ZEGA Investments

Jay Pestrichelli, the firm's founder, serves as CEO and lead strategist. He co-authored "Buy and Hedge: The 5 Iron Rules for Investing Over the Long Term" and makes the core strategy decisions alongside ZEGA's trading desk. The firm's public materials consistently frame Pestrichelli as the architect of its options-based mandates.

ZEGA's strategies are quantitatively driven, sourced from systematic options pricing models rather than traditional security selection. The firm monitors volatility surfaces, risk premia, and macro trends to calibrate its collar and overlay structures. Private credit and real estate allocations are sourced through internal credit committees and developer relationships.

ZEGA is an asset manager, not a family office. It manages mutual funds, separate accounts, and private funds for external clients—primarily registered investment advisors (RIAs), broker-dealer platforms, and individual accredited investors. There is no evidence of a single-family capital anchor.

ZEGA manages both liquid hedging strategies (mutual funds, SMAs) and private funds focused on credit and real estate. In liquid strategies, it directly executes option positions. In private markets, its funds make direct and co-investment style commitments in real estate loans and specialty finance assets.

The firm rarely engages in venture capital, early-stage private equity, or directional long-only stock picking. Its mandate is intentionally risk-defined: the firm builds portfolios designed to participate in equity upside with hedged downside, avoiding strategies that require unconstrained directional conviction.

ZEGA runs its private real estate and specialty credit exposure through distinct private fund vehicles—separate from the '40 Act mutual funds and SMAs that execute its public-market hedging strategies. The private portfolios target income-producing loans and property assets, and they do not commingle with hedged-equity investor capital.

ZEGA does not operate a co-investment platform akin to large private equity allocators. Its private credit and real estate funds typically function as direct lenders or deal sponsors. The firm has not disclosed a formal co-investment program where outside managers syndicate minority positions into ZEGA's originated transactions.