Approach

At Ayrton, we analyze each investment with a singular goal - to identify possible outcomes and their probabilities. In doing so we answer several key questions - what is a company’s track record of success? What secular or structural dynamics are driving or destroying value in the sector? Has management delivered on previously guided goals? Does the situation lie within our domain of competence? In answering these questions objectively and truthfully, we are able to act on undervalued or unappreciated opportunities.

Process

Discipline and rigor of process are vital for investment success. Ours starts with a comprehensive review of data gathered through screening or through interactions with trusted market contacts. Observations derived from this review are further refined with retrospective and preemptive thinking thereby reducing an investment thesis to its salient elements. Long term insights gained from this work makes our technique iteratively smarter. Underlying all this is a fundamental tenet of successful investing - the only sustainable way to win is through rigorous preparation, discipline, patience and decisiveness.

Principles

• Emphasize capital preservation and margin of safety.
• Adhere to absolute standards of value.
• Insist upon proper compensation for risk (even if others don't).
• No investment is sacred when a better one comes along.
• Reputation and integrity are one’s most valuable assets; never compromise.
• Good ideas are rare - when the odds are greatly in one's favor, allocate heavily.
• Reject flawed concepts such as:
  • Being compelled to stay fully invested at all times.
  • Comparative ranking that forces short term, chase-the-herd behavior.
  • Over categorization.
• Resist the human bias to act; accept that sometimes doing nothing is best.
• Be aware and adapt to reality; it won't adapt to you.

All Weather Performance

Successful investing occurs at the confluence of sound data gathering, insightful research, tactical execution and round-the-clock oversight. Importantly, this convergence must occur within and across silos - in fact attractive investments often lie outside traditional categories overlooked by institutional investors.

We consciously eschew pigeonholing ourselves along such categories, instead focusing on applying our well-defined set of analytical skills to asset classes worldwide. Armed with a flexible investment mandate and a collaborative approach, we are able to allocate capital opportunistically with a goal to generate best-in-class investment returns. We invest in the healthcare, technology, natural resources and consumer sectors and express our views across the capital structure via debt, equity and equity-linked securities.

Risk Management

Risk assessment is interwoven directly into our portfolio construction process as early as pre-trade discussions. This philosophy ensures that risk estimation is front and center while an investment's price, size and portfolio contribution is being evaluated. This mindset is further extended in ex-post reviews, where positions are continuously monitored for market risk, operational complexity, sensitivity to financing and capital intensity. Finally, impact of tail-events and cross-asset liquidation risks are mitigated at the portfolio level to ensure capital preservation in difficult markets.

Waqas Khatri

Founder and Chief Investment Officer

Ayrton was founded by Waqas Khatri in December 2016 after a successful investment career at Oasis Capital Management and Tenor Capital Management where he ran portfolios active in private placements, convertible arbitrage, volatility arbitrage, event-driven/distressed and risk arbitrage. Prior to that, Mr. Khatri was a Vice President at JPMorgan Asset Management responsible for selection of investment managers deploying relative value strategies. Mr. Khatri graduated from Vassar College, New York in 2002 with a BA in Computer Science and Economics. He is a founding board member of the Karen Leung Foundation, a charitable organization with a mission is to save lives by reducing the impact of gynaecological cancers in Hong Kong.

Daniel Altman

General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer

Daniel Altman joined Ayrton in January 2024 as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. Mr. Altman previously served as the general counsel and chief compliance officer of LSV Advisors, LLC, overseeing all legal and compliance aspects related to investment funds and managed accounts. He has also held positions in the investment management and litigation groups of several large New York law firms including Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. Mr. Altman holds a Juris Doctor from Columbia University School of Law & dual bachelor degrees in European History and Jewish Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, B.A.

Marian Freidin

Controller and Operations Manager

Marian Freidin joined Ayrton in August 2017 and serves as its Operations Manager, responsible for the firm’s fund accounting, tax, treasury and trade operations. Prior to joining Ayrton, Ms. Freidin was a client service analyst with the Prime Brokerage division at Maxim Group LLC where she supported client integration with Maxim’s trade, finance and compliance infrastructure. Ms. Freidin holds degrees in Business Management and Equine Science from Colorado State.

Blair Friedensohn

Research Analyst

Blair Friedensohn joined Ayrton Capital in April 2024 as a research analyst. Mr. Friedensohn previously served as a Capital Markets Managing Director at Roth Capital Partners where he originated, structured, and executed capital raises for small cap companies. Prior to Roth, Mr. Friedensohn led the Capital Markets division at E.F. Hutton and held various roles at Goldman Sachs as an Investment Banker, Fixed Income Trader, and Credit Analyst. Mr. Friedensohn holds a bachelor of arts in Government from Dartmouth College.

Jarryd Gross

Research Analyst

Jarryd Gross joined Ayrton in April 2021 and acts as a research analyst for the firm. Prior to joining Ayrton, Mr. Gross served as an Equity Capital Markets Associate at H.C. Wainwright & Co., where he focused on the structuring and execution of numerous capital raises for small and micro cap companies across multiple sectors. Mr. Gross has also held ECM positions with Robert W. Baird and Baader Helvea AG. He holds dual bachelor degrees in Commerce and Economics, with majors in Finance, Accounting and Economics from the University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia

Joseph V. Gulfo, M.D.

Managing Director of Fundamental Healthcare

Joseph Gulfo joined Ayrton Capital in November 2023 as the Managing Director of Fundamental Healthcare covering the biotechnology sector. Mr. Gulfo was previously a senior analyst at Altium Capital Management specializing in small/mid market cap biopharma and is also the author of Innovation Breakdown – How the FDA and Wall Street Cripple Medical Advances and The Care Quotient: Transforming Business Through People. Additionally, he has extensive operating experience in biopharmaceuticals and is responsible for the development and regulatory approvals of three oncology products. Mr. Gulfo received a Doctor of Medicine degree from Rutgers University (UMDNJ) and a Master of Business Administration degree from Seton Hall University.

Samar Hamza

Research Analyst

Samar Hamza joined Ayrton in August 2018 and acts as the firm’s research analyst, covering the biotechnology, specialty pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. Ms. Hamza was previously a clinical researcher at UC San Diego assisting with clinical study design, implementation and data analysis. Some of her research work included neurodegeneration and neuro-imaging. Ms. Hamza was also a research consultant with Mark Kreuger & Associates, a leading patient engagement and advocacy consulting firm to the biopharmaceutical industry. She holds a Masters in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology and Statistics from Columbia University and a BS in Biology from University of California, San Diego.

Tim Rao

Trader

Tim Rao joined Ayrton Capital in May 2023 as a trader and is responsible for the execution of all trades. Prior to joining Ayrton, Mr. Rao was a trading assistant and administrative officer at Sabby Management. Mr. Rao received a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Hofstra University.