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O'Brien and Livanos also launched Maritime Direct.com, an internet-based maritime information and e-commerce site, in 1999. Maritime Direct’s growth weakened as a result of downturns in the dry-bulk shipping industry and the decline in tech sector financing, and it ceased operations in 2001. Maritime Direct ended in the hands of creditors, after numerous controversies inhibited the debt-ridden business from attracting capital.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tradewindsnews.com/daily/86922/maritimedirect-says-goodbye|title=MaritimeDirect says goodbye|access-date=2016-08-10}}</ref> MartimeDirect faced legal action from Spinnaker Consulting related to unpaid fees, along with controversies of benefiting from leaked proprietary information.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tradewindsnews.com/weekly/163322/broker-fired-for-dotcom-leaks|title=Broker fired for dot.com 'leaks'|newspaper=TradeWinds|language=en|access-date=2017-02-04}}</ref>
O'Brien and Livanos also launched Maritime Direct.com, an internet-based maritime information and e-commerce site, in 1999. Maritime Direct’s growth weakened as a result of downturns in the dry-bulk shipping industry and the decline in tech sector financing, and it ceased operations in 2001. Maritime Direct ended in the hands of creditors, after numerous controversies inhibited the debt-ridden business from attracting capital.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tradewindsnews.com/daily/86922/maritimedirect-says-goodbye|title=MaritimeDirect says goodbye|access-date=2016-08-10}}</ref> MartimeDirect faced legal action from Spinnaker Consulting related to unpaid fees, along with controversies of benefiting from leaked proprietary information.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tradewindsnews.com/weekly/163322/broker-fired-for-dotcom-leaks|title=Broker fired for dot.com 'leaks'|newspaper=TradeWinds|language=en|access-date=2017-02-04}}</ref>


O’Brien returned to Canada with his family in 2001 and dissolved Stanton Capital in the U.S. He founded Stanton Asset Management in Canada the next year, and in 2004 launched two funds of hedge funds, Stanton International Equity<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/cc/CorporationsCanada/fdrlCrpDtls.html?corpId=4399471|title=Federal Corporation Information - 439947-1 |deadurl=no |accessdate=2017-01-25}}</ref> and the Stanton Diversified Strategies funds<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.companiesofcanada.com/company/417670-7/stanton-diversified-strategies-gp-inc|title=STANTON DIVERSIFIED STRATEGIES GP INC. - MONTRÉAL QC CANADA|website=www.companiesofcanada.com|access-date=2016-08-10}}</ref>). O'Brien employed excessive levels of leverage in the funds charging management fees on a greater sum of assets. The funds blew up in late 2008, with massive losses amplified by the fund’s use of leverage, with investors losing up to 70% of their money. O'Brien suspended redemptions, inhibiting investors from having access to their capital.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/kevin-oleary-hes-not-a-billionaire-he-just-plays-one-on-tv/article4564334/?page=all|title=Kevin O'Leary: He's not a billionaire, he just plays one on TV|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|language=en-ca|access-date=2017-01-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://stantonasset.com |title=Stanton Asset Management |accessdate=29 January 2017}}</ref>
O’Brien returned to Canada with his family in 2001 and dissolved Stanton Capital in the U.S. He founded Stanton Asset Management in Canada the next year, and in 2004 launched two funds of hedge funds, Stanton International Equity<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/cc/CorporationsCanada/fdrlCrpDtls.html?corpId=4399471|title=Federal Corporation Information - 439947-1 |deadurl=no |accessdate=2017-01-25}}</ref> and the Stanton Diversified Strategies funds<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.companiesofcanada.com/company/417670-7/stanton-diversified-strategies-gp-inc|title=STANTON DIVERSIFIED STRATEGIES GP INC. - MONTRÉAL QC CANADA|website=www.companiesofcanada.com|access-date=2016-08-10}}</ref>). After four years in which fund investors saw accumulated returns of some 30% in addition to tax breaks, the funds suffered significant losses in late 2008, with some investors losing as much as 70% of their money, and O'Brien was forced to suspend redemptions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/kevin-oleary-hes-not-a-billionaire-he-just-plays-one-on-tv/article4564334/?page=all|title=Kevin O'Leary: He's not a billionaire, he just plays one on TV|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|language=en-ca|access-date=2017-01-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://stantonasset.com |title=Stanton Asset Management |accessdate=29 January 2017}}</ref>


