Ryan Jacob

Chairman & Chief Investment Officer

Ryan Jacob is the Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Jacob Asset Management, which he founded in 1999. He is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the firm, guiding his team in developing financial models, conducting market research and selecting stocks. He has served as the chief portfolio manager for the Jacob Internet Fund and Jacob Small Cap Growth Fund since both Funds’ inceptions in 1999 and 2010.

For two decades Mr. Jacob has been at the forefront of technology investing, spanning a period that included one of the most promising markets for the US and then delivering the market crashes of 2002 and 2008. In 1999, at age 29, Mr. Jacob was among the youngest individuals to found a mutual fund, the Jacob Internet Fund, persevering through the tech bubble burst to overcome many challenges.

A founding partner of Horizon Asset Management in 1994, a New York based investment advisory firm, Mr. Jacob directed research and analysis for IPO Value Monitor during the period when internet companies began to go public. Because of his insights and experience, in 1997 he took over portfolio management for The Internet Fund (currently Kinetics Internet Fund), one of the first funds focused on publicly-traded internet companies, which he headed until 1999. From 1992-1994, he was an assistant portfolio manager at Banker’s Trust.

His philosophy embraces companies and industries that offer what he identifies as game-changing opportunities. In 2000, Crain’s New York Business named Mr. Jacob as one of its 40 under 40, stating he stunned the investment world by turning the obscure Internet Fund into the top-performing mutual fund of 1998. ii News. a publication of Institutional Investor. named him one of the Rising Stars of Mutual Funds in 2009.

Mr. Jacob is frequently quoted by the press for his insights into analyzing and assessing market opportunities for start-up companies where traditional metrics may not apply as well as for established leaders across a broad mix of industries. He has appeared on CNBC. CNN. Bloomberg TV. Fox Business and has been profiled in Barron’s and Forbes and interviewed by nearly every major online and print business publication including The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times. Investor’s Business Daily. Smart Money. Business Week and Fortune .

 

Francis J. (Frank) Alexander

Portfolio Manager

Frank Alexander is the Chief Portfolio Manager of the Jacob Wisdom Fund. With over forty years of investment management experience, Mr. Alexander employs a value-oriented investing style, maintaining a long-term perspective and looking for companies with an enduring competitive advantage and a history of high return on invested capital.

Mr. Alexander began his career managing funds for trusts, foundations and charitable institutions, which has continued since launching his own firm, Alexander Capital Management, in 1985. As a partner at Kinetics Asset Management, he became the Chief Portfolio Manager of one of the first Internet funds (The Internet Fund, now Kinetics Internet Fund) at its inception in 1996. He continued as a portfolio manager assisting Ryan Jacob when Jacob assumed responsibility as Chief Portfolio Manager of the fund at the end of 1997. Mr. Alexander was also a portfolio manager with Lepercq, de Neuflize & Co. Inc. from 1998 to 2002.

Concurrently, in 1999, Mr. Alexander assisted Mr. Jacob in founding Jacob Asset Management and launching a new mutual fund — Jacob Internet Fund. In addition to serving as Chief Portfolio Manager of the Wisdom Fund, Mr. Alexander assists in the day-to-day management of the Jacob Internet Fund and the Jacob Small Cap Growth Fund.

 

Darren Chervitz

Director of Research & Co-Portfolio Manager

Darren Chervitz serves as the Chief Portfolio Manager of the Micro Cap Growth Fund as well as the Director of Research and Co-Portfolio Manager of the Jacob Internet Fund and the Jacob Small Cap Growth Fund for Jacob Asset Management. He joined the firm shortly after it was founded in 1999.

Mr. Chervitz’s primary responsibilities include evaluating existing holdings, helping to find new opportunities, reviewing portfolio weightings and providing ongoing risk assessment. His education and experience in the field of journalism have given him the perspective and investigative skills needed to dig through mountains of available information and ask tough questions. He has been extensively quoted by various publications and networks, including appearing as a guest host on CNNfn and CNBC.

Previously, Mr. Chervitz was one of the first employees at MarketWatch.com’s predecessor, DBC News, an online financial news organization founded in 1996. While there, his primary areas of focus were initial public offerings and Internet stocks; his IPO Report became one of the most popular editorial features on CBS.MarketWatch.com. He also authored a market report for the local CBS affiliate in San Francisco and was a regular technology analyst for ZDTV.

Mr. Chervitz published a four-part investor education piece, The ABCs of IPOs. which was featured at the Museum of Financial History and continues to appear throughout the Web.

 

Reference to other mutual funds should not be interpreted as an offer of these securities.