Christopher Tsai

Christopher Tsai
Born December 20, 1974
United States
Education Middlebury College
Occupation Chief Investment Officer
Employer Tsai Capital
Known for President of Tsai Capital
Spouse(s) André Stockamp[1]

Christopher Tsai is a Chinese-American businessman and investment manager.[2] He is currently the President and Chief Investment Officer of Tsai Capital Corporation, a New York-based investment management firm he founded in 1997 at the age of 22. Tsai is also an avid art collector and known for having the world's largest collection of works by Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei.[3]

Early life and education

Tsai was born in the United States in 1974 to Gerald Tsai, a billionaire investor and philanthropist credited with building Fidelity Investments into a mutual fund powerhouse.[4] He was exposed to finance at an early age, analyzing investment opportunities for the family and its foundation. When he was 11 years of age, Tsai purchased shares of an insurance company that made him a $25 profit, hooking him on finance and investing.[5] Tsai convinced his broker to waive the commission on the trade. Tsai would read The Wall Street Journal and Value Line to help educate himself. Tsai attended Middlebury College where he majored in Philosophy and International Politics, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree.[4][6]

Career

Tsai began his career early at the age of 16, investing $400,000 that was entrusted to him from a family friend and restaurateur.[7] He used the capital from his profit along with additional capital from his family to start Tsai Capital at the age of 22.[7] Operating as an SEC-registered investment adviser, the company is a global equity manager. Tsai is the President and Chief Investment Officer of the company and also serves as Chairperson of the company's advisory committee.[6]

Tsai credits his investment philosophies to a fishing trip with his father in which the elder Tsai told him, “You can't do that. You have to have the wind behind you just like in investing. You want to position yourself with the wind at your back,” a lesson that he states has stuck with him today.[7] He also attributes the works of Benjamin Graham such as The Intelligent Investor and Philip Arthur Fisher’s Common Stocks And Uncommon Profits as influences on his trading philosophies.[7]

As part of his work in the financial industry, he has been consulted by media outlets including Bloomberg Businessweek to opine on various financial topics.[8][9] Issues he has spoken on include the purchasing power of the Asian middle-class which has increased due to population growth.[10][8] Tsai began a new venture in 2014 when he launched Tsai Ventures, the seed and early stage venture capital arm of Tsai Capital.[7] In April 2015, Tsai led a $3 million Series A Preferred Stock financing for untapt inc. and was appointed to the company’s board of directors.[11]

Art collection

Tsai is known as an avid art collector.[3] He began by collecting contemporary Chinese art, which he accurately predicted would rise in value.[3] He is also the world’s largest collector of works by Ai Weiwei. Tsai's collection of pieces by Ai outgrew his Manhattan apartment and he reached out to the artist to design a house in upstate New York that would hold his large collection.[12] The house itself has been nominated for awards including the International Architecture Awards.[13] Tsai eventually sold the house but announced that he one day plans to build a museum in the honor of Ai[1] with whom he still has a close personal relationship.[6] He attributes his love of art to his father who collected early pieces of works by both Alexander Calder and Joan Mitchell.[3] Through the Stockamp Tsai Collection, Tsai also contributes artwork to some of the world's most respected museums, including at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.[14]

Prior to deciding to build a collection around Ai, Tsai collected contemporary Chinese art broadly beginning in 2003. In September 2004, Tsai published an article in Worth magazine arguing that Chinese art was undervalued.[15] Tsai adheres to a well-defined methodology in making art acquisitions, balancing instinct and analysis.[15]

Philanthropy

Tsai is a benefactor of numerous nonprofit organizations, both domestically and internationally. These organizations include the World Monuments Fund in which he is a member of the President’s Circle, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Serpentine Galleries and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.[16] Tsai is also a member of the Middlebury College Arts Council, which is a select group appointed by the president of Middlebury College.[17]

Personal life

In addition to Tsai being the son of a former billionaire investor, his grandmother Ruth Tsai was a pioneer for women in Shanghai.[7] She was the only woman to trade on the floor of the Shanghai Stock Exchange during World War II.[7] Tsai is married to André Stockamp, making up the other half of the "Stockamp Tsai Collection."[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Gerlis, Melanie (14 May 2014). "Collector wants to open first Ai Weiwei museum". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Vujovich, Dian (11 March 2015). "Tsai Capital founder discusses growth of Passport SMA". Palm Beach Daily. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Rao, Mallika (11 July 2014). "The Ai Weiwei Museum of All of Our Dreams is Coming". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Martin, Neil A. (23 August 2014). "Not Hist Father's Style". Barrons. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Gupte, Pranay (20 July 2005). "TheTsai Method of Selection: Stick to the Fundamentals". The New York Sun. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Elliot, Hannah (30 June 2014). "At Home With The World's Biggest Ai Weiwei Collector: 'He Is Still Vastly Undervalued'". Forbes Life. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 La Roche, Julia (11 February 2014). "Meet The Hedge Funder Whose Finance Roots Date Back To The Shanghai Stock Exchange During WWII". The Business Insider. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Massar, Carol; McKee, Michael (8 October 2014). "Taking Stock: Investing in Asia, FOMC Minutes". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  9. ↑ Samarotto, Gina (Spring 2015). "Modern Alchemy". Private Air. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  10. ↑ Dennin, James (23 June 2014). "A long-term approach: Christopher Tsai on investing in Asia". Nasdaq.com. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "Untapt Closes $3M In Series A Financing". FinSMEs. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  12. ↑ Bernstein, Fred A. (7 November 2008). "Global Summit". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  13. ↑ Sommers, Lary L. "German Architects Select 64 American Architecture Awards For The Best New U.S. Building and Urban Designs for 2009" (PDF). Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "Ai Weiwei". ARTslant. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Moriarity, Bridget (28 March 2015). "A Concentrated Vision: Cultivating an Ai Weiwei Collection". Blouin Art Info. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  16. ↑ "Ai WeiWei: According To What?". HirshHorn. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  17. ↑ "Arts Council Members". Middlebury.edu. Retrieved 12 April 2015.

External links