Jon Havice, Founder and CIO, DGV Solutions Alpha Exchange

A nearly 30 year career has given Jon Havice exposure to just about every strategy across the spectrum of asset markets. A freshly minted Wharton graduate with a major in engineering, Jon came upon O’Connor Associates in the early 1990’s where he cut his teeth trading listed currency option markets. Pre-euro, Jon would experience seminal FX vol events like the ERM unwind,Tequila crisis and Asian contagion in short order, gaining an appreciation for the impact of positioning on currency vol surfaces.

As his career progressed, Jon would manage the gamut of arbitrage strategies, focusing on exotic options, convertible bonds, capital structure and muni bonds and dispersion. Our discussion brings to life the lessons to be had from trading through market crisis periods, including the importance of counterparty risk and the degree to which asset prices can stray from fundamental value. We also dive into the vol risk premium, exploring its attributes and how it has evolved over the years in light of the heavy hand of Central Banks. In a world of exceptionally low rates, Jon worries about the glut of yield-chasing capital in private credit and the potential that valuation distortions have resulted.

Today, Jon is CIO of DGV Solutions, a firm he founded in 2014 to offer customized investment management products in a transparent and cost efficient manner. His firm deploys its expertise with a purpose, partnering with clients with inspiring missions that Jon and his team feel very connected to. Please enjoy this episode of the Alpha Exchange, my conversation with Jon Havice.