Spawned in the curious minds of two money managers, Theta Investment Research started collecting data on December 31st of 1999 as part of an experiment designed to statistically verify the viability of alternative investment management as an approach to increasing gains and limiting risk in portfolios. Spun off as a stand-alone entity in late 2001, Theta began developing software and protocols for the automated collection of investment account data and the generation of portfolio performance and risk characteristics for alternative managed accounts. Today, Theta is recognized as a leader in the alternative investment management community and provides services to institutions and individual investors who are looking for money managers to help meet their investment objectives.
Offering subscriptions via the internet, Theta publishes information on managers and their models on a daily basis allowing for the analysis of style, risk and performance. Clients include Mutual Fund companies, life insurance companies, retail investors, professional money managers, and managers-of-managers. Theta has served investment firms across the country and has provided data to companies including Standard and Poors. In addition to its web-published charts and data, Theta also delivers bulk data, both processed and unprocessed, to institutional clients via FTP and email delivery. Theta also provides programming for investment managers who need proprietary data collection tools for in-house or public use.
Theta was one of the first to offer managers the opportunity to view their performance and risk profiles and to invite prospects to Theta’s site to view that data exclusive of any other managers data. With a simple email invitation, prospects are invited to sign up for a free guest pass which is keyed to the manager’s data. Clicking on the link in the invitation brings the prospect to Theta’s website where he can view all the models a manager has cleared for public display.
Located in Southeast Pennsylvania in the laconic and bucolic countryside of Chester county, Theta’s offices are in a restored workshop built on the foundation of an old carriage-house. While the country smells of a nearby dairy farm waft through its windows, the staff spends countless hours there fueled by mugs of strong coffee sifting through gigabytes of data certifying accuracy and finding new ways to slice-and-dice the results helping its clients locate investment managers who will meet their investment objectives.