Castlefield Associates

Castlefield Associates Inc. is a Toronto-based systematic alternative investment manager specializing in relative-value, futures-focused hedge fund strategies. Founded in 2019 by Chris Schindler and partners, the firm develops quantitative models to identify investment opportunities and deliver returns that aim to be uncorrelated to traditional market betas.

The founder, Chris Schindler, brought extensive experience to the firm, having spent 18 years at the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP). At OTPP, he was instrumental in developing and leading the Global Systematic Investing (GSI) team, which utilized over fifty distinct quantitative models across liquid futures, cash equities, and volatility products. This background in building and managing sophisticated, model-driven investment strategies formed the foundation of Castlefield's approach.

Castlefield's flagship Alpha Program focuses on exploiting crowdedness, relative riskiness, and positioning imbalances within the alternative risk premia space. The firm's core business involves managing investment vehicles that apply these systematic strategies in global liquid futures markets. In May 2025, Castlefield Associates was acquired by Polar Asset Management Partners, a prominent Toronto-based multi-strategy hedge fund manager. Following the acquisition, which included Castlefield's reported $160 million in assets under management, the team was integrated into Polar to establish a new systematic strategies division led by Chris Schindler.

Keywords: systematic investing, relative value, futures trading, hedge fund, quantitative strategies, asset management, alternative investments, uncorrelated returns, financial models, portfolio management, Chris Schindler, Polar Asset Management, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, liquid futures, alternative risk premia, investment management, systematic hedge fund, quantitative analysis, financial markets, alpha generation