KAVOD HOLDINGS INC.

What KAVOD HOLDINGS INC. does

Kavod Holdings Inc. is an emerging, privately held short-only investment management firm that deploys a proprietary AI-driven quantitative trading system to identify and trade downtrends in NYSE and Nasdaq equities. Founded in 2019 by partners Michael Friedman and Gabriel Kingsley-Nyinah, the firm operates as a founder-owned, bootstrapped entity with no external institutional investors or parent company disclosed. Its investment universe is restricted to U.S. equities priced between $15 and $400 per share with $2.1M daily volume and at least 19 trading days of historical data.

The core offering, "The System," is a multi-segment architecture combining a Short Only Algorithm, a Ranklist Generator, a Meta Model (an ensemble of deep neural networks predicting Short Rejection signals with 74% precision and 80% accuracy across 15 years of data), and a First Positive risk management algorithm (logistic regression) that eliminates 75% of losing downtrends within 15 minutes of entry. Backtest performance over 2012–2018 reports 131.69% total return versus an 85.16% benchmark, a 5.40 Sharpe Ratio on 447 trades, and an SR-profitability experiment of 4,467 trades producing 109% annualized return and a 10.81 Sharpe Ratio.

Kavod pursues institutional and high-net-worth investors through a sales-led, relationship-driven go-to-market motion executed personally by the two partners via direct email and phone outreach. Pricing, fee schedules, and investment minimums are not publicly disclosed; prospective investors are directed to contact the firm directly. The firm distributes no content beyond on-request white papers and operates with no intermediaries, marketplaces, app, or API surface.

Name

KAVOD HOLDINGS INC.

Legal name

Kavod Holdings

Website

https://kavodholdings.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Kavod Holdings is an emerging, founder-owned short-only investment management firm that uses a proprietary AI-driven trading system (deep neural network Meta Model plus risk layer) to capture downtrends in NYSE and Nasdaq equities for institutional and high-net-worth investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Quantitative Investment Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Quant Equity Long/Short (Equity Stat Arb / Factor / ML) (FSAHAAAB)

Keywords

• Short-only equity investing
• AI-driven trading systems
• Quantitative investment management
• Algorithmic short selling
• Systematic hedge fund strategies

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Kavod Holdings provides short-only investment management services to institutional and high-net-worth investors, deploying a proprietary AI-driven quantitative trading system that identifies profitable short-selling opportunities in NYSE and Nasdaq equities. The system combines a Short Only Algorithm, Ranklist Generator, deep neural network Meta Model for Signal Reversal (SR) detection, and First Positive risk management algorithm to identify downtrends, predict entry points, and minimize losses from false positive predictions. Capital is allocated to investors through direct relationship-based mandates managed by the founding partners.

Product overview

KAVOD HOLDINGS INC. is an Emerging Short-Only Investment Management Firm offering a unified quantitative trading platform. The core offering, The System, integrates multiple interconnected components: the Meta Model (deep neural networks for signal prediction), the Ranklist Generator (trend cycle monitoring), and the First Positive Algorithm (logistic regression-based risk management). Together these components identify and capitalize on downtrends in equity stocks traded on NYSE and Nasdaq.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Short-Only Investment Management Services Systematic short-only equity investment management services deploying a proprietary AI-driven trading system to identify and trade downtrends on NYSE and Nasdaq. Services are offered to institutional and high-net-worth investors through direct, partner-led mandates with performance reported via backtest results and proprietary white papers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 131.69% total return vs. 85.16% benchmark (2012–2018 backtest)
• +5 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Scale indicators6 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Emerging players

• AQR Capital Management: Large quant manager offering systematic equity strategies including short extensions and market-neutral products — comparable in quantitative/ML methodology and short-side exposure, though at vastly greater scale and broader mandate.
• Point72 Asset Management: Multi-strategy hedge fund with significant discretionary and systematic equity capabilities including short selling — comparable short-only equity orientation and institutional allocator base, though at multibillion-dollar AUM scale.

Broad incumbents

• Two Sigma: Major quantitative hedge fund applying ML and statistical methods to systematic equity strategies — comparable AI/ML-driven short-side systematic approach, but operates at multi-billion AUM scale with multi-asset mandates.
• Bridgewater Associates: Largest hedge fund manager running systematic alpha strategies including Pure Alpha that include short equity — comparable systematic short-side approach with institutional target market, though at incomparably larger AUM scale.
• Renaissance Technologies: Pioneer of ML-driven systematic trading including short equity — the archetypal quant firm; Kavod's deep neural network + logistic regression stack is architecturally comparable but Renaissance operates at vastly larger scale and secrecy.
• Man Group / AHL: Publicly listed hedge fund group whose AHL division runs systematic managed futures and equity strategies — comparable in quantitative systematic trading with short-side capability, but at institutional scale and with multi-strategy exposure.
• D. E. Shaw & Co. Large quantitative investment manager combining computational finance and systematic equity strategies — comparable in ML-driven systematic approach with short-side exposure, but diversified across multiple strategies and asset classes.

Direct peers

• Citron Research: Long-running short-biased research firm targeting overvalued equities — closely comparable to Kavod in short-only equity orientation and appeal to short-side allocators, though also fundamentally-driven and publication-based.
• Hindenburg Research: Specialist short-focused research and investment firm publishing investigative reports on overvalued equities — directly comparable to Kavod's short-only thesis, though Hindenburg operates a research-and-publicly-publishing model rather than a systematic AI one.
• Muddy Waters Research: Activist short-selling research firm producing public reports on fraudulent or overvalued companies — shares Kavod's short-only mandate and institutional target market, but operates via fundamental due diligence rather than ML-driven systematic signals.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 KAVOD HOLDINGS INC.