All-Nighters, frozen toilets, and costly heating bills

The partnership that would eventually form QIM began in 1994 at an apartment complex called “The Alamo” near the grounds of the University of Virginia (UVA). It all started when Jaffray Woodriff moved into an empty bedroom in Michael Geismar’s apartment and set up his office in the living room. Michael welcomed his new roommate since he literally couldn’t afford to turn on the heat during the cold winter months.

The foundations for QIM’s investment strategy were developed by Jaffray in a UVA computer lab a few years earlier, with most of the experiments being conducted in the middle of the night when the computer lab was empty. It eventually culminated in a 48-hour research marathon when he finally hit the “aha moment” he was looking for – a realization that it is possible to build a whole class of trend-neutral models (on average) as opposed to the far more common trend-following models.

Shortly after that breakthrough in 1991, Jaffray began trading as a CTA for Blue Ridge Trading. Michael joined him as an assistant trader a few months after they moved in together while still a student. The two reunited in February 2000 and started trading proprietary capital using strategies that would become the foundation for the Global and Tactical trading programs. Greyson Williams joined Jaffray and Michael in 2002, and the three partners co-founded QIM one year later.

From its roots at the Alamo, QIM has grown into a team of 41 people housed in the state-of-the-art, LEED Platinum certified CODE building in downtown Charlottesville.