Nearly 20 years after the $680 million acquisition of high-frequency securities trading pioneer Automated Trading Desk (ATD) by Citibank, a promising new fintech startup has commenced operations in Charleston. Shaw Circle, a private institutional fund management company, was officially formed in 2021 by four recent graduates of the University of South Carolina’s prestigious Finance Scholars Program and is already turning heads. Shaw Circle’s office is located at Charleston Digital’s Flagship @ Charleston Tech Center.
The formation of Shaw Circle and ATD have notable parallels in that they both grew out of SC universities – namely the College of Charleston and University of South Carolina (USC). While most graduates from the USC’s prestigious Finance Scholars Program move on to work at big Wall Street firms, Shaw Circle’s principals made the decision in 2021 to form their startup with their final tough year of education still to complete.
In terms of inspiration, mentorship and business support the students received during the education at USC, the principals credit a number of mentors, both inside and outside the university, especially Drs. Gregory R. Niehaus and Eric A. Powers at the Financial Scholars Program and SC Quantum Executive Director, Joe Queenan.
“Since our proprietary financial model calls for advanced computing and big data to drive the success of our company, having access to computing resources at USC and SC Quantum were essential,” said Shaw Circle, CEO and Co-CIO, Jordan Fowler.
“The formation of Shaw Circle is once again proof positive that innovation is alive and well in South Carolina,” said Charleston Digital Director, Ernest Andrade. “We are well positioned to support the company along their journey”, he added.
