Early Life and Education
Jeffrey Marc Talpins was born in New York City and raised in Larchmont, New York. He attended the Horace Mann School before pursuing higher education at Yale University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree with Distinction in Economics and Applied Mathematics, graduating Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1997. His academic background laid the foundation for his future success in finance.
Rise to Success
Talpins began his career in the Mortgage Backed Securities Department at Goldman Sachs. He then became the Head Trader at Citigroup's Fixed Income Options, where he expanded the business. In 2005, Talpins founded Element Capital Management. Element Capital has been recognized as a top performer in the alternative asset management industry. The fund has been consistently ranked on Barron's Top 100 Hedge Funds list. In late 2017 through early 2018, Talpins made over $3 billion in profits by betting on the impact of tax reform on global asset prices.
Key Business Strategies
Talpins is known for his Modern Macro investment style, which integrates fundamental, systematic, and relative value analysis in financial market views. Element Capital's investment strategies focus on the fixed income, foreign exchange, and equity markets to express global macro views. The firm's success is attributed to its disciplined risk management, innovative trade structuring, and advanced portfolio construction techniques. In 2024, Element Capital returned over $6 billion to investors, shifting the focus toward internal capital.
Philanthropy
Talpins is actively involved in philanthropy. He serves on the board of trustees for the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ) and the American Prairie Foundation. Additionally, he supports various Jewish organizations and launched the Abraham Dialogues project to improve relations between Israel and Arab countries. He has also endowed a leadership post at Yale to advance domestic policy research.