Manuel P. Asensio

Manuel P. Asensio established Asensio & Company, Inc. (ACO) in 1992 as a FINRA and SEC registered investment firm, pioneering the field of activist short selling. His robust academic foundation includes an undergraduate degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Following his MBA, he founded his first FINRA-member firm. In 1986, Mr. Asensio further honed his expertise in mergers and acquisitions at Bear Stearns before launching ACO. In a significant industry first in 1994, ACO published a report on PR Newswire, marking the inaugural instance of a short seller gaining access to this wire service to disseminate their research.

The NBER study categorized him as an ‘information producer as an arbitrageur’ and highlighted that Asensio & Co.’s reports consistently yielded the highest returns among those measured during the study’s timeframe. Throughout his distinguished career, Mr. Asensio has dedicated his expertise to rigorous research, strategic trading, and providing insightful advice to investors. His work has particularly concentrated on special-situation short investments, with his reporting frequently delving into the fundamental economics of diverse industries to identify market inefficiencies.