THE TEAM
There is no value more important than human value.
Our fearless leader.
We get to brag about him,
because we know he won’t.
Minyoung Sohn, CFA
FOUNDER, CEO, CIO
In November, 2008, Minyoung Sohn founded ArrowMark Parnters with David Corkins and Karen Reidy. They founded ArrowMark to create an investment–centric and client–centric firm that would invest in human capital to grow. The firm started with ten people, a few loyal clients and one billion dollars under management. The Financial Crisis presented enormous challenges and opportunities for the new firm. Despite their pedigree as large cap stock mutual fund portfolio managers, they successfully raised two private funds to invest in the wake of the asset price correction in 2009.
Over the years, at ArrowMark they built the team on alternative fixed income and capacity constrained equity strategies. By 2019, Minyoung helped grow ArrowMark to over 60 employees and $24+ billion in assets under management at which point he left to start a new venture with ESG/Impact and Inclusive Growth core to the model — Blue Room Investing.
Between January 2004 — October 2007 Minyoung was the Portfolio Manager of the Janus Growth and Income Fund (JAGIX). The fund was designed for investors seeking both capital appreciation and investment income.
+ 2009: Founding Partner Arrowmark. Launched two private funds.
Recruited and trained equity analyst team.
+ 2010-14: Director of Research.
+ 2012: Launched ArrowMark’s first CLO.
M&A Due Diligence Team.
+ 2013: Recruited Key Personnel. Supported Alternative
Credit Team Launch.
+ 2014-19: Managed Meridian business.
At the time, the perceived lack of attractive income securities motivated Minyoung to use equity options to create new income sources. To effect this, Minyoung created a process to find liquidity for as many as 50,000 contracts, at the time, a significant size. Minyoung also initiated and led a process with external parties to educate and create internal workflows among key groups such as Compliance, Trade Operations, Fund Accounting, Marketing, and the Fund Trustees.
From January – Decdember 2003, Minyoung was the Asst. Portfolio Manager of the Janus Growth and Income Fund. The Growth and Income Fund category style was Morningstar Large Cap Growth, and in the Lipper Universe, it was Large Cap Core. The Fund was marketed on its Morningstar 5-star rating. From January – December 2003, Minyoung was also the Asst. Portfolio Manager to the Janus Mercury Fund — the category style was Aggressive Growth.
Minyoung was a Research Analyst at Janus from July 1998 – December 2003. In addition to the Internet sector, Min covered Energy (Exxon Mobil, Anadarko Petroleum, EOG Resources), Consumer Products (Procter & Gamble and Colgate), and Financials (U.S. Bank). After implementing ratings in 2001, Min was ranked the top performing analyst from 2001-2003.
Emily Philpott
CO-FOUNDER, COO, CCO
Emily Philpott is the Creative Partner of Blue Room, where she oversees the creative aspects of the brand and supports Min on the overarching companies. She is also Owner and Creative Director of Gorilla, a company that creates digital and traditional media to connect people to brands in cultural segments that aim to make the world a better place: action sports, outdoor, music, hospitality, and nonprofit industries. In tandem with these, she is the Creative Advisor to Id Est Hospitality and Dry Storage. Previously, Emily was a Creative Director at Factory Labs overseeing global brands as Creative Director of Oakley, Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows among others. Emily has worked as a Creative Director for Hothouse Design, senior designer for Pearl Izumi and omni designer for MTV. Her brand experience includes: Aspen Snowmass, ATO Records, Audi, Carmichael Training Systems, Copper Mountain Resort, Colorado Water Trust, Harley Davidson, HEAD, Horsepower Entertainment, Jeep, K2, Mor Beverage, Nixon, Orage, Ross Reels, Silk Soy Milk + Whitewave, SPCA, Spy Optics, Stax Records, and The North Face. Emily has a post graduate degree from Portfolio Center, Atlanta, GA.
John Fenley, CFA
BLUE ROOM INVESTING PRESIDENT, PORTFOLIO MANAGER
After graduating from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Economics in 1990, John began his asset management career as an equity analyst and portfolio manager at Fifth Third Bancorp in Ohio. He left the bank in 1995 to develop and lead an institutional portfolio management presence in Ft. Lauderdale, FL for SunTrust. While in Ft. Lauderdale, John met Tom Hansberger, Co-founder and CEO of Templeton, Galbraith and Hansberger. After the sale of Templeton to Franklin Resources, Tom founded Hansberger Global Investors (HGI) and in 1997, personally invited John to join the new firm as an analyst and portfolio manager of global equities. John became Co-Manager of the Citigroup/Smith Barney Hansberger International Fund, HGI International Fund, HGI Global Small Cap Fund, CI International Fund and Firstar International Equity Fund. John also embarked on his MBA journey at Duke University during his tenure at the firm.
While at Hansberger, John was involved in the due diligence process of a potential acquisition, Bee & Associates, a global equities investment boutique located in Denver, Colorado. Bee ended up being purchased by Denver Investment Advisors (DIA/DI), who hired John as an international analyst and portfolio manager shortly after the deal was completed in 2000. While at DIA, he managed mostly institutional assets in addition to being portfolio manager of the Westcore International Small Cap Fund (WIIFX & WTIFX - later becoming the SBH Fundamental ISC Fund - from 2003-2023). In 2006, John was promoted to Director of International Investments and in 2009, he was elected to the firm’s Management Committee, responsible for the strategic and operational oversight of the entire firm. Through Lipper Award-winning performance, John grew his strategy to close to $2 billion in assets under management. In 2018, Segall Bryant & Hamill (SBH) acquired Denver Investments, which was in turn acquired by CI Financial in 2021. SBH/CI retained John as Director of Fundamental International Strategies until he resigned in 2023 to join Blue Room.
