55ip was founded by Dr. Vinay Nair, a leading academic and entrepreneur. He observed within asset management that the expansion of the index industry had created thousands of lower-cost passive products. At the same time, the macroeconomic environment had turned investor focus from finding alpha to managing betas and the flows from active funds moved dramatically to these low-cost passive building blocks.

Dr. Nair believed that the world didn’t need more investment products. Instead, he envisioned a digital platform that democratized institutional know-how and capabilities to a broader audience. This platform would deploy sophisticated quantitative capabilities to address investment frictions such as fees, taxes, and risk of extreme losses that can act as quiet portfolio killers, rather than relying primarily upon stock selection in the search for alpha.

To capitalize on these trends and vision, a new breed of firm was needed to help users – such as RIAs, wealth management firms and family offices – select, curate, and package these instruments into thoughtful portfolios for their clients.

To fulfill this vision, Dr. Nair leveraged resources and relationships from academia and prior organizations to establish a talented cadre of top-tier investment researchers, tech developers, and advisory space leaders to bring the 55ip platform and investment strategy engine to market.