Renaissance Technologies

One of the most successful hedge fund managers in existence, Renaissance Technologies has produced compounded net returns of 30% on a yearly basis for the past 10 years. Renaissance represents a validation of the "quantitative trading" model that should, in theory, produce a near-infinite source of profits by making money on the ever-present inefficiencies in the day-to-day market.

Renaissance was started by Jim Simons in 1982. It currently operates two funds and manages a total of $5.5 billion (as of May 2003). Extremely secretive, the company operates out of a mini-campus on Long Island, New York. Administrative functions are handled out of their offices in Manhattan.