Accumulus, a SEC registered investment advisor, has been constructing and managing absolute return portfolios since 2001. What drives our approach is the core focus on preserving capital and identifying return streams that are independent of the broader market. Accumulus manages commingled funds and separately managed accounts with aggregate assets under management and advisory of over $1 billion.
Our Team
Benjamin Schliemann
Founder and Chief Investment Officer
Stefan Zellmer
Chief Operating Officer and Portfolio Manager
Mary Ellen Curran
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer
Prior to founding Accumulus Capital Management in 2001, Mr. Schliemann spent ten years as Vice President & Partner of Hanseatic Corporation, New York and Hamburg, an alternative investment management firm. At Hanseatic he established a family office operation, advised on asset allocation, and analyzed, executed and monitored investments. From 1990-1991 Mr. Schliemann was an Associate with M.M. Warburg & Co. in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Luxembourg. From 1994 - 2001 he served as the New York Representative of M.M. Warburg & Co. Mr. Schliemann received a B.A. (Honours) and M.A. in Modern History from Oxford University.
Prior to joining Accumulus Capital Management on October 1, 2016, Mr. Zellmer was a Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at Burnham Asset Management Corp and a Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Revere Wealth Management LLC. He previously was Chief Investment Officer at Uhuru Capital Management, a fund of hedge funds firm focused on investments in emerging and smaller hedge funds. Before joining Uhuru, Mr. Zellmer was a Managing Director and Global Head of Research at UBP Alternative Investments and co-Head of Research and a member of the investment committee at Arden Asset Management. Mr. Zellmer began his career at Morgan Stanley in 1995 where he was a Vice President, working in the Prime Brokerage and Asset Management divisions. Mr. Zellmer earned an MBA in Finance with distinction from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a BA in Operations Research from the University of Hohenheim in Germany.
Prior to joining Accumulus Capital Management in 2018, Ms. Curran was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley in the Fund Services division. She was previously Controller at Metropolitan Capital, a long short equity hedge fund. Ms. Curran was responsible for all accounting and back-office operations. Ms. Curran received a B.A. in Accounting from Adelphi University.
Sam Wood, CFA
Head of Strategy and Market Research
Alberto Finali
Research Director
Ethan Siegman
Research Analyst
Mr. Wood joined the firm in March 2023. Prior to joining Accumulus Capital Management, Mr. Wood was Head of Research at Aravis Capital, a London-based capital raising and advisory firm. Before joining Aravis, Mr. Wood worked at Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG), where he managed several primary research teams covering hedge funds and long-only funds based in London. Mr. Wood is a CFA charterholder and received a B.A. (Honours) in American Literature and History from the University of Nottingham.
Mr. Finali joined the firm in 2021. Prior to joining the firm on a full-time basis, Mr. Finali advised family offices and institutional clients on alternative and direct investments for over 10 years. In that context, Accumulus collaborated with Mr. Finali for many years. Previously, he was a Co-founder and Partner of Southaven Investors, a value-oriented hedge fund from 2002 until 2005. Prior to Southaven, Mr. Finali spent 15 years at Lehman Brothers, where he was a Managing Director in private equity after spending his earlier years in mergers and acquisitions. Before his Wall Street career, Mr. Finali worked at Bechtel as an engineer in the Pipelines and Production Technology Group. Mr. Finali holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Engineering degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Laurea from the Milan Polytechnic School. Mr. Finali was a member of the Board of Directors of NYSE-listed L-3 Communications between 1997 and 2001.
Mr. Siegman joined the firm in 2022. Prior to joining Accumulus, Mr. Siegman was an Associate Vice President at Preqin, where he focused on private equity fund performance analysis and business development. Prior to joining Preqin, Mr. Siegman was a Research Analyst in BNY Mellon’s Manager Research department. Mr. Siegman graduated Cum Laude from Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business with a B.A. in Accounting.
Edward Espinosa de los Monteros
Research Analyst
Michael Divgun
Assistant Controller
Dawn Amato
Office Manager
Mr. Espinosa de los Monteros joined the firm in 2022. Prior to joining Accumulus Capital Management, Mr. Espinosa de los Monteros was an Associate at Arextech, a real estate startup, where he focused on commercial real estate transactions and business development. Mr. Espinosa de los Monteros holds a M.A. in Real Estate Development from the Westminster Business School and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Kent.
Mr. Divgun joined the firm in 2024. Prior to joining Accumulus Capital Management, Mr. Divgun was an Associate at U.S. Bancorp, where he focused on alternative investment fund administration as a primary fund accountant. He was previously an investor relations professional at Okapi Partners, a corporate services consultant. Mr. Divgun holds a B.A. in Economics from the City University of New York – Hunter College.
Ms. Amato joined the firm in 2004. She is responsible for all administrative matters at the firm. Ms. Amato has over 20 years of experience as an Executive Assistant. She attended the Executive Secretarial Program at The Berkeley School in New Jersey.