Deals and People December 18, 2000

Altvest CEO Joins Sanford Bernstein

December 18, 2000 (HedgeWorld.com)-Howard Mason, chief executive officer of Altvest, left the online hedge fund data company last week for a job in equity research for traditional money manager Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York.

Reported by

Mr. Mason’s replacement is still being sought, said Rob Hull, chief financial officer at InvestorForce.com, which acquired the firm in September. Mr. Mason played a role in the transaction, according to Mr. Hull.

“I think Howard always wanted to do equity research,” Mr. Hull said.

Mr. Mason declined to comment on his departure from Altvest. He also was vice president of alternative investments at InvestorForce.

InvestorForce.com also is looking to fill two or three new positions in its alternative investments area, Mr. Hull said.

Mr. Mason’s departure comes at time when Altvest’s hedge fund manager database is in demand. The nation’s largest pension fund, the California State Employees’ Retirement System, uses Altvest to search for managers for its $1 billion allocation to hedge funds.

Mr. Mason joined Altvest in June 1999 after consulting for the company on technology strategy. He previously worked at Deutsche Bank first as chief operating officer for the global markets sales division and later as managing director of structured products, covering credit and emerging markets derivative products.

By Susan L. Barreto, Senior Reporter SBarreto@HedgeWorld.com