In 2010, O’Brien through his limited partnership O’Leary Funds Management launched a legal suit against Boralex Inc.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.tmxmoney.com/article.php?newsid=33519758&qm_symbol=BLX|title=Stock Market Quotes {{!}} Stock Market Quotes and Symbols|website=web.tmxmoney.com|access-date=2016-07-16}}</ref> The suit was quickly dismissed by Quebec Superior Court.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/boralex-the-superior-court-rejects-olearys-motion-106434778.html|title=Boralex: The Superior Court rejects O'Leary's Motion|last=INC.|first=BORALEX|website=www.prnewswire.com|access-date=2016-07-16}}</ref> Boralex subsequently filed a counterclaim for over $1.4 million against O’Leary Funds Management LP.
In 2010, O’Brien through his limited partnership O’Leary Funds Management launched a legal suit against Boralex Inc.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.tmxmoney.com/article.php?newsid=33519758&qm_symbol=BLX|title=Stock Market Quotes {{!}} Stock Market Quotes and Symbols|website=web.tmxmoney.com|access-date=2016-07-16}}</ref> The suit was quickly dismissed by Quebec Superior Court.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/boralex-the-superior-court-rejects-olearys-motion-106434778.html|title=Boralex: The Superior Court rejects O'Leary's Motion|last=INC.|first=BORALEX|website=www.prnewswire.com|access-date=2016-07-16}}</ref> Boralex subsequently filed a counterclaim for over $1.4 million against O’Leary Funds Management LP.

Revision as of 22:55, 11 February 2017

Connor Olev Martin O'Brien (born 4 February 1961)[1][2] is a is a Canadian investment-fund manager. He is president and chief executive officer of O’Shares Investments, a U.S.-based ETF adviser, as well as president, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Stanton Asset Management, a Montreal-based investment-management company, which he founded in 2002. O’Brien had previously established a private-equity investment firm, Stanton Capital Corporation, in New York City. Before establishing his own businesses, he held executive positions at Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Chemical Bank.[3]

O’Brien is a former alpine skier who represented the United Kingdom in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo and Estonia in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.[1]

Early Life and Education

O'Brien was born and raised in Montreal and holds British and Estonian citizenship, as well as Canadian. His father was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and his mother immigrated to Canada from Estonia as a child in 1944. When Estonia gained its independence from the Soviet Union, O'Brien became an Estonian citizen by birthright.[4]


Business career

O’Brien began his career in merchant banking and real estate with New York’s Chemical Bank, now JP Morgan Chase. He moved on to Lehman Brothers and then to Merrill Lynch, where he was a vice-president for mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

In 1995, he founded Stanton Capital Corporation, a private-equity investment firm. One of Stanton Capital’s first ventures was in the privatization of the Peruvian state-owned steel company SiderPeru. Stanton acted as the financial partner of a team of private investors that included Acerco S.A., as industry partner, and Wiese Inversiones Financieras S.A., an affiliate of Banco Wiese, to acquire the Peruvian steel company SiderPeru. The consortium, named Sider Corp, acquired 96.46% of Siderperu in 1996. Siderperu's employees acquired the remaining 3.54% of Siderperu's share capital. [5] Stanton sold its share to its consortium partners in January 2001. [6][7]

Stanton ventured into shipping in 1997 when it assembled a team of investors to partner with the Norwegian shipping company Tschudi & Eitzen to acquire ESCO, an Estonian state-owned shipping company that was privatized through an arms-length auction process. Stanton sold its interest to Tschudi & Eitzen in June 2001.[8][9][10]

Stanton followed the ESCO investment by teaming with Credit Suisse First Boston and shipping-industry executive Vassilios M. (Bill) Livanos in 1998 to form Millenium Seacarriers, Inc., a United States-based dry-bulk shipping company that eventually owned and operated a fleet of up to 22 bulk carriers. Millenium Seacarriers faced difficulties when market conditions and charter rates for the dry-bulk shipping sector deteriorated in the early 2000s.[11] By 2001, Millenium Seacarriers faced a lawsuit and other pressures by Wayland Investments, a division of Cargill, which had purchased the company’s bonds at a steep discount on the secondary market. Millenium settled the suit 2002 and gave up 17 ships, all but one of its remaining fleet.[12][13][14][15] It eventually filed for restructuring in a bankruptcy proceeding. [16]

O'Brien and Livanos also launched Maritime Direct.com, an internet-based maritime information and e-commerce site, in 1999. Maritime Direct’s growth weakened as a result of downturns in the dry-bulk shipping industry and the decline in tech sector financing, and it ceased operations in 2001. Maritime Direct ended in the hands of creditors, after numerous controversies inhibited the debt-ridden business from attracting capital.[17] MartimeDirect faced legal action from Spinnaker Consulting related to unpaid fees, along with controversies of benefiting from leaked proprietary information.[18]

O’Brien returned to Canada with his family in 2001 and dissolved Stanton Capital in the U.S. He founded Stanton Asset Management in Canada the next year, and in 2004 launched two funds of hedge funds, Stanton International Equity[19] and the Stanton Diversified Strategies funds[20]). After four years in which fund investors saw accumulated returns of some 30% in addition to tax breaks, the funds suffered significant losses in late 2008, with some investors losing as much as 70% of their money, and O'Brien was forced to suspend redemptions.[21][22]

In 2010, O’Brien through his limited partnership O’Leary Funds Management launched a legal suit against Boralex Inc.[23] The suit was quickly dismissed by Quebec Superior Court.[24] Boralex subsequently filed a counterclaim for over $1.4 million against O’Leary Funds Management LP.

