A.R.T. Advisors, LLC (“A.R.T.” or the “firm”), is a privately held, New York-based trading
and investment firm formed in 2001 as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of
Delaware. A.R.T. has operated as an independent trading advisor to private investment funds since
2002.
A.R.T. is controlled by Mr. Aaron Sosnick, who is a founder and its beneficial owner. The
activities of A.R.T. are supervised by Mr. Sosnick, who has over twenty five years of investment-
related experience, including in his current positions as Chairman and Manager of A.R.T.
A.R.T.’s primary business is to manage client and proprietary (if applicable) capital through
hedge fund strategies. Assets are managed via a broad mandate to invest and trade in a diversified
portfolio of publicly-traded securities and other financial instruments, in the U.S. and abroad, using
as a primary tool a proprietary statistical arbitrage trading system (the “Trading System”), which
electronically generates specific trading recommendations as adapted to the securities, instruments
and markets in which A.R.T.’s clients trade. A.R.T. invests its clients’ assets in equity securities
that are publicly traded in the U.S., the Pacific Rim and Europe, as well as equity swap and/or
similar derivative instruments based on the returns of such equity securities. A.R.T. invests
its clients’ assets in futures contracts traded globally, and may invest in U.S.-traded derivative
instruments that represent interests in one or more securities traded globally (such as American
Depository Receipts and Exchange Traded Funds), and/or foreign currency forward contracts
and other instruments. A.R.T. may also expand the focus of its clients’ portfolios to include the
foregoing securities and additional securities and instruments traded in other markets.
Investment and trading activities of A.R.T. generally are conducted pursuant to its trading
advisory arrangements with a private fund organized under the laws of the British Virgin Islands
(the “Master Fund”). Separate feeder funds (each a “feeder fund”) are organized to permit
investors the opportunity to participate in the investment and trading activities engaged in by the
Master Fund. Pursuant to such trading advisory arrangements, A.R.T. exercises discretionary
authority over all investment decisions of the Master Fund and supervises the Master Fund’s daily
investment and trading activities. As of December 31, 2023, the Master Fund and a U.S.-based
feeder fund are A.R.T.’s only clients (“clients”). A.R.T. Equity Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of
A.R.T., serves as the managing member to the U.S.-based feeder fund.
Investment Objective and Approach
A.R.T.’s primary investment objective is to achieve superior long-term investment returns
for its clients over various market cycles. A.R.T., for the most part, invests the assets of the Master
Fund in a diversified portfolio of publicly-traded securities and other financial instruments
(including futures contracts), in the U.S. and abroad, using as a primary tool the Trading System
as adapted to the securities, instruments and markets in which the Master Fund trades.
To date, the Master Fund’s portfolio has consisted primarily of equity securities publicly-
traded in the U.S., the Pacific Rim and Europe, as well as equity swap and/or similar derivative
instruments based on the returns of such equity securities. The Master Fund’s portfolio also
includes futures contracts traded globally and may also include U.S.-traded derivative instruments
that represent interests in one or more securities traded globally (such as American Depository
Receipts and Exchange Traded Funds), and/or foreign currency forward contracts and other
instruments. A.R.T. may expand the focus of the portfolio to include the foregoing securities and
additional securities and instruments traded in other markets.
A.R.T. has absolute discretion to determine any given security's and/or market’s relative
weighting in the Master Fund’s portfolio, and it may, from time to time or at any time, employ
strategies other than the Trading System as it deems appropriate to achieve the Master Fund’s
investment objectives. Such strategies may include, but are not limited to, additional trading
models (including those independent of or only partially integrated with the Trading System), and
discretionary trading strategies.
The Trading System
The Trading System is largely automated and quantitative in nature. It is based on years
of statistical and financial research and analysis and the use of advanced mathematical modeling
and pattern recognition techniques. It consists of proprietary software and databases and live
data feeds designed to track and analyze a multitude of factors, including return and risk
fluctuations. The software attempts to identify securities and other financial instruments whose
returns can be statistically predicted, either separately or as components of a larger set. The
software combines predesignated risk/return parameters with predictions of return and risk based
on market data and complex algorithms to generate suggested trades.
The Trading System is currently programmed to be generally “market neutral.” Based on
its evaluation of the recommendations generated by the Trading System, A.R.T. generally takes
both long and short positions in a variety of market sectors. A.R.T. frequently invests long in
instruments it has identified as likely to be subject to near term appreciation while simultaneously
taking correlated short positions in instruments identified as likely to have
near-term depreciation.
