SummerHaven

What SummerHaven does

SummerHaven Investment Management (legally SummerHaven Index Management, LLC) is a privately held alternatives asset management firm founded in 2009 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm designs and delivers innovative investment solutions grounded in academic and proprietary research, with a focus on commodity futures and alternative index strategies serving institutional and qualified investors.

The firm's core technology and product platform is built on a proprietary commodity futures database containing daily prices dating back to 1871, covering 36 exchanges and 230 futures contracts (including over 180 defunct contracts) across all commodity sectors, with 60,000+ monthly returns. On this data foundation, SummerHaven has constructed two flagship indices: an equally-weighted monthly index of rolling front futures collateralized by T-bills, and the SummerHaven Private Equity Strategy Index (SHPEI), launched in 2017, which screens approximately 3,000 U.S. publicly traded companies for characteristics (low EV/EBITDA, low net equity issuance, low market capitalization, moderate profitability) intended to replicate private equity returns without takeover premiums. The firm also publishes interactive data dashboards and academic research including the February 2026 paper "An Index of Commodity Futures Returns Since 1871."

SummerHaven's business model is that of a boutique alternatives asset manager distributing proprietary index-based strategies through direct institutional sales. Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed and pricing details are unavailable in source data. The firm is founder/partner-owned, with no external institutional investors or parent company identified, and no funding rounds disclosed. Customer segments consist of sophisticated institutional investors and qualified investors seeking alternatives to traditional asset management or liquid access to PE-like returns.

Name

SummerHaven

Legal name

SummerHaven Index Management, LLC

Website

https://summerhavenim.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SummerHaven Investment Management is a privately held alternatives asset management firm founded in 2009, designing proprietary commodity futures and private equity replication index strategies for institutional and qualified investors based on a proprietary historical database spanning 1871 to present.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alternative Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Managed Futures / CTA (Trend, Carry, Global Futures) (FSAHAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hedge Funds — Commodity Systematic/CTA (Managed Futures) (FSAHAHAC), Sector/Thematic Equity (Active) (FSAAAIAG)

Keywords

• Alternative asset management
• Commodity futures indexes
• Private equity replication
• Institutional investment research
• Quantitative investment strategies

Headquarters

HQ city

Stamford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

SummerHaven designs and maintains proprietary investment indexes and asset management strategies built on a deep historical commodity futures database and academic research. Its core offerings include the SummerHaven Private Equity Strategy Index (SHPEI), a Commodities Futures Index with data dating to 1871, and supporting interactive research dashboards, distributed as alternatives investment solutions to institutional and qualified investors.

Product overview

SummerHaven is an alternatives asset management firm offering a portfolio of investment solutions centered around proprietary indexes and research platforms. The core offerings include: (1) the Commodities Data Dashboards providing interactive visualizations of commodity futures returns, volatility factors, correlations, and drawdowns; (2) the Private Equity Replication Dashboard showing SHPEI index characteristics; (3) the SummerHaven Private Equity Strategy Index (SHPEI), a proprietary methodology favoring companies with specific financial characteristics to replicate private equity returns; and (4) the Commodities Futures Index covering 230+ contracts across 36 exchanges with historical data since 1871. These products are research-driven tools designed for investors seeking alternatives to traditional asset management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SummerHaven Private Equity Strategy Index (SHPEI) A proprietary index constructed from a universe of approximately 3,000 U.S. companies using screens favoring companies with low EV/EBITDA ratios, low net equity issuance, low market capitalization, and moderate profitability; includes the greater of 200 or 20% of the investable universe and is rebalanced annually. Designed for institutional and qualified investors seeking private equity-like returns through publicly traded equities without paying takeover premiums.
• Commodities Futures Index

Quantifiable outcome

• SHPEI includes greater of 200 or 20% of investable universe from approximately 3,000 screened U.S. companies

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Winton Group: Winton is a London-based systematic/managed futures manager with a long history of commodity trend-following and CTA strategies. It directly competes with SummerHaven for institutional managed futures mandates and applies similar systematic, data-driven approaches to commodity futures investing.
• Aspect Capital: Aspect Capital is a UK-based systematic managed futures manager applying quantitative models to global futures markets. It directly competes with SummerHaven for institutional systematic commodity and CTA mandates, with a comparable academic-research-driven culture.
• S&P GSCI (S&P Dow Jones Indices): S&P GSCI is one of the most widely tracked commodity futures indices, covering energy, metals, and agricultural futures. It directly competes with SummerHaven's Commodities Futures Index, which similarly uses a rolling front-futures methodology collateralized by T-bills. Both are systematic, rules-based commodity benchmarks targeting institutional and ETF users.
• Campbell & Company: Campbell & Company is a long-established managed futures / CTA firm focused on systematic commodity and global futures strategies. It directly competes with SummerHaven in the institutional managed futures space with a comparable systematic, research-driven approach to commodity futures.
• Thomson Reuters/CoreCommodity CRB Index: The CRB Index is a long-standing commodity futures benchmark originally from the Commodity Research Bureau and now maintained by Refinitiv/Thomson Reuters. It is a direct competitor to SummerHaven's Commodity Futures Index in the institutional commodity benchmark space, with significant licensing into ETFs and structured products.
• UBS Bloomberg CMCI: The UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index is a multi-tenor, liquidity-weighted commodity futures index. It is a direct competitor to SummerHaven's commodity index offering, and SummerHaven's Managing Partner Kurt Nelson was previously a member of the index's Supervisory Committee at UBS.
• Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM): Bloomberg Commodity Index (formerly DJ-UBS Commodity Index) is the leading diversified commodity futures index with deep ETF and institutional penetration. It is a direct peer to SummerHaven's Commodities Futures Index, and SummerHaven leadership has historical ties to the index through the DJ-UBS Supervisory Committee.

Broad incumbents

• Man Group (AHL): Man Group's AHL division is one of the largest and longest-running systematic managed futures / CTA franchises globally, with significant AUM and institutional distribution. It competes with SummerHaven for the same institutional commodity futures mandate dollars, but at vastly greater scale and with a broader multi-strategy platform.
• AQR Capital Management: AQR is a large, well-known quantitative asset manager applying academic factor research to alternatives, equities, and fixed income. It is comparable to SummerHaven in its academic-pedigree approach and factor-driven strategies, but operates at a vastly larger AUM scale and competes directly for institutional factor-allocation dollars relevant to SHPEI.

Emerging players

• Rogers International Commodity Index: The Rogers International Commodity Index (RICI) is a globally diversified commodity futures index founded by Jim Rogers. It is comparable to SummerHaven's Commodities Futures Index as a diversified, multi-sector commodity benchmark used by institutional investors and ETPs, though it is a smaller franchise than BCOM or GSCI.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about SummerHaven