Jim Simmons, a mathematics professor who became one of the most successful hedge fund managers in history, died Friday at the age of 86, according to his foundation.
Simmons, a prolific philanthropist who donated more than $1 billion to Stony Brook University, died Friday in New York City, the Simmons Foundation announced on its website.
He used advanced mathematical models and algorithms to guide investment strategies while at the helm of Renaissance Technologies, a Long Island-based hedge fund that routinely generated billions of dollars in profits. best known for.
“There is a goat [greatest of all time]. His name was Jim Simmons,” said Clifford Asness, owner and founding principal of AQR Capital Management. told the Wall Street Journal.
“It’s even more amazing when you consider that he was a wonderful, kind, generous and caring person.”
Simmons used a strategy that determined the probability of stock price performance and balanced the portfolio accordingly.
Founded in 1988 by Renaissance Technologies, the Medallion Fund is considered one of the most successful funds ever created, generating an average annual return of 66%.
From 1988 to 2000, Renaissance Technologies earned more than $100 billion in profits.
“I have established the view that markets are not random. [were] It was somewhat predictable,” he told the Journal. “A statistical anomaly existed that could be exploited.”
Simons is also known as one of the most generous philanthropists in business, donating billions of dollars to causes dear to his heart, including math and science research as well as the arts.
Over a 10-year period, Simmons gave nearly $600 million to Stony Brook through his foundation. Last June, the Simmons Foundation announced his $500 million gift to Stoney’s Brooke College endowment. This is the largest unrestricted endowment in history to an institution of higher education in the United States.
Since 1983, Simons Philanthropies has donated more than $1.2 billion to schools.
Jim and Marilyn Simmons, who have an estimated net worth of $30.7 billion, have deep ties to the university.
Jim Simmons was the head of its mathematics department from 1968 to 1978, and Marilyn Simmons earned two degrees there. She received her bachelor’s degree in 1974 and her Ph.D. in 1974. She received her PhD in Economics in 1984.
Jim Simmons, who joined Stony Brook University in 1968 as chair of the mathematics department, said the Long Island-based university “has given me the opportunity to lead and help the university continue to grow and prosper.” It’s very rewarding to see.”
Simons and his wife founded the Simons Foundation in 1994 to support research in mathematics and basic sciences.
He is survived by his wife, three children, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
