Winton Group, Ltd (which includes Winton Capital Management) is a British investment management firm founded by David Harding. In the United States, Winton is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment advisor and with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a CTA, and is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. The company trades on more than 100 global futures markets in a wide variety of asset classes and on global equity markets. The firm was launched with $1.6 million in 1997,[3][4] reached a peak of $28.5 billion in assets under advisement,[5] before dropping to 7.3 billion by late 2020.[2] Winton Group has seven offices around the world: London, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, and Abu Dhabi.[6]
In 1996, physicist and investment manager David Harding left Man AHL (formerly Adam, Harding and Lueck), a systematic managed futures fund and created Winton.[7][8] Using Harding's middle name,[9] the firm began trading in October 1997.[10] Winton employs statisticians, engineers and physicists, to pursue investment strategies based on scientific research and analysis.[11] According to Harding, Winton had difficulty attracting clients as a commodity trading advisor (CTA), because investors preferred hedge fund strategies that focused on the equity market rather than futures contracts.[9] However, using fees that were different from industry standards, the firm was able to secure investors.[9][12]
David Harding is the company's founder and chief executive officer.[3] Approximately 70% of the firm's employees own shares or share options in the company.[13] Winton employs approximately 175 staff members.[4]
More than 100 of the firm's employees are academics doing mathematical research[13] and studying statistical relationships and trading patterns.[12] These highly trained specialists are organized into research teams, which peer review and test new strategies, gather data and identify trends.[10] While quant hedge funds broadly have struggled for several years just following the 2008 financial crisis, Winton remains a top recruit of quantitative minds.[29]
Since its inception, Winton has traded as a commodity trading advisor (CTA). It is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a CTA[9] and by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. Winton is also registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment advisor.[30]
The firm refers to itself as a "modern investment management company"[31] and employs managed futures strategies using data analysis and modelling to follow trends in global futures markets such as commodities and bonds.[32] After establishing the Winton Evolution Fund and Winton Global Equity Strategy, the firm began offering multi-strategy and equity investment programs that invest in equity markets around the world.[7][33][34]