In other cases, long and short positions are established where the Trading System is predicting a
change in the spread between positions. Because the Trading System is designed to exploit short-
term volatility patterns and pricing anomalies, the Master Fund typically generates a relatively
high volume of trading activity and portfolio turnover.
A.R.T. expects to continue to modify and enhance the Trading System, and possible
modifications and enhancements may include those deemed appropriate to expand the geographic
focus of the portfolio. In addition, the Trading System may be modified, and new trading
models or discretionary trading strategies developed to add additional markets and other
categories of investments to the Master Fund’s portfolio (e.g., debt securities, options, warrants,
and/or other instruments).
Although A.R.T. generally trades the Master Fund’s assets based upon recommendations
generated by the Trading System, it has discretion to diverge. For example, A.R.T. may depart
from Trading System recommendations because of transaction execution issues, for liquidity or
timing purposes, to accommodate legal, regulatory or tax considerations, or for other factors that
A.R.T. may consider appropriate under the circumstances.
Leverage and Borrowing
A.R.T. utilizes leverage on behalf of the Master Fund extensively on a continuing basis to
enhance potential returns from its trading activities, and also causes the Master Fund to borrow
on margin where available to purchase and hold securities, to the extent A.R.T. deems prudent,
subject only to any borrowing limits imposed by regulatory authorities or lenders in the markets
in which the Master Fund trades. Additionally, A.R.T. may cause the Master Fund to employ
leverage through its use of derivative instruments and futures. For example, in the case of certain
derivative instruments, such as equity swaps and other over-the-counter products, the Master
Fund’s ability to employ leverage may be subject only to the collateral requirements imposed by
its counterparties in such markets. There are no fixed limits on the extent of margin borrowings
or other forms of leverage which A.R.T. may cause the Master Fund to employ.
Portfolio Liquidity
The Master Fund’s portfolio generally consists primarily of liquid equity securities and
derivative instruments based on such equity securities (including, without limitation, those
derivative instruments with a commodity interest component). The Master Fund’s portfolio also
includes futures contracts.
General
The investment strategies and approaches discussed herein may evolve over time due to,
among other things, market developments and trends, the emergence of new or enhanced
investment products, changing industry practice and/or technological innovation. As a result, the
investment strategies and approaches described above may not reflect the investment strategies
and approaches actually employed by the client or A.R.T. Nevertheless, the investments made on
behalf of the client will be consistent with the client’s investment objective.
THE COMPANY’S INVESTMENT PROGRAM ENTAILS SUBSTANTIAL RISKS
AND THERE CAN BE NO ASSURANCE THAT THE INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE OF
THE COMPANY WILL BE ACHIEVED.
Management Outlook
The A.R.T. name is an acronym reflecting A.R.T.’s dedication to Analytics, Research,
and Trading. The firm believes that superior investment returns in all market conditions are
achievable via systematic trading driven by continually researched analytics.
By analytics, A.R.T. refers to mathematical and statistical models for portfolio
composition, and for the drivers of market prices, models embodied in software and systems using
timely market data and up-to-date technology.
Continual research into new and improved methods and technology for using data to
predict risk and return and to trade is crucial to the firm’s success given dynamic markets and
fierce competition.
A.R.T.’s research and analytics are focused on its real world trading. A.R.T. works on
practical models, pays attention to how its trading could impact the market, and seeks to have
the best trading and execution capability practicable. A.R.T.’s trading desk maintains relationships
with numerous trading counterparties and is skilled in seeking optimum trading executions.
A.R.T.’s trading, especially in its day-to-day aspect, is systematic and process driven to
the maximum extent possible. However, A.R.T.’s management is aware of the inadequacy of any
model to completely explain reality. They reserve a role for human judgment in adjusting or
turning off the firm’s models when they become aware that the models miss important market
dynamics or otherwise malfunction.
The firm’s principal focus to date has been in liquid, listed equities traded on exchanges
in developed markets and derivatives of such equities. Nonetheless, A.R.T. has a broad mandate
to select the financial instruments and markets in which the Master Fund may invest, as well as
the investment techniques it will use. Generally, each client’s investment mandate is described in
its applicable private placement or confidential offering memorandum (the “Memorandum”) or
client agreement. A.R.T.’s clients do not have the ability to impose restrictions on the types of
investments that A.R.T. may select for investment.
A.R.T. does not currently participate in wrap fee programs.
A.R.T. manages assets only on a discretionary basis. As of December 31, 2023, A.R.T. had
approximately $264,543,000 in regulatory assets under management.