Guillaume Fonkenell
Guillaume Fonkenell is the Founder and Managing Partner of Pharo Management, a global investment firm focused on macroeconomic trends. He also serves as the firm's Chief Investment Officer and member of the Risk Committee and the UK Governance Committee. In addition, he is the Founder of Pharo Foundation and sits as the Chairman of Pharo's Board of Trustees. Fonkenell is a renowned macroeconomic hedge fund manager with over 30 years of experience trading currencies, bonds and derivatives in developed and emerging markets. Prior to founding Pharo Management in 2000, he was a Managing Director at Merrill Lynch in New York where he launched and managed two businesses: the Latin American Local Markets trading group, and the Global Credit Derivatives group. Before that, he was a Vice President at Bankers Trust, where he ran the interest rate options desk.
Guillaume Fonkenell Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Founder and Managing Partner
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Managing Director
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Vice President
Pharo is a global hedge fund that manages over $10 billion across four funds from their offices in London, New York, and Hong Kong.
Pharo recognizes the importance of responsible investing and integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into its decision-making.
The Pharo Macro Fund, the firm's flagship offering, has generated an impressive annualized return of 17% since its launch in 2005.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pharo demonstrated agility and adaptability, mitigating losses and safeguarding investor capital.
In 2019, Fonkenell made headlines for withdrawing $300 million from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority in protest of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This marked a rare instance of a hedge fund taking such a strong ethical stance.
He has established a strong track record for generating returns for investors, even navigating challenging market conditions like the COVID-19 pandemic.
EARLY CAREER
At Merrill Lynch in New York, he had oversight responsibility for the firm's trading activities in Latin American markets.
He also focused on structuring sophisticated credit market transactions for American, European, and Japanese investors.
At Bankers Trust, he traded interest rate swaps and options initially as a member of the swaps trading desk and then as the head of the interest rate options trading group.
EDUCATION
Masters Degree, Civil Engineering and International Business, Ecole Nationale des Ponts-et-Chaussées
Science Degree, École Polytechnique Paris