From the sell side to the buy side, Wall Street’s sphere of influence can put you on the outside looking in. This is where our legacy in investment banking is your advantage.
For traditional investors, the answer is to seek the safety of benchmark and passive strategies offered by large financial institutions. We believe this approach is not your best option. Benchmarks, by their nature, are backwards looking and large financial institutions can lack focus and agility.
The world is rapidly changing, and markets move faster than ever.
Finding future growth opportunities requires a focus on the factors that lead to meaningful inflection.
Through original research we apply the discipline required to complete dozens of successful M&A deals (in our past as an investment banker). We believe this experience is the difference that makes us better investment managers and makes you a better investor in both private and public companies.
From the sell side to the buy side, Wall Street’s sphere of influence can put you on the outside looking in. This is where our legacy in investment banking is your advantage.
For traditional investors, the answer is to seek the safety of benchmark and passive strategies offered by large financial institutions. We believe this approach is not your best option. Benchmarks, by their nature, are backwards looking and large financial institutions can lack focus and agility.
The world is rapidly changing, and markets move faster than ever.
Finding future growth opportunities requires a focus on the factors that lead to meaningful inflection.
Through original research we apply the discipline required to complete dozens of successful M&A deals (in our past as an investment banker). We believe this experience is the difference that makes us better investment managers and makes you a better investor in both private and public companies.
Jerry Murphey
CEO
As CEO at Validus, Jerry provides strategic and operational leadership and serves on the firm’s investment committee. Jerry’s history with Validus goes back to 2012, when he joined the firm’s board of advisors. In the same year he added Validus as a subadvisor to the FolioMetrix mutual fund family—which he founded in 2008.
In 2009, Jerry registered FolioMetrix as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission and served as its President and CEO until 2016. He led the launch and distribution of 11 mutual funds that made Barron Top Fund Family list from 2013 to 2015. FolioMetrix was sold in 2016.
From 2000 to 2009, Jerry represented Prudential Investment Management Group (PIIGM) as a Wealth Management Consultant, where he served as a catalyst to an industry-wide transition of the major insurance companies, banks and broker dealers to a fee-based managed money platform representing over 70 institutional money managers and an asset base of more than $45 billion.
From 1994 to 2000, Jerry led Dearborn Financial Institute’s global operations and distribution sales. During his tenure, Jerry led the integration of more than a dozen acquisitions, as well as joint ventures such as the launch of the Stock Exchange of Hon Kong’s derivatives program, the first Chinese CFA training program, and an enterprise compliance tracking software with TIAA and AIG.
In 1991, Jerry began on Wall Street when he launched Mutual Data Incorporated (MDI). MDI supported trading floors and transaction facilities, provided course curriculum for NYU and Columbia University, and trained technical personnel at firms such as: American Express Travel, Bank of New York, Prudential Securities, EDS, Andersen Consulting, and IBM.
Today, Jerry and his wife, Celia, live in Portland, Oregon, where they actively support individuals with intellectual disability and their families. Together, they enjoy their 5 children, large extended family, and everything the Pacific Northwest great outdoors has to offer.
Mark Scalzo
CIO
Mark registered Validus Growth Advisors LLC (Validus) as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2012. With over 30 years of experience, Mark founded Validus to invest at the inflection point of accelerating growth. Through his original research Mark is responsible for creating, evolving and implementing Validus’ growth equity investment strategies and performing fundamental bottom-up research on individual investment ideas. Today, Mark retains ultimate portfolio investment decision making for all of Validus’ growth equity strategies. He is also the Co-Portfolio Manager of the Destra Multi-Alternative Fund, a closed-end interval fund.
Prior to Validus, Mark was Co-Portfolio Manager and Director of Research for Aletheia Research and Management, Inc. and was responsible for managing all of Aletheia’s long-only model portfolios in conjunction with the Chief Investment Officer for over $7 billion in assets under management at its peak. As Director of Research, Mark worked to institutionalize and maintain the integrity of the investment process while managing a staff of seven research analysts. From 2006-2008, Mark was Group Vice President and Head of M&A for Fisher Investments where he created a consolidation strategy for Fisher’s investment platform.
In 1989, Mark began his career at Salomon Brothers, Inc.. 3 years later he joined Putnam Lovell NBF, a premier boutique investment banking firm focusing on the asset management industry. During his 15 years at Putnam Lovell, Mark held various positions including Associate, Vice President, Managing Director and Regional Manager. Some of Mark’s most memorable assignments include representing Nuveen Investments in the acquisition of NWQ Investment Management, the LBO of Numeric Investors led by TA Associates, the sale of Kayne Anderson Rudnick to Phoenix, the sale of Symphony Asset Management to Nuveen Investments, the reverse merger of New England Investment Companies into a publicly-traded MLP, Reich & Tang, and the sale of Miller Anderson & Sherrerd, L.L.P. to the Morgan Stanley Group.
Mark and his wife of 25 years have three sons. All three boys are Suzuki violinists, car enthusiasts, avid readers of classic literature. All family members are active participants in their Catholic parish and in a variety of community service activities.
Mark graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mark is Series 7, Series 24, Series 65 and Series 79 licensed.