Delivering results and earning clients’ trust for over a decade.
Founded in 2009, Cello invests diligently on behalf of our partners, including pension and sovereign wealth funds, other institutional investors, family offices, and individual partners.
Leadership
A deeply experienced team with a long history of working together.
Antoine Schetritt
Managing Partner & CIO
Mr. Schetritt brings over 30 years of experience in fixed-income markets to Cello which he founded in 2009.
Mr. Schetritt’s previous roles include RMBS Business Head at Citadel Investment Group, Head of RMBS Trading at Banc of America Securities where he led the build-out of the RMBS business, and Portfolio Manager within Salomon Brothers’ Arbitrage Group.
Mr. Schetritt received with honors a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School and a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania, and a C.E.P with honors from L'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.
Dennis Ouma, PhD
Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Ouma has over 25 years experience in the engineering and finance industries, including 20 years in portfolio management, risk, and operations for fixed-income securities.
Dr. Ouma oversees Business Management for Cello. His previous roles include Portfolio Manager at Cello and Citadel Investment Group, and RMBS Structurer at Banc of America Securities. Prior to joining the financial industry, he conducted research in semiconductor fabrication at Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, and Agere Systems.
Dr. Ouma holds a Ph.D., Masters of Engineering, and S.B. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.
Cecelia Cheng
Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Cheng has over 14 years of experience in finance and financial services, with extensive expertise in fund accounting, financial reporting, treasury management, and investment operations for fixed income securities.
Ms. Cheng oversees Finance and Operations for Cello, leading the firm’s operational infrastructure, financial controls, and support functions across the investment platform. Prior to joining Cello, Ms. Cheng began her career in Audit at PwC.
Ms. Cheng earned her MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. in Finance from University of Rochester, and a B.S. in International Accounting from Xi’an Jiaotong University.
Chun-Nip Lee, PhD
Senior Portfolio Manager & Head of Quantitative Modeling
Dr. Lee has over 35 years experience in academia and finance, including 25 years building models to price and hedge mortgage-backed securities.
Dr. Lee is a senior portfolio manager and the head of quantitative modeling for Cello. He focuses on prepayment strategy and modeling, security selection, and risk management. Prior to joining Cello, Dr. Lee led a team responsible for Mortgage Prepayment & Credit Modeling at Bank of
America Merrill Lynch. Before joining the financial industry, Dr. Lee was Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Northwestern University, where he was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship. Dr. Lee earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Princeton and his S.B. in Mathematics from MIT.
Derek Ho
Chief Technology Officer
Mr. Ho has over 30 years experience in building fixed-income analytics and technology solutions.
Mr. Ho oversees the analytics effort supporting portfolio management and operations for Cello. He previously headed Global Mortgage Technology, a department of 135 developers at Bank of America, where he spearheaded the build-out of the analytics platform for all Structured Products Trading. Mr. Ho started his career in 1992 at Salomon Brothers.
Mr. Ho received his B.S. in Computer Engineering from Feng Chia University, and his M.S. in Computer Science from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at NYU.
John P. Duffy
Head of Business Development
Mr. Duffy has over 30 years experience in fixed-income markets.
Mr. Duffy oversees business development for Cello. Previously, he was a Managing Director at BMO Capital Markets which acquired KGS Alpha. He had been a Partner and board member of KGS which he joined during its launch in 2010. Prior to KGS, Mr. Duffy was a partner and head of investor relations at 400 Capital Management. Earlier, he was head of Structured Product Sales in New York for Banc of America Securities. Mr. Duffy started his career at Salomon Brothers in 1991.
Mr. Duffy holds a B.A. in Business Administration from The Catholic University of America.
Core Values
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Successful investing demands unconventional thinking, and unconventional thinking begins with asking questions. Cello employees continually seek to better understand new perspectives, old assumptions, and contrarian views they encounter in colleagues and counterparties, and they are better positioned to bring fresh perspectives and opportunities to the business.
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Curiosity and creativity alone do not yield results. These attributes must be coupled with unflagging perseverance, determination, and resourcefulness in the face of obstacles or setbacks. When resolve and commitment are tested during challenging times, Cello employees rise to the occasion.
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A curious, creative, and determined person who lacks integrity has the potential to cause great harm. Cello empowers every team member with significant responsibility and latitude. Each Cello employee demonstrates unshakeable commitment to being trustworthy and reliable in their interactions with colleagues, clients, and counterparties.
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Every team member at Cello is working for themselves and for the team, and they show a strong sense of ownership in their work. This ownership allows for great pride in times of success, but it also demands accountability in times of failure. Cello employees take responsibility for their ideas, decisions, and deliverables.
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Successful investing requires judgment in the task of taking calculated risks. Judgment is vital to Cello’s success at the portfolio level and is also an important trait for non-investment professionals. Cello employees synthesize disparate sources of information to identify big picture issues and underlying causes of problems. They think strategically and can articulate their reasoning to their colleagues. In every decision employees must bring not just knowledge but also maturity to bear.
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Cello strives to excel in whatever it does. This exceptionalism begins with the team, all of whom have attained excellence in one or multiple chosen pursuits or professions. Each team member brings to their work at Cello their own deep understanding of what it takes to achieve outstanding results.