The LSE Directory / Hedge fund managers
James Harris Simons (1938-2024) was an American mathematician and quantitative investor who founded Renaissance Technologies in 1982, pioneering the use of mathematical models and statistical signals to trade financial markets. His Medallion Fund, operated exclusively for Renaissance employees and principals, achieved an average gross annual return of approximately 66% (roughly 39% net of fees) from 1988 to 2018, a track record widely regarded as the best sustained investment performance in history, surpassing the long-term records of Buffett, Lynch, and all other known funds. Before finance, Simons had an accomplished career in mathematics: he co-developed the Chern-Simons form in differential geometry (a foundational contribution to modern theoretical physics and string theory), cracked Soviet codes for the NSA, and chaired the Stonebrook Department of Mathematics at Stony Brook University. He also had a distinguished secondary career as a philanthropist, founding the Simons Foundation (science and autism research) and Math for America. He died on 10 May 2024, aged 86.
