Sophia Collier

Sophia Collier is an American investor, artist[1] and entrepreneur. In 1977, at 21, Sophia Collier developed Soho Natural Soda in her kitchen in Brooklyn, New York and co-founded the American Natural Beverage Corp to distribute the product. The company grew to $25 million in soft drink sales before the partners sold it to Seagram Beverage Company in 1989 for a reported US$15 million.[2][3] Written in 1976, and published in 1978, she also produced a book about her teen-aged life entitled Soul Rush in which she recounts her spiritual development, experimentation with recreational drug use and Eastern mysticism as a teenager.

In 1991 she established Citizens Advisers Inc., a mutual fund management company where Collier was the portfolio manager of Citizens Index Fund which achieved a five star rating by Morningstar, placing it in the top 10% of funds within its category.[3] At Citizens, Collier also managed the E-fund which achieved a #1 in its category shortly after it was established according to ranking service IBC/Donoghue and was called "among the more interesting products to emerge from the money fund arena in years."[4]

Citizens Funds was sold to Sentinel Investments in April 2008.[5]

After the sale, Collier established an investment office with Chula Reynolds[6] as well as an art studio in Sausalito, CA using software and large scale machine tools[7] to making sculptural reliefs of water surfaces. In her artist statement she describes her inspiration as "One day I was walking across a bridge and thought I wish I could just reach down into the water and pick up a piece of that shining surface and keep it forever."[8]

She drew a connection with her prior financial work stating that it allowed her " to know it was possible to develop software to model vast, turbulent, nonlinear data sets like money … and also, maybe, water in motion." In December 2014 a signature work, Plank of Water exhibited at the Grand Rapids Art Museum.[9]

In her investing work Collier has focused in early stage venture investing, real estate and the financial markets.[10] She has also become an active member of the San Francisco Bay Area angle investing community participating as a judge and panel member in Pitchforce[11] and similar events.

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ http://www.sophiacollier.com
  2. ↑ "The Reinvention(s) of Sophia Collier, Part 2". Fast Company. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Fund founder has success in many different ways - Oct. 29, 1999". CNN. 1999-10-29. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  4. ↑ "Give Citizens Trust E-Fund an 'A' for Innovation". CNN. 1999-10-29. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  5. ↑ "Sentinel Investments Completes Citizens Funds Acquisition". Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  6. ↑ http://www.efund.com/#!team/cxxu
  7. ↑ http://www.sophiacollier.com/process.html
  8. ↑ http://sophiacolliergallery.com/home-3/about/artist-statement/
  9. ↑ http://www.artmuseumgr.org/art/current-exhibitions/artprize2013encore/
  10. ↑ http://www.efund.com
  11. ↑ http://www.efund.com/#!San-Francisco-Elevator-Pitch/cxal/6BABE8A0-AFDA-4AE5-8965-E7EE09B3F3D9