In 2014, the Autorité des marchés financiers charged O’Leary Funds Management LP with failing to comply with various provisions under the Securities Act, namely, the restriction regarding securities concentration in a portfolio, the requirement to publish and file in a timely manner a press release informing the public about changes to a fund's fundamental investment objectives, the requirement to hold insurance coverage in accordance with regulations and the requirement to notify the AMF of any change to the information filed for registration purposes. With respect to the latter requirement, O’Leary Funds Management LP had failed to declare that it was the subject of a counterclaim for damages. O'Leary settled and agreed to pay penalties.[1]

Under the direction of O’Brien, O’Leary Funds faced dismal performance in 2011, with 24 of 25 funds losing money.[25] The poor performance lead to significant clients pulling their capital from O'Brien.[26] Facing potential operating losses, O’Brien began charging investors additional administrative fees,[27] with investors paying over $500,000 in additional fees in 2014.[27] The firm began losing key employees, with three prominent money managers leaving between August 2014 and August 2015.[28] The firm was eventually sold in 2016.[29]

Sports career

O’Brien began skiing at an early age and has skied for four countries: Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Estonia. He was a member of the Middlebury College alpine ski team and skied for the United States while in college. Skiing under the British flag, he finished 33rd in the downhill at the Sarajevo Winter Olympic Games in 1984. Temporarily coming out of retirement and while working on Wall Street, he returned to the Olympic Games in 1994 to ski for his mother's native country, Estonia, which had recently gained independence from the Soviet Union.[4][30]

References

  1. ^ a b "Olympics". sports-reference. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  2. ^ "O'Brien, Connor Olev Martin" (in Estonian). ESBL. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Company Overview of O'Leary Funds Management LP". Retrieved 25 January 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b "Winter Olympics: This Skier Really Makes the Rounds". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Form 10-K: ANNUAL REPORT FILED PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1997, page 86". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Copri: Siderperu Can Triple Sales". BNamericas. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Siderperu Memoria Annual 2003 (SiderPeru Annual Report), page 3" (PDF) (in sp). bolsa-de-valores-del-peru. Retrieved 08 February 2017. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  8. ^ "Norwegians take over Estonian shipping company". The Baltic Times. Retrieved 25 January 2017. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  9. ^ Cite web=http://www.tschudigroup.com/page/1144/ESTONIAN_SHIPPING_COMPANY_ESCO%7Ctitle=Estonian Shipping Company ESCO|accessdate=2017-01-08}}
  10. ^ "Stanton is Esco seller". TradeWinds. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  11. ^ "Moody's Downgrades Millenium Seacarrier". Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Millenium stung by malpractice lawsuit". TradeWinds. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  13. ^ "Millenium the Victor in War with Wayland". Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  14. ^ "Millenium Seacarriers: Along for the Ride". www.marinemoneyoffshore.com. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  15. ^ "Millenium gives up fleet". Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  16. ^ "IN RE MILLENIUM SEACARRIERS, INC. (S.D.N.Y. 2004)". Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  17. ^ "MaritimeDirect says goodbye". Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  18. ^ "Broker fired for dot.com 'leaks'". TradeWinds. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  19. ^ "Federal Corporation Information - 439947-1". Retrieved 25 January 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ "STANTON DIVERSIFIED STRATEGIES GP INC. - MONTRÉAL QC CANADA". www.companiesofcanada.com. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  21. ^ "Kevin O'Leary: He's not a billionaire, he just plays one on TV". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  22. ^ "Stanton Asset Management". Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  23. ^ "Stock Market Quotes | Stock Market Quotes and Symbols". web.tmxmoney.com. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  24. ^ INC., BORALEX. "Boralex: The Superior Court rejects O'Leary's Motion". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  25. ^ "Wellington Financial". Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  26. ^ "Kevin O'Leary denies fund woes, disputes redemption value". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  27. ^ a b "Canoe Canadian Corporate Bond Fund (formerly, O'Leary Canadian Bond Yield Fund) Profile". sedar.com. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  28. ^ Burger, Yuri. "O'LEARY FUNDS - History of Changes". www.aihitdata.com. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  29. ^ "O'Leary Funds sold to Canoe Financial, run by Ex Dragon's Den star W. Brett Wilson". CBC News. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  30. ^ "A Former U.S., Former British Skier From Canada Does Estonia Proud". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
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