Westchester Capital Management

What Westchester Capital Management does

Westchester Capital Management is a boutique investment management firm founded in 1980 and operating as an affiliate of publicly traded Virtus Investment Partners (NYSE: VRTS). The firm specializes in event-driven alternative investment strategies — merger arbitrage, event-driven equity, and credit event — packaged as mutual funds (The Merger Fund®, Virtus Westchester Event-Driven Fund, Virtus Westchester Credit Event Fund), a variable insurance fund (The Merger Fund® VL), and institutional separate accounts. Its clients are institutional investors (pension funds, endowments, foundations, family offices), financial professionals, and variable insurance product users, served principally through Virtus's distribution platform and direct institutional relationships managed by client portfolio manager Jody Harris.

The firm operates a proprietary risk management infrastructure purpose-built for the event-driven universe, including quantitative risk analytics, scenario and probability analysis covering deal termination, delay, MAC, shareholder disapproval, tax, and financing risks, plus stress testing and portfolio VAR (typically below 2%). The investment process monitors ~75 active situations, focuses on transactions with market capitalizations above $350M-$400M, and underpins a 98%+ completion rate across 5,000+ corporate reorganizations evaluated since 1989. The team is led by Co-Presidents/Co-CIOs Roy Behren and Michael Shannon, who have worked together for over 30 years, with senior personnel drawn from J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse First Boston, Avenue Capital, Fortress, Société Générale, and Crédit Lyonnais.

Revenue is generated through investment management fees on AUM across mutual funds, variable insurance funds, and separate accounts. Distribution relies on Virtus's multi-channel platform (mutual funds, variable insurance), direct institutional separate accounts, and the Virtus Investor Portal for self-service. The firm is SEC-registered, complies with the USA PATRIOT Act, and maintains proxy voting and AML policies; principals and employees co-invest a significant portion of their personal assets in the firm's strategies, aligning interests with clients.

Name

Westchester Capital Management

Legal name

Westchester Capital Management, LLC

Website

https://westchestercapitalmanagement.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Westchester Capital Management is a boutique, SEC-registered investment manager and Virtus Investment Partners affiliate that runs event-driven alternative strategies — merger arbitrage, event-driven, and credit event — for institutional investors, financial professionals, and variable insurance clients via mutual funds, variable insurance funds, and separate accounts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alternative Investment Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Management of Companies and Enterprises (55111)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Equity (Active) (FSAAAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Quantitative/Systematic Equity (Active) (FSAAAIAL)

Keywords

• Event-driven investing
• Merger arbitrage
• Alternative investments
• Credit event strategies
• Institutional asset management

Headquarters

HQ city

Valhalla

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, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment Management Fees: Westchester Capital Management earns revenue through investment management fees charged on assets under management across its mutual funds, variable insurance funds, and separate account strategies. The firm is an affiliate of Virtus Investment Partners (NYSE: VRTS) and distributes products through Virtus's platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Westchester Capital Management is a boutique investment manager specializing in event-driven alternative investment strategies. The firm invests in publicly announced corporate events such as mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, spin-offs, and other reorganizations, seeking to capture spreads and earn absolute returns with low correlation to traditional equity and bond markets. Products are delivered through mutual funds, variable insurance funds, and institutional separate accounts.

Product overview

Westchester Capital Management operates as a specialized investment management firm offering event-driven alternative investment strategies. The firm's product portfolio consists of three institutional investment strategies (Westchester Merger Arbitrage Strategy, Westchester Event Driven Strategy, and Westchester Credit Event Strategy) delivered through multiple fund vehicles including The Merger Fund® (their flagship fund launched in 1989), the Virtus Westchester Event-Driven Fund, the Virtus Westchester Credit Event Fund, and The Merger Fund® VL variable insurance fund. These strategies invest in publicly announced corporate events such as mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs, and other reorganizations to generate absolute returns with low correlation to traditional equity and bond markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Merger Fund®: Flagship merger arbitrage fund launched in 1989, investing in publicly announced mergers and acquisitions.
• Westchester Event-Driven Fund
• Westchester Credit Event Fund

Products and services

• The Merger Fund® The firm's flagship mutual fund focusing on merger arbitrage strategies by investing in publicly announced mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, and other corporate reorganizations.
• Virtus Westchester Event-Driven Fund

Quantifiable outcome

• 98%+ deal completion rate across 5,000+ corporate reorganizations evaluated and invested in since 1989
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Virtus Investment PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWestchester Capital Management is an investment manager of Virtus Investment Partners (NYSE: VRTS), an affiliate company. Westchester operates as a boutique investment firm within Virtus's larger investment solutions platform, benefitting from shared distribution and support services while maintaining its distinctive specialized focus on event-driven investing. Virtus distributes Westchester's products including mutual funds and variable insurance funds.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights10 records

Direct peers

• AQR Capital Management: AQR runs systematic and discretionary event-driven and merger-arbitrage strategies globally. It is a direct peer in active equity event-driven and quantitative alternative strategies serving institutional clients.
• Winton Group: Winton Group runs systematic and discretionary alternative strategies including event-driven mandates. It is a direct peer in active, research-driven alternative equity strategies serving institutions.
• CQS (Citicorp Quantum Solutions): CQS runs event-driven, credit, and merger-arbitrage mandates out of London with a global institutional client base. It is a direct peer in active, multi-strategy event-driven and credit-event investing.
• Eisler Capital: Eisler Capital is a London-based multi-strategy hedge fund with active event-driven and merger-arbitrage books. It is a direct peer in discretionary event-driven investing for institutional clients.
• Lazard Asset Management: Lazard runs a long-tenured event-driven and merger-arbitrage strategy with a similar institutional focus. It is a direct peer in active, fundamentally researched event-driven equity strategies.
• Calamos Investments: Calamos Asset Management operates long-tenured merger-arbitrage mutual funds and a Convertible Arbitrage strategy. It is a direct peer in long-running, retail-accessible merger-arb fund products distributed alongside institutional separate accounts.

Broad incumbents

• Goldman Sachs Asset Management (Alternative Investments): Goldman Sachs Asset Management operates a broad alternatives platform including event-driven and merger-arbitrage funds. It is a broad incumbent that competes with Westchester for institutional event-driven allocations as part of a much larger multi-asset platform.
• BlackRock (Alternative Advisors): BlackRock's Alternative Advisors platform includes event-driven and merger-arbitrage strategies. It is a broad incumbent that offers Westchester-style strategies as part of a global, multi-strategy alternatives franchise.
• Millennium Management: Millennium is a large multi-strategy hedge fund platform with significant event-driven exposure. It is a broad incumbent that competes for institutional event-driven talent, ideas, and capital.

Emerging players

• Avenue Capital Group: Avenue Capital Group is a credit-focused alternative manager with event-driven and distressed strategies that overlap Westchester's Credit Event fund. It is an emerging/established player in the credit-event subset of the event-driven universe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/westchestercap
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/westchester-capital-management

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Westchester Capital Management