Sandler Capital

What Sandler Capital does

Sandler Capital Management is a New York-based, privately held alternative asset management firm founded in 1988 as a Registered Investment Advisor. The firm operates two investment strategies: a long/short equity hedge fund managing approximately $300 million in assets, and a private equity franchise that has invested approximately $1.6 billion across 167 transactions in five funds since 1990. The PE book is closed to new investment. Clients include high net worth individuals, family offices, pension funds, asset managers, and other institutions, all served through direct relationship management by a 19-person team headquartered at 711 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The firm is founder/management-controlled under Senior Managing Director Andrew Sandler, with no external institutional ownership, and distributes its products exclusively through direct institutional and family office sales channels rather than public marketing.

The hedge fund strategy combines top-down macroeconomic analysis with bottom-up fundamental security research, supported by in-house credit work and technical analysis for position sizing and timing. Net exposure is actively managed from market neutral to net long. The PE franchise, co-founded in 1990 by Michael Marocco and John Kornreich, leveraged deep-rooted relationships in media, communications, and entertainment sectors, an expertise that remains embedded in the firm's network and sector knowledge even as new PE fundraising has ceased. The investment process emphasizes revenue growth and return on invested capital (ROIC) at the individual company level, with valuation analysis conducted using multiple tools.

Revenue derives primarily from asset management fees on the hedge fund portfolio and historically from private equity management fees and carried interest. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated individually with qualified investors, consistent with industry-standard management fee plus performance fee structures. The firm is privately held with no parent company, no subsidiaries, no public ticker, and no external venture or private equity ownership indicated. Go-to-market is direct institutional sales: senior investment professionals and a dedicated Head of Investor Relations manage qualified-investor relationships, supported by industry events and professional network referrals.

Name

Sandler Capital

Legal name

Sandler Capital Management

Website

https://sandlercap.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sandler Capital Management is a New York-based alternative asset management firm founded in 1988, managing approximately $300 million in long/short equity hedge fund assets for institutional and high net worth clients, with a historical private equity practice in media, communications, and entertainment sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alternative Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Fundamental/Discretionary Equity Long/Short (FSAHAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Real Estate Portfolio & Fund Management (Institutional/REIT/PE) (BPAJAMAJ)

Keywords

• Alternative asset management
• Hedge fund management
• Private equity funds
• Long short equity
• Investment advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Hedge Fund Management: Asset management fees from hedge fund portfolios managing approximately $300 million in assets, with a focus on long/short equity strategies for institutional and high net worth clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sandler Capital Management is a Registered Investment Advisor since 1988 that operates as an alternative asset management firm managing both hedge fund strategies and private equity funds. The firm manages approximately $300 million in hedge fund assets through a long/short equity strategy combining top-down macroeconomic analysis with bottom-up fundamental security analysis, and has historically deployed approximately $1.6 billion across 167 private equity transactions in five funds focused on the media, communications, and entertainment sectors.

Product overview

Sandler Capital offers two core investment products: a Hedge Fund Strategy utilizing long/short equity investing with approximately $300 million in assets under management, and Private Equity Funds that have deployed approximately $1.6 billion across 167 transactions in media, communications, and entertainment sectors since 1990. The hedge fund strategy employs both top-down macroeconomic analysis and bottom-up fundamental company analysis, while the private equity capability capitalizes on the firm's deep-rooted industry relationships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hedge Fund Strategy A long/short equity hedge fund strategy targeting capital appreciation with muted volatility and downside protection, focusing on secular growth businesses for long positions and secularly challenged businesses for short positions, with actively managed net exposure. The product is for institutional investors and high net worth individuals, managing approximately $300 million in assets.
• Private Equity Funds A private equity investment capability focused on media, communications, and entertainment sectors, having invested approximately $1.6 billion across 167 transactions in five funds since 1990. The funds are not available for new investment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately $300 million in hedge fund assets under management
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• ValueAct Capital: Long/short equity manager investing with concentrated, research-intensive positions; competes for the same institutional and family office capital seeking fundamental long/short exposure.
• Greenlight Capital: Fundamental, value-oriented long/short equity fund with comparable structure, institutional client base and concentration on capital preservation alongside appreciation.
• Lone Pine Capital: Long/short equity manager with a fundamentally driven, research-intensive process targeting secular winners and structurally challenged businesses — directly analogous to Sandler's stated approach.
• Perry Capital: New York-based long/short equity hedge fund and prior employer of Sandler Capital's CIO Andrew Sandler; comparable in vintage, strategy and sub-$1B AUM scale.
• Maverick Capital: Long/short equity hedge fund with a similar fundamental, research-driven process and multi-cycle operating history; competes directly for institutional long/short equity allocations.
• Omega Advisors: Historically a New York-based long/short equity manager and prior employer of Sandler's Controller; a comparable small-to-mid sized fundamental equity shop targeting similar institutional client set.

Broad incumbents

• Citadel (Citadel LLC): Multi-strategy alternative asset manager with large fundamental long/short equity equities operations; vastly larger scale but overlaps on strategy and competes for the same institutional LP capital.
• Millennium Management: Multi-strategy platform with significant fundamental equities exposure; much larger than Sandler but competes for institutional long/short equity allocations and has absorbed many fundamental equity PMs from smaller firms.
• Coatue Management: Large long/short equity and venture manager; broader and significantly larger than Sandler but pursues a comparable bottom-up fundamental equity process targeting secular growth and challenged businesses.

Others

• Bridgewater Associates: Prior employer of Sandler's Head of Investor Relations; not a direct strategy peer but a relevant industry connection and a global alternative asset manager with institutional client overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments35 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sandler Capital