Vivian Y. Chen, CFA

PM Jar is the intellectual toolkit that powers Marram Investment Management, where I currently serve as Portfolio Manager. Marram is an outsourced long-term investment solution for individuals, high net worth, and entities seeking to grow capital for retirement or legacy purposes. Focused solely on the maximization of capital compounding (growth) over time and guided by an investment philosophy of patient opportunism, Marram buys cheap assets (when available), isn’t afraid of holding cash (when there are no cheap assets), and thinks creatively about portfolio construction & management.

Marram began as an outsourced investment service for a small circle of friends and family, and its investor friendly fee structure (lower than most hedge funds), terms (separate accounts, no lock-up, full transparency), and high standards of care and excellence, reflect those origins. I have the majority of my liquid net worth invested in Marram – I eat my own cooking – thus ensuring that I shepherd investor capital with the utmost care, as I would my own.

Since inception in January of 2011, Marram’s results (net of fees) have outpaced the S&P 500 while incurring far less risk. To learn more about Marram’s investment process and outcome, and how we have utilized the concepts featured on PM Jar, feel free to browse the historical letters.

Prior to Marram, I was a senior investment professional at a multi-billion single family office, making capital allocation and implementation decisions via public securities, external managers (thus meeting with hundreds of fund managers across asset classes and strategies), and other opportunistic investments in a variety of shapes and sizes. Before that, I worked at Morgan Stanley in the Investment Banking Division advising clients on capital raises and mergers & acquisitions. I have also worked in Equity Research at Credit Suisse First Boston, and in Private Wealth Management at Merrill Lynch. I am a graduate of the University of Chicago (Economics) and a Chartered Financial Analyst.

I currently reside in Los Angeles, with my partner-in-crime Brian. Aside from investing and studying the craft, I am an avid reader, chef, hiker, and traveler.