Learn More About BridgePort
BridgePort Team
The Bridgeport senior team has over 100 years of combined financial industry experience including leadership roles at larger global investment banks, hedge funds and the SEC, along with significant development/design expertise to build customer-focused, disruptive technology platforms and solutions.
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Christopher Nero is the founder and CEO of Bridgeport Financial Technology, and has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Chris founded HedgeWorks in 2000, pioneering the concept of “hedge fund transparency” through the independent calculation of key hedge fund portfolio metrics and analytics. These quantitative attributes were designed to give sophisticated hedge fund investors deeper insight into the underlying quality of their investments, and provide a level playing field to better compare one hedge fund to another. Today, third-party analytics, valuation and transparent reporting have become “best practice” in the hedge fund industry.
In 2008, with offices in San Diego, Boston and Grand Cayman, Chris sold HedgeWorks to Deutsche Bank, the 15th largest multinational investment bank and financial services company in the world, operating in over 58 countries. Chris transitioned from HedgeWorks’ CEO to Managing Director and Global Head for the successor business, Deutsche Bank Alternative Fund Services (”AFS”), expanding globally into Europe and Asia, and growing it by over 300% before retiring in 2011. In 2009, Deutsche Bank AFS was ranked #2 in the Global Custodian Survey of hedge fund service providers.
Since that time, Chris has served and continues to serve on the board of public, private and not-for-profit organizations, and is an active investor in the private fund and financial technology industries.
Prior to founding HedgeWorks, Chris was Chief Operating Officer at Bricoleur Capital Management, a $1B+ U.S. Equity Hedge Fund in San Diego; a Director at United Asset Management in Boston; Vice President at Scudder, Stevens & Clark in Boston; and a Senior Accountant at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) in Boston. Chris holds a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from Providence College.
Current Boards:- Franklin Templeton Funds (2)- Independent Director; 2012 to Present
- Reality Shares ETF Trust; 6 listed ETFs- Independent Director; 2013 to 2018
- Board of Trustees and Founding Trustee- Pacific Ridge School; 2006 to 2018
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- Founder / CEO at Interactive Labs
- Built products that scaled to 100+MM users
- Head of product at several consumer and enterprise companies
- B.S. Engineering and Computer Science- Pune Institute of Computer Technology
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- President of KCD PR, and a leader in financial public relations and strategic communications
- Vice President of Public Relations for LPL Financial, the nation’s largest independent brokerage firm
- An industry and Wall Street public relations veteran with marketing insights relating to finance, high tech, cybersecurity, and other related topics.
- Kevin has developed influential relationships and secured coverage in major media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, BusinessWeek, and CNBC
- B.A in Public Communications at State University of New York College at Buffalo; member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
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- Partner and Director of Private Fund Administration and Client Service- Alpha Alternatives
- Senior Associate for Private Funds- Deutsche Bank Alternative Fund Services
- Senior Accountant for Hedgeworks (acquired by Deutsche Bank in 2008)
- B.S. in Accounting, University of the Pacific
Our Board of Advisors is comprised of a diverse group of accomplished industry professionals who bring unique experience, skills, relationships and perspectives to Bridgeport, and promote a culture of innovation. The board provides strategic and operational perspective, challenges management with insightful questions and scenarios, and helps to create a constructive environment of progress and accountability.
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- Great Lakes Advisors (WinTrust) in Chicago- Chief Investment Officer for Fundamental Equity Strategies, and member of the Board of Directors,
- Ironworks Capital Management, a small cap long/short equity hedge fund in Chicago- Chief Investment Officer
- Bricoleur Capital Management- Portfolio Manager and Partner; helped build a team of seven analyst, and grow assets from $450 million to over $1.3 billion
- Anderson, Hoagland & Company in St. Louis- Portfolio manager for an $800 million portfolio
- Analyst with Prudential Investment Company, and promoted to PM of a $3.3 billion portfolio of leveraged buyout and equity investments
- Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Society of Chicago
- BA in Economics from the University of Rochester, and an MBA from the University of Michigan
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- Parsons School of Design- The New School, NY, NY- Graduate Professor, Design Thinking
- Havas Edge, New York, NY- Executive Vice President. Havas is an award-winning international performance marketing agency with expertise across all digital, broadcast and media domains
- Board of Trustees- Pacific Ridge School, Carlsbad, CA
- CEO of Fithaus, Ltd., and JH Direct
- Director of Product Development, Guthy Renker
- Master’s Degree, Strategic Design- Parsons School of Design
- MBA- San Diego State University
- BC, University of South Africa
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- Tamarack Capital Management, a long/short equity healthcare-focused hedge fund established in 2005- Founder and Chief Investment Officer
- Board of Directors- Independent Director, Reality Shares ETF Trust; 6 listed ETFs, including the first Blockchain ETF
- Bricoleur Capital Management, a long/short equity hedge fund that grew to more than $1.3 billion in assets- Director of Research
- Equity Analyst at John Galt Capital Management, a long/short equity hedge fund
- Associate, Robertson Stephens & Co
- Princeton University- AB, Chemistry
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- Chief Investment Officer, E Street Management, a long/short equity fund of hedge funds located in New York City
- Current Member of the Investment Committee at the Teachers College of Columbia University
- Director of Research, New Legacy Capital in New York
- Vice President and Senior Research Analyst at Tremont Capital Management
- BA, University of Maryland
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- Chief Financial Officer & Chief Compliance Officer at Sante Capital, a venture capital and alternative asset management firm in Austin, TX
- Regional Head of Alternative Fund Services for the Americas, Maples Fund Services in Boston
- Director of Client Services, Deutsche Bank Alternative Fund Services (fka HedgeWorks), based in London, covering client relationships across Europe, Middle East and Asia
- Managing Director of Operations, HedgeWorks- San Diego, Boston and Grand Cayman
- AVP for Global Portfolio Administration at TCW
- Accounting Associate at both Ernst & Young and Coopers & Lybrand
- Certified Public Accountant and current member of the CFA Institute
- B.S., Loyola Marymount University
