months of data
- Days up57%Of 196 trading days
* Net figures deduct a 2% model fee, the highest fee we charge. Our fees range from 1% to 2% a year, depending on the size of the account. The full schedule is in Form ADV Part 2A.
Against market-neutral peers
Observed| Series | Days | Since inception | Annual volatility | Sharpe | Sortino | Max drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACMNAC Market Neutral, gross | 196 | +9.85% | 5.47% | 1.54 | 2.42 | −2.47% |
| ACMN-NETACMN Total (net of 2% fee)* | 196 | +8.14% | 5.47% | 1.17 | 1.80 | −2.63% |
| MKTNFederated Hermes MDT Market Neutral | 196 | +11.99% | 6.81% | 1.61 | 2.35 | −4.13% |
| BTALAGFiQ U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta | 196 | −7.15% | 23.78% | −0.44 | −0.64 | −24.85% |
| HDGProShares Hedge Replication | 196 | +2.48% | 7.26% | −0.06 | −0.08 | −4.47% |
| HFEQUnlimited Equity Long/Short | 196 | +5.42% | 20.37% | 0.25 | 0.36 | −12.45% |
| QAIIQ Hedge Multi-Strategy | 196 | +5.18% | 7.36% | 0.40 | 0.55 | −3.71% |
* Net figures deduct a 2% model fee, the highest fee we charge. Our fees range from 1% to 2% a year, depending on the size of the account. The full schedule is in Form ADV Part 2A.
Same window, same formulas and the same risk-free rate for every series, as FlightDeck publishes them. Returns cover the window and are not annualized. Its role in a portfolio is diversification: an equity alternative with a low risk budget, built to move independently of the market rather than to top every market-neutral fund in a short window.
Period by period
Observed| Period | Dates | Days | Return, gross | Annual volatility | Sharpe | Sortino | Max drawdown | Days up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P5 Live | 21 Sep 2026 to today | 21 | +0.87% | 3.07% | 2.03 | 3.17 | −0.37% | 62% |
| P4 | 23 Jun 2026 to 18 Sep 2026 | 62 | +2.36% | 5.62% | 1.02 | 1.74 | −1.51% | 53% |
| P3 | 24 Mar 2026 to 22 Jun 2026 | 62 | +2.15% | 5.07% | 1.00 | 1.45 | −1.69% | 55% |
| P2 | 5 Feb 2026 to 23 Mar 2026 | 32 | +1.79% | 6.85% | 1.54 | 2.35 | −2.07% | 59% |
| P1 | 8 Jan 2026 to 4 Feb 2026 | 19 | +2.31% | 6.08% | — | — | −0.81% | 63% |
Period returns are gross, before any advisory fee, as FlightDeck publishes them; it does not publish a net return for each period. Each period runs from one rebalance to the next. On periods with fewer than 20 trading days FlightDeck withholds Sharpe and Sortino, because a ratio from a few days is noise.
Leyland Cypress record. The performance shown is the proprietary track on which the strategy was developed, including its early testing periods on the firm’s own capital; it is not client account performance. Client accounts now trade the strategy alongside it, and their results will differ. Net figures apply a 2% annual advisory fee* to the proprietary track and are not the actual net results of any client account. Returns are not annualized for a record shorter than one year. RSP is the hedge instrument, so correlation to RSP measures how well the hedge removes the market. A record this short is heavily influenced by the market in which it was earned. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
* Net figures deduct a 2% model fee, the highest fee we charge. Our fees range from 1% to 2% a year, depending on the size of the account. The full schedule is in Form ADV Part 2A.
Terms
A margin account is the main difference
The short hedge is held on margin, so the account must be margin-enabled and carries the attendant borrowing and maintenance requirements. This is the principal structural difference from the long-only strategy.
- Vehicle
- Separately managed account, custodied at Charles Schwab. You hold the account, we trade it.
- Accounts
- Taxable accounts, and IRAs that qualify for margin at Schwab.
- Minimum
- Direct relationship: $150,000, as stated in Form ADV Part 2A. Sub-advised through Schwab: $50,000 per sleeve, $250,000 per relationship.
- Fees
- Fee-only, up to 2% a year at the top tier. Fees range from 1% to 2%; full schedule in the Form ADV Part 2A.
- Liquidity
- Daily.
- Capacity
- At least $300MM, on a deliberately conservative estimate. Modeled capacity runs to roughly $1B.
- GIPS
- A self-prepared, GIPS-consistent composite is available, with its methodology defined, on request.
- Taxes
- Short-term gains by design; the natural home is a margin-eligible tax-exempt account.
Backstage tour
See it running live
A live screen-share of FlightDeck with Mark Tennenbaum, CIO: the command center driven in real time, how today’s market is classified and what the book does about it, and the record with the tests behind it.