In 1984, Ted (MBA, BS, Wharton), founded Aronson+Fogler (which became AJO-Aronson Johnson Ortiz), an institutional investment manager which reached $30 billion under management. During the pandemic, AJO morphed into AJO Vista, in combination with the Systematic Strategies group from HighVista.
Ted joined Drexel Burnham Lambert in 1974 while still a graduate student. He was a founding member of the Quantitative Equities Group, which provided innovative practical applications of Modern Portfolio Theory and quantitative portfolio management. This group managed the Revere Fund, the first actively managed fund registered with the SEC to employ Modern Portfolio Theory. Prior to forming AJO, Ted founded Addison Capital Management.
Ted was past chairman of the CFA Institute (formerly the Association for Investment Management & Research) and past chairman of its Research Foundation. He chaired AIMR’s Trade Management Guidelines Task Force, and is both a CFA charterholder and a Chartered Investment Counselor. Ted serves on the New Jersey State Investment Council at the appointment of Governor Phil Murphy, and is also a trustee of Spelman College and chair of its investment committee.
Ted was a Lecturer in Finance at The Wharton School and is a frequent speaker on Wall Street issues, especially innovations in methods to minimize transaction costs and align fees with performance — including a session at Salomon Brothers’ training program. (Salomon’s training program was immortalized in Michael Lewis’ Liar’s Poker. When Ted spoke, however, he was not pelted by spitballs!)