Ascend Capital LLC (Orinda)

Name: Ascend Capital LLC
Address: 4 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA, 94563
Telephone: (415) 217-8300

Ascend Capital LLC is a large advisory firm based in Orinda. It manages $1.51 billion of regulatory assets for 5 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2005 and has operated in the jurisdiction of California.

Ascend Capital provides portfolio management for investment companies, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, and portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Ascend Capital: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Ascend Capital LLC is $1.51 billion, all of which is managed in discretionary accounts. The firm's AUM has grown by 52% since the beginning of its operation, and $1.29 billion of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $1.51 billion in discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $302.64 million each.

Investments

The firm invests in exchange traded securities the most. They account for 61% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is cash and cash equivalents, which make up 27% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in non-investment grade corporate bonds form 9% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Ascend Capital LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and performance-based fees. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Ascend Capital serves?

The firm provides services to investment companies, pooled investment vehicles, and sovereign wealth funds and foreign official institutions. The largest group of clients of Ascend Capital is sovereign wealth funds and foreign official institutions with 1 clients and $649.59 million of assets under management. Among the 8 most similar advisory firms, Ascend Capital has the highest percentage of sovereign wealth funds and foreign official institutions out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $1.51 billion for 5 clients. 80% of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Ascend Capital also advises several private funds. Namely, two hedge funds. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons is $10,000,000 for each fund.

Careers at Ascend Capital LLC

The company employs 35 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 63 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. No employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There isn’t anyone with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Malcolm Paul Fairbairn	Managing member	1 Apr 1999	75% - 100%	2544141
Benjamin David Slavet	Chief operating officer and chief financial officer	1 Sep 2001	Other	4272038
Ascend Capital Llc	General partner (of ascend capital limited partnership (relying adviser))	1 Dec 2003	75% - 100%	118397
Michael Bannon Stokes	Limited partner, ascend capital limited partnership (relying adviser)	1 Jan 2006	Other	6178230
Cogan/Goldberg Living Trust	Limited partner, ascend capital limited partnership (relying adviser)	1 Dec 2008	Other	xxx-xx-xxxx
Ramona Arvind Shenoy	Director of operations and chief compliance officer	1 Jan 2011	Other	4780021
Carlo Casulo	Limited partner, ascend capital limited partnership (relying adviser)	1 Dec 2015	Other	5224516
Joshua Edward Wyss	Limited partner, ascend capital limited partnership (relying adviser)	1 Dec 2015	Other	2929039

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 2 indirect owners.

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Jeremy David Cogan	Trustee	1 Dec 2008	Other	2755464
Beth Rachel Goldberg	Trustee	1 Dec 2008	Other	6456197

Based in Orinda

The principal office where Ascend Capital LLC performs its advisory services is located at 4 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA 94563, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in San Francisco, CA. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number (415) 217-8300 or by fax (415) 217-7699. The normal business hours are 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at ascendcapital.com.