Nelson Saiers is an American artist and math Ph.D. He earned his doctorate in 1 year at age 23. Before becoming an artist, he was previously Chief Investment Officer of Saiers Capital, LLC. Earlier in his career he was a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank AG.
Education
In 1998, Nelson Saiers earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Virginia at the age of 23, only one year after completing his undergraduate studies. He studied algebraic topology. At Deutsche Bank Saiers was known for his mental math abilities, in particular, squaring large numbers On one such occasion in 2008, he squared a 20-digit number in his head on a flight back to New York from a business meeting in London. In 2009 Saiers experienced a crippling headache in the midst of his attempt to square a 43-digit number. In addition to the severe headache, he had a reduced capacity to form sentences and brain fog. While these symptoms dissipated within a couple of days, this episode led him to give up on his ultimate goal squaring of a 50-digit number. He would often work on these calculations while sitting and walking in Central Park.
Financial career
Nelson began his trading career at Susquehanna Investment Group. He also later worked at UBS and Deutsche Bank. At Deutsche Bank, Nelson was a Managing Director and ran a proprietary trading business focused on derivatives. In July 2010, Nelson left Deustche Bank to join Alphabet Management, a New York hedge fund specializing in options. He was promoted to Chief Investment Officer in March 2011, just eight months after joining the firm. Saiers' younger brother also joined Alphabet in February 2012 as Head Trader. In 2011, Alphabet Management won the HFMWeek award for the top Relative Value Hedge Fund. In December 2012 Alphabet announced that the firm would be changing its name to Saiers Capital, LLC. Barron's described Saiers as a star quantitative investor.
Art career
Nelson is currently a professional artist based in New York City. Mathematics, finance, physics, and braille play a significant role in his art. His art has been featured in solo shows at Harvard University's Leverett House, Alcatraz, the Plaza Hotel's Edwardian Room, HG Contemporary Gallery, and Studio Vendome. The New York Observer referred to Saiers as "The Warhol of Wall Street" and Artnet asked if he is a modern-day Kandinsky.
Life and personality
Saiers was born in Denver, Colorado but raised in Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Swaziland, Ghana and Virginia while his father, Larry, worked for the USAID. As a child Saiers lived through several violent conflicts overseas. During his time in Afghanistan, the events that led to the full-blown Soviet invasion were underway and included the assassinations of the Afghan President Daud Khan and US ambassador Adolph Dubs. Saiers experiences included hiding in his family's closet and under their stairs as tanks fired on the road in front of his house and having MiG fighter planes fly near his house as they bombed Kabul. His family moved to Swaziland in April 1979 partially due to the US cutting aid to Afghanistan. In Ethiopia, the infant Saiers and his mother were held up at gunpoint during the ongoing coups post the death of Haile Selassie.
Nelson has an affiliation with, which attempts to provide clean water to those in developing countries. Nelson is a Founding Member of The Well, a core group of donors who support charity: water. In October 2013, during the graffiti artist Banksy's month-long New York project "Better Out Than In," Nelson made a public offer to donate $100,000 to the Hurricane Sandy rebuilding effort if Banksy created a legal mural in New York to raise awareness for people still affected by the storm. An anonymous donor "RD" has also joined this effort, and has pledged an additional $100,000. Nelson has created a website for the effort: http://www.heybanksy.com. Whether the piece was created or not is unknown, but on October 28, Nelson decided to go forward with the $100,000 donation regardless.
