About · who we are
Our goal is demonstrating skill at capturing alpha from lower market exposure portfolios under most market conditions, and showing the evidence every trading day, whether it flatters us or not.
The brief
We build concentrated, equal-weight equity portfolios of 22 securities spread across all 11 GICS sectors, rebalanced as signals decay, averaging about 50 trading days and capped at 90.
Alpha comes in two forms. Absolute alpha measures total return regardless of market direction; relative alpha isolates the excess over a benchmark, what the manager actually contributed beyond what an index would have delivered for free. We hunt relative alpha. Our benchmarks are the equal-weight S&P 500 (RSP) and the cap-weight S&P 500 (SPY), and the spread between our portfolios and those indices is the signal we care about.
Where appropriate, we use derivatives to reshape risk and extract asymmetric payoffs that linear portfolios cannot reach, such as risk-managed and market-neutral variants. None of this is decorative: every position exists because it improves the odds of capturing alpha on the days the market structure allows it.
We classify each trading day as Alpha Opportunity or Pure Beta. On Pure Beta days correlations spike and even good picks get swamped by index-level forces, and we do not confuse surviving those days with skill. We measure what we can control, on the days it can register, and we build everything around that distinction.
Every member substantially invested alongside clients
Founder, CEO and CIO, Life UnLocked Partners · CEO, Leyland Cypress
40+ years in finance, predictive modeling and corporate strategy. Began on Wall Street designing derivatives and M&A models before serving as CFO and corporate development executive across multiple industries. Co-founded FrontBridge (acquired by Microsoft, 2005). Has written for Advisor Perspectives. Designed the models, built FlightDeck and gives the tours personally. MBA, UCLA Anderson; BA Psychology, Pitzer College (Claremont Colleges).
Co-founder, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer
An attorney who keeps the firm legal, compliant and protected. Started at Jones Day on complex corporate transactions, fund formation and litigation. 16 years of corporate law with deep expertise in estate planning, trusts and special needs advocacy. Manages the firm’s sub-advisory relationships and serves as primary point of contact for institutional partners. USC, UCLA Law.
Market Neutral Portfolio Manager
Founded Leyland Cypress in 2022 and leads research and investment strategy for the long-short strategies. Building quantitative models full-time since 2020. UCLA Economics.
VP, Market Neutral Strategies
Leads technology and data infrastructure at Leyland Cypress. Previously investment banking at DBD Partners across SaaS and healthcare. UCLA Mathematics.
VP, Client Relations and Trade Execution
Manages client relationships and communications at Life UnLocked Partners. Background in finance and luxury automotive sales serving high-net-worth clients. BS Finance and Economics, Cal State Northridge.
The strategies run on an automated schedule, not on any one person being at the desk.
CRD 318642 · California DFPI
The registered investment adviser, registered with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Runs Alpha Convergence, the long-only house. Its mandate is long-only and fiduciary-appropriate securities.
CRD 322964
A registered investment adviser in its own right, and the long-short house. Runs AC Market Neutral and Independent Return. Its mandate is long-short strategies, including those that use derivatives, for a different audience; market-neutral construction is long-short by definition. Founded in 2022 by Brenden O’Connell, who leads its long-short strategies.
Backstage tour
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.
