Peter Muller
Introduction
Peter Muller is an American hedge fund manager and quantitative trader who founded PDT Partners in 1993 as part of Morgan Stanley's trading division, which spun out as an independent business in 2012. He was described by Bloomberg.com as an "unlikely executive", a 47-year-old math wizard, and a person with diverse intellectual interests and hobbies.
Early life and education
Muller grew up in Wayne, New Jersey His father was a chemical engineer and his mother was a psychiatrist. At Wayne Valley High School, he was captain of the Frisbee and Quiz Bowl clubs and was part the Model UN, German club, and the Honor Society.
Muller graduated in mathematics with honors from Princeton University, where he also played Ultimate Frisbee and was a member of the Colonial Club. After graduating from Princeton, he moved to northern California to play music for rhythmic gymnasts.
Career
Muller began working at Barra Inc., a quantitative firm In Berkeley, California. While at Barra, he created the BARRA Brainteaser, a monthly investment-related puzzle. After doing contract work as a Barra representative for Renaissance Technologies, he was offered a job at Renaissance, but turned it down because his belief In the efficient market hypothesis made him skeptical of Renaissance's claimed high rate of return. In 1992, he proposed using Barra’s quantitative techniques to forecast returns rather than just model risk, so that Barra could manage money itself. His proposal was rejected, and he joined Morgan Stanley in 1992, where he created its Process Driven Trading group. Muller is also on the board of Math for America, and writes the New York Times crossword puzzle a few times a year.
Peter Muller founded PDT (Process Driven Trading) Partners inside Morgan Stanley in 1993 and serves as Founder and CEO. PDT has offices in New York and London and has returned 20% on average annually through 2010.
Muller was ranked 17th on Forbes Highest-Earning Hedge Fund Managers in 2017 with $200 million in 2016.
Personal life
Muller is married to his wife Jillian and together they have two children. The family splits time between New York City, and Santa Barbara, California.
Muller practices ashtanga vinyasa yoga and snowboards and surfs. He also writes crossword puzzles for the New York Times a couple times a year. In 1998, Muller made the final table of the $3,000 Limit Hold 'em event at the World Series of Poker and came in 4th at the World Poker Challenge. Muller has recorded two albums playing the grand piano and plays his electronic keyboard in New York subways.