Our Team

Gershie Vann

CEO & Founder

Gershie is the Founder and CEO of Magma Capital Funds, a quantitative hedge fund built for RIAs. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Touro University, and has raised over $10 million in working capital to build the quant fund of the future – one that empowers both clients and advisors.

Outside of work, he enjoys running, reading, and spending time with his wife and three daughters. Gershie also takes pleasure in sharing his entrepreneurial insights and advising young entrepreneurs.

Brooke Stratman

Chief People Officer

Brooke is the Chief People Officer at Magma Capital Funds. Brooke is responsible for building the team, implementing Magma’s core values across the organization, and creating processes to measure success.

Brooke has previous professional experience working for real estate start-ups and overseeing the management and sales of various asset types. Brooke holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Commercial Real Estate from Marquette University.  In her free time, she can be found exploring the city with her son and husband.

Aerin Han

Quantitative Researcher

Aerin is a Quantitative Researcher at Magma Capital Funds. Aerin is responsible for developing tools for quantitative research and finding features.

Aerin has professional experience in both buy-side and sell-side companies in the financial industry in the US. She worked as an associate for fixed income pricing in an investment bank and got experience in risk management in a hedge fund in New York. Aerin earned a Master’s degree in Financial Engineering from New York University. Besides work, Aerin likes skiing, hiking, and making dishes.

Liza Karic

Chief of Staff | Director of Operations 

Liza is the Chief of Staff & Director of Operations at Magma Capital Funds. Liza’s core responsibilities revolve around overseeing and optimizing various cross-functional initiatives and operations. Drawing upon her prior expertise in managing intricate projects, Liza brings a wealth of experience to this role. Liza received her bachelor’s degree in nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Cincinnati.  In her free time, Liza enjoys honing her Thai cooking skills and pursuing her passion for rock climbing. 

Wendy Gao

Quantitative Researcher

Wendy is a Quantitative Researcher at Magma Capital Funds. Wendy works on a team of quantitative researchers and is responsible for managing Magma’s neural network.

Wendy has previous professional experience interning for financial services companies in both the United States and China. Wendy holds a BS in Economics from Peking University, an MS in Financial Mathematics from the University of Chicago, and often can be found jogging in the gym and watching K-pop music on the internet.

Stanley Zhang

Quantitative Researcher

Stanley is a Quantitative Researcher at Magma Capital Funds. Stanley works on a team of quantitative researchers and assists in managing Magma’s neural network.

Stanley has previous professional experience interning for financial services companies in both the United States and China. Stanley holds a BS in Mathematical Finance and Mathematical Economics, an MS in Financial Engineering from Columbia University, and often can be found jogging in parks, watching movies, and playing board games with his friends.

Kai Mei

Quantitative Research Lead

Kai is the Quantitative Research Lead at Magma Capital Funds. He’s now focusing on the firm’s trading strategy building and applicable machine learning research on trading-related topics. Kai has previous professional experience in the hedge industry both in the US and China. Before joining Magma, he worked in the equity derivative team at Millennium, one of the biggest hedge funds in the US. Kai holds an MS in Computational Finance from Carnegie Mellon University. When not working, Kai can often be found skiing/snowboarding, playing video games, and hanging out with friends.

Jason He

Quantitative Developer

Jason is the quantitative developer at Magma Capital Funds. Previously, Jason was a machine learning engineer intern at Meta. He holds a PhD in physics from Northwestern University and a BS in physics from the University of Science and Technology of China. In his spare time, Jason can often be found playing basketball, watching videos on YouTube and Bilibili, and playing Honor of Kings.

Jiahong Shen

Quantitative Researcher

Jiahong is a Quantitative Researcher at Magma Capital Funds. Previously, Jiahong was a machine learning engineer intern at Meta. He was also the database manager of a world-wide materials database OQMD. He holds a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering and an MS in Computer Engineering from Northwestern University and a BS in Materials Science from Fudan University. Jiahong can often be found playing basketball, watching soccer games, and playing Honor of Kings.

Lanqiu Yao

Quantitative Researcher

Lanqiu is a Quantitative Researcher at Magma Capital Funds. Previously, Lanqiu was a Research Data Scientist at Meta. She began her career in data science, focusing on functional data analysis and machine learning algorithms. She holds a PhD in Biostatistics from New York University, an MS in Biostatistics from Duke University, and a BS in Clinical Medicine and Statistics from Peking University. Outside of work, Lanqiu enjoys jogging and baking.