Michael Songer

Michael is an investment professional with over 30 years of experience. Prior to turning his attention to private equity, he founded and managed Chicago based Spectrum Asset Management LLC, a research driven alternative investment advisor specializing in managed futures and currencies. He developed computerized trading systems used to trade nearly every liquid global futures and forward market 24 hours a day. Spectrum managed $300 million and Spectrum’s clients included top tier banks, fund of funds, family offices and wealthy individuals from around the world. Spectrum’s management and research team included investment professionals with many years of experience and diverse backgrounds ranging from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to quantitative finance and aerospace engineering.

Michael’s career started in 1988 after graduating from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts with a B.A. in Economics. He immediately went to work for Kidder Peabody & Co. in Boston as a stockbroker. After a few years, his interest in commodities and trading system development brought him to Chicago where he went to work on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and eventually ran Pacific Rim trading for two of Chicago’s most famous and successful commodities trading advisors. After years of research, Michael put the finishing touches on his multi-model, multi-market trading program and with the backing of a well-known Chicago investor, founded his own investment firm in 2001.

Between his time on the trading floor and managing a trading desk, he also spent a few years working in his family’s business. Michael’s family owned foundries in Milwaukee and Racine Wisconsin that manufactured brass, bronze, aluminum and stainless-steel castings. The foundries served the pump, aerospace, medical, defense and many other industries. His experience at Kramer International and Alloy Casting Company exposed him to a wide variety of industries and manufacturing processes.

Michael currently resides in Chicago’s Northwest suburbs with his wife and two kids.  In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, diving and spending time with his family riding their horses.