Led by Vivek Ramaswamy and backed by some of America’s most prominent investors and entrepreneurs
Strive to launch funds that vote shares to lead American companies to embrace product excellence over politics — starting in Q3 2022
COLUMBUS, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Strive Asset Management (“Strive”) launches with the mission of restoring the voices of everyday citizens in the American economy by leading companies to focus on excellence over politics. Strive is led by co-founder and Executive Chairman Vivek Ramaswamy and has raised over $20 million from some of America’s most prominent venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.
Strive aims to solve a fiduciary problem created by the three largest U.S. asset managers — BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street — which control over $20 trillion in assets, exceeding the total U.S. gross domestic product. These “Big 3” firms bear a fiduciary duty to advance the best interests of their clients. Yet in the name of “stakeholder capitalism,” they use their clients’ funds to exercise decisive influence over nearly every U.S. public company to advance political ideologies that many of their clients disagree with. They engage in coordinated efforts to enact a uniform social agenda across corporate America resulting in higher gas prices and other consumer harms, which Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich recently called “the biggest antitrust violation in history.”
Strive offers a new alternative to the Big 3 and advances Excellence Capitalism, a new movement that leads American companies to focus exclusively on delivering excellent products and services to their customers, rather than mixing business with politics. Survey data suggest that most American consumers, voters and shareholders overwhelmingly agree with Strive’s approach over those of the Big 3 asset managers. Strive believes its approach will help revive true diversity of thought and restore true competition in American capital markets, a prerequisite for a well-functioning economy and democracy.
“Over the last two years, I have traveled the country and listened to the concerns of everyday Americans who want to be heard in the places where they shop, work and invest,” said Ramaswamy. “We want iconic American brands like Disney, Coca-Cola and Exxon, and U.S. tech giants like Twitter, Facebook, Amazon and Google to deliver high-quality products that improve our lives, not controversial political ideologies that divide us. The Big 3 asset managers have fueled this polarizing new trend in corporate America, and that’s why we’re going to compete with them head-on to refocus American companies on the shared pursuit of excellence over politics.”
Strive secured its seed financing from notable American institutions, including Founders Fund, Narya Capital and Flex Capital, as well as a diverse base of successful investors and entrepreneurs who embody the American Dream — including PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, fund manager Bill Ackman, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, The Dorado Group Chairman William Kappaz, Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman and CEO Howard Lutnick, energy industry veteran C.R. Sincock II, famed chemist and HIV therapy pioneer Professor Raymond Schinazi, QOL Medical CEO Derick Cooper, and rock musician and venture capitalist D.A. Wallach, among others.
About Strive Asset Management
Strive is an Ohio-based asset management firm whose mission is to restore the voices of everyday citizens in the American economy by leading companies to focus on excellence over politics. Strive will compete directly with the world’s largest asset managers by launching funds that advance Excellence Capitalism in boardrooms across corporate America. The company was co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy and Anson Frericks in 2022 and expects to launch its first product in the third quarter. Learn more at StriveFunds.com.
