Jacob Fund’s experienced investment team shares core values that support integrity, performance, innovation, and trust. Through hard work, open communication, and rigorous discussion, the team produces an abundance of data to help drive sound investment decisions.
Ryan Jacob is the Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Jacob Asset Management, which he founded in 1999. He guides the investment team in developing financial models, conducting market research and selecting stocks. Ryan is the Chief Portfolio Manager for Jacob Forward ETF since inception in 2021. He also is the Chief Portfolio Manager for Jacob Internet Fund and Jacob Small Cap Growth Fund since both Funds’ inceptions in 1999 and 2010, respectively.
At age 29, Ryan was among the youngest individuals ever to launch a mutual fund – the Jacob Internet Fund. For two decades, he has been at the forefront of technology investing, navigating a period that included one of history's most profitable markets, as well as the downturns of 2002 and 2008.
A founding partner of Horizon Asset Management in 1994, a New York-based investment advisory firm, Ryan directed research and analysis for IPO Value Monitor during the period when Internet companies began to go public. 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 Ryan 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.
Ryan is frequently quoted by the press for his insights into analyzing and assessing market opportunities for start-up companies as well as for established leaders across a broad mix of industries. He has appeared on CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg TV and 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..
Frank Alexander is Co-Portfolio Manager of both the Jacob Small Cap Growth Fund and Jacob Internet 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 returns on invested capital. Today, Mr. Alexander assists in the
Mr. Alexander began his career managing funds for trusts, foundations and charitable institutions, and continued with the launch of 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 – the Jacob Internet Fund.
Darren Chervitz serves as the Chief Portfolio Manager of Jacob Discovery Fund as well as Co-Portfolio Manager of Jacob Forward ETF, Jacob Internet Fund, and Jacob Small Cap Growth Fund.
Darren graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in economics. He uses his investigative education and experience to ask the tough questions and find the most relevant information in search of the most compelling long-term investments. He has been extensively quoted by the media, including appearing as a guest host on CNNfn and CNBC.
Previously, Darren was one of the first employees at the online financial news organization that eventually became MarketWatch.com where he focused on initial public offerings and Internet stocks. He also delivered a daily market report on the morning news show for the local CBS-TV affiliate in San Francisco and was a regular technology analyst for ZDTV.
Hayden Cook is an equity analyst at Jacob Asset Management. A member of the investment team, Hayden identifies value for its portfolios and is responsible for sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities. Before joining Jacob Asset Management in 2013, Hayden worked with several financial planning and asset management firms, including UBS and Western Asset Management, where he gained experience in marketing, business development, web management, and strategic portfolio allocation.
Hayden received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a focus in Corporate Finance, from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. While a student, he was actively involved in his community, assisting local non-profits through Los Angeles Community Impact, a student consulting organization. Additionally, Hayden and several classmates founded a non-profit organization focused on reconnecting terminally ill patients with loved ones.
Alenoush Terzian is the Director of Operations at Jacob Asset Management of New York, LLC, joining Jacob Asset Management in May 2021.
Prior to joining JAM, Alenoush served as Vice President of U.S. Bank Global Fund Services for ten years where she was responsible for managing a team in the Fund Administration Department. The team serviced a variety of mutual fund companies and administered their financial reporting, regulatory compliance, board reporting, and other matters. Alenoush also spent close to three years in the Tax Department of the public accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Alenoush earned a Master of Science degree in Accountancy from California State University, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from University of California, Irvine.