Our Firm

Founded in 1980, Westchester has endeavored to deliver consistent, absolute returns through the disciplined execution of event-driven alternative investment strategies. Meet our team.

Differentiated Investment Strategies

We are committed to providing solutions that offer our clients the ability to reduce total portfolio risk and earn absolute returns, regardless of the direction of the markets. We do so by investing in publicly announced event opportunities such as mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, spin-offs, and other corporate reorganizations, with the goal of profiting from the timely completion of these transactions.

Proven Track Record

We have a proven track record of identifying profitable event-driven opportunities which have resulted in competitive risk-adjusted returns. Since the launch of our flagship fund, The Merger Fund^®, in 1989, we have evaluated more than 10,000 potential transactions, and invested in over 4,500 corporate reorganizations, over 98% of which were completed.

Specialized Risk Management Process

Our proprietary risk management infrastructure dynamically analyzes, monitors, and evaluates opportunities specific to the event-driven universe, with additional portfolio management tools covering operational, manager, counterparty, and market risk. As a matter of principle, we do not speculate on future takeover targets or invest based upon rumors. Ultimately, we seek to invest in those transactions that may provide the highest risk-adjusted returns, not those that produce the highest returns without regard to potential drawdowns.

Well-Established Network of Global Resources

We believe our size and strong Wall Street relationships give us a competitive advantage and institutional access concerning research, trading capabilities, and sourcing hard-to-borrow securities.

Strong Alignment with Investor Interests

The firm's principals and employees hold a significant percentage of their investable assets in our strategies.

Experienced and Stable Team

Roy Behren and Michael Shannon, who lead our portfolio management team, have worked together for more than 20 years through a variety of market cycles. We offer the combined knowledge of a team of investment specialists with vast and varied experience to deliver solutions and strategies targeted to investors’ needs.

A collaborative and collegial culture is the underpinning of our cohesive team and encourages the open exchange of ideas, news, and analysis in both formal and informal investment meetings. In this way, our strategic expertise in this specialized area of investing has evolved over 30 years. Our firm maintains its distinctive boutique investment structure while benefitting from Virtus Investment Partners' shared distribution and support services, reinforcing an institutional infrastructure focused on ensuring compliance and timely execution.