Alternative
Investments
We pride ourselves in seeing value where others do not. The originality of our alternative investments is not so much in the instruments themselves. It is in how we manage them.
When designing our investment strategies, we favor non-complex ideas based on solid fundamentals. We use a quantitative approach that allows us to avoid behavioral bias. Our investments are in well-established asset classes and markets that offer liquidity and transparency.
We look after your investments the same way we do our own. And we believe in the alternative investment products that we have created, because they were first tailored to our own investment needs. As an appropriate response to our view of the global economy, our products are equally suited to be used collectively as a portfolio, or individually to answer the specific needs of our clients.
Volatility
alpha
The goal of our volatility strategy is to deliver a positive performance in all market conditions and to generate crisis alpha in severe market downturns.
Our skill lies in being able to find value in various volatility instruments, whilst at the same time carefully managing risk. Our strategy is founded on our deep understanding of the fundamental factors that drive volatility markets and on our continuous effort to research, test and implement volatility trade ideas.
Our decision process integrates a systematic analysis of volatility metrics and our discretionary assessment of how the current market conditions may affect our investments in the short and medium term.
Our approach to risk management is based on robustness and agility. We implement our strategy by assembling a liquid portfolio of equity derivatives that maintains its value despite market movements. We constantly monitor the portfolio and quickly adapt our positions to the most up-to-date market conditions.
quantitative
equities
Our US and European equity strategies draw on our expertise in behavioral finance and volatility markets to provide optimal exposure to equity market.
We follow a quantitative approach that is based on our expertise in seasonality and avoids relying on traditional stock picking. We select the appropriate stocks and set the overall equity risk of the fund. We add a derivatives overlay to enhance the stock portfolio.
Tailor-made solutions
Our clients can profit from our expertise beyond the existing products.
Using our profound knowledge of equity and volatility markets and our flexible trading infrastructure, we can tailor dedicated investment programs with specific goals and risk profiles to the needs of a client.
Our solutions can be deployed in various types of investment vehicles.
Our Team
Michel Dominicé
Pierre de Saab
Manuel Sigrist
Martin Dudler
Simon Lépine
Liv Droz
Aiste Ortiz
Martin Spreng
Michel Dominicé, PhD, created Dominicé & Co in 2003 when he launched his first investment fund, based on his research on the myopic behavior of equity investors. Since then, he has developed the company’s offering, which today includes a range of specialized investment products. These comprise volatility, equities and real estate funds, as well as private asset management services.
Prior to founding the company, Michel was Head of the US and Global Equity team at Lombard Odier in Geneva, Switzerland, overseeing CHF2 billion in equity investments. He began his career holding research positions in various international financial institutions in Geneva, London, New York and Hong Kong.
Michel earned a PhD in Economics from the University of St. Gallen. He presented his doctoral thesis on monetary policy while working at the National Bank of Romania.
Pierre de Saab joined Dominicé in 2010 and is a partner since 2015. He is in charge of the company’s Alternative Investments unit and is the lead portfolio manager of its flagship volatility strategy.
Prior to joining Dominicé, Pierre held senior roles at Credit Suisse, as well as UBS in Zurich, London and New York, where he built and led several equity derivatives trading desks.
During his career, Pierre has developed expertise in derivative products, proprietary trading strategies, risk management and trading systems.
Pierre earned a Masters in Mathematical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), a Masters in Real Estate from the University of Geneva and an MBA from INSEAD.
Manuel Sigrist joined Dominicé’s Investment Team in 2012. In addition to co-managing the flagship volatility fund, he is also developing and managing the company’s US equities investment strategy.
Before joining Dominicé, Manuel was a quantitative analyst in the Multi Asset Class Solutions department at GAM in Zurich. In this capacity, he developed systematic strategies in equities, fixed income, currencies and volatility. He began his career with Banco Santander in Geneva as a quantitative analyst of hedge funds.
Manuel holds a Masters in Financial Engineering and Risk Management from HEC in Lausanne.
Martin Dudler joined Dominicé’s Investment Team in December 2018. He is involved in research and fund management of the company’s investment strategies. Prior to joining Dominicé, Martin worked at Quantica Capital AG in Zurich where he was a senior portfolio manager for the Quantica Managed Futures UCITS and Quantica Managed Futures Strategy, both funds with strategies across multiple asset classes. His work included research with respect to the strategies of these funds, including backtesting and trading cost analysis.
Martin began his career as a quantitative analyst at UBS Investment Bank in Zurich, developing VaR methodology as well as statistical methodology for the estimation of volatility of specific products.
Martin holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Zurich and an MSc in Financial Engineering from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). He is a CFA charterholder and obtained a Certificate of Open Studies (COS) in Applied Data Science: Machine Learning from the EPFL Extension School.
Simon Lépine joined Dominicé’s Investment Team in 2024, where he focuses on research and management of the firm’s alternative investment strategies.
Before joining Dominicé, Simon was senior portfolio manager responsible for implied volatility strategies at LFIS Capital. In this role, he developed and implemented quantitative strategies in cross asset derivatives and launched an equity dispersion fund.
Simon holds a Master’s degree in Financial Engineering from Ecole Centrale Lyon in 2012 and a Master’s degree in International Finance from HEC Paris.
Liv Droz is Chief Operating Officer at Dominicé, having joined the company in 2017.
Prior to joining Dominicé Liv worked as an M&A and transactional lawyer, asset management legal counsel and derivatives legal specialist at Credit Suisse. She also worked as a lawyer with Lenz & Staehelin in Geneva and in Zurich with a focus on litigation and arbitration as well as commercial, financing and M&A matters. After her studies, Liv started her career as a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley in New York.
Liv graduated from the University of Lausanne with a Law Degree and a Master in Law and obtained an LL.M from Georgetown University in the US. Liv is qualified as an attorney at the NY Bar and the Geneva Bar.
Aiste Ortiz is responsible for investor relations, business development and marketing of Dominicé’s funds.
Before joining Dominicé in 2011, Aiste worked for Bloomberg as a specialist in equity derivatives and structured products. She was responsible for developing and implementing Bloomberg’s equity derivatives solutions in Switzerland. Aiste started her career in the Cross Asset Solutions department of Société Générale in New York and Montreal.
She graduated from the University of Florida with a BSc in Finance and obtained a Masters Degree in Finance-Insurance from ESSEC Business School in Paris.
Martin Spreng joined Dominicé’s Investor Relations team in 2023. He is responsible for investor relations, business development and marketing of Dominicé’s funds.
Prior to joining Dominicé, Martin Spreng worked at Alquant, an asset management company specialized in tail hedging strategies and fintech solutions. He was responsible for the strategic and business development of the company. Martin started his career in fixed income, structured products and private debt trading at Valcourt in Geneva. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from HEC Lausanne and a Master’s degree in Banking & Finance from the University of Zurich.