The idea for K Squared Capital started in the summer of 2014, when Walter R. Kissling started researching about systematic investment models. He had just graduated magna cum laude from Tulane University and an investment class had sparked his passion for investing. Walter, along with two classmates, started to experiment in order to potentially launch a mutual fund.
Even though the mutual fund idea didn’t pan out, Walter continued to explore systematic trading. He started tinkering with machine learning to create trading strategies. He continued exploring and consulting with experts in the field while getting his Masters in Management in Energy from Tulane University.
All this research finally came to life when Walter and Walter Sr. began trading a live account; where, with a little bit of luck, had tremendous success. This experiment led to the idea of creating investment models to manage their and their family's money.
At the end of 2015 Walter and Walter Sr. ended their trading experiment, realizing that it could be a viable business but they had to dedicate more time and resources to it.
In order to pursue his investing passion, Walter started his second masters degree in Financial Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley.
During his time in Berkeley, Walter developed several tactical asset allocation models. Walter and Walter Sr. funded these models and started investing again in their own strategies.
After Walter's graduation from the MFE at UC Berkeley, K Squared Capital was officially born. It Walter and Walter Sr. were its first investors. After finalizing their investment process and operational procedures, they started managing their family's wealth as well.
After around a year of managing their own money and getting everything sorted out, K Squared Capital welcomed their first external client.
After almost 3 years of managing money for high net worth individuals, K Squared Capital took on their first institutional client, a non-profit foundation.
In June of 2020, they made their first outside hire, Milena Berrocal, as Chief Operating Officer. Walter also took over the CEO role and Walter Sr. moved to be Chairman.
The second outside hire came in December 2020 when Alvaro Salas joined the team, he now serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for K Squared Capital.
Faced with low expected returns, the team at KSC was looking for ways to diversify client portfolios away from traditional assets. They met Scott Powell from Asymmetrical Capital Management (ACM) and started discussing different products that they could jointly launch.
During the summer of 2021 KSC and ACM decided they would jointly launch Insignia by KSC, an options based absolute return hedge fund.
With the launch of the fund close, KSC hires their Chief Quantitative Officer.
After almost 5 years of operations KSC launches it's first hedge fund. This marks an accomplishment Walter had in his sights since before launching KSC.
May 2022 marks the 5 year anniversary for KSC. These 5 years were filled with tremendous growth and learning. KSC has grown their assets under management by an average of 53% per year during this time.
Walter Sr. focuses on company strategy and long-term planning and serves as an advisor to the rest of the team at KSC. Walter is an experienced investor in financial markets and real estate. Previously, Walter worked at Banco Banex (now Davivienda Costa Rica), in personal banking, securities and investment funds. In this role, Walter helped develop Banex’s online banking platform and pioneered the first private pension plan in the country. He then co-founded Mesoamerica Investments, the leading investment banking/private equity firm in the region. He also co-founded Genesis, at the time, the largest real estate developer in Costa Rica. In 2006, Walter founded NAVSAT, a geo-location and GPS technology company based in Costa Rica.
He is a member of various boards of directors where he serves in an advisory capacity. Walter has a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA in Banking and Finance from INCAE Business School.
He is a proud father and grandfather and loves mountain biking and exercising.
Walter oversees the management and is in charge of all investing and trading decisions at KSC. Walter has held various roles in the financial services industry including Mesoamerica Investments in Colombia and Costa Rica, Eureka Capital in New York, and at PredictWallStreet in Capitola, California. He is an active member of the Board of Directors of RostiPollos, a member of the investment committee Asociación Costa Rica por Siempre, a member of the advisory council of the Demo Lab and a member of Jóvenes por Costa Rica.
Walter holds a Bachelor’s Degree in finance, summa cum laude, and a Master’s Degree in Energy Management from Tulane University. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Financial Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.
He is a proud father of two wonderful daughters, enjoys exercising, mountain biking and skiing.
Álvaro is in charge of developing strategic partnerships and heads the business development division. Álvaro has 15 years of experience in management and financial consulting, academia, and international business management, focusing on partnerships between the public and private sector.
Álvaro holds an MBA with emphasis in Economics, Finance and Sustainable Development from INCAE Business School, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with emphasis in Science, Technology and Infrastructure from Cornell University. Álvaro earned a Ph.D. in Administration and Public Policy from Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
Álvaro is the singer of the alternative rock band Jackie Onassis and spends his free time writing songs with his daughter Valentina or playing sports in the mountains and beaches.
Milena manages the company’s day-to-day operations and compliance needs. Milena is an Executive & Life Coach and is a Founding Board Member of the International Coaching Federation’s Guatemala Chapter. She is an active Leadership mentor in Vital Voices Costa Rica and an Executive Coach for the Strachan Foundation in Central America. She spent over 8 years at the Costa Rican law firm Batalla. Milena is also an entrepreneur.
Milena earned an Executive MBA at INCAE Business School, where she focused on organizational behavior. She loves traveling, hiking and meditation. Milena spends her time between Costa Rica and Guatemala.
Mateo heads the research and development and trading divisions at KSC. Mateo’s professional experience spans multiple industries and countries, ranging from managing multimillion dollar projects in the Automotive Industry to co-founding a software startup. Through the years, he has acted as Project Manager, Engineering Manager and Soft-ware Developer. Born in Colombia, he has spent 11 years abroad living in Mexico, United States and Singapore. Mateo holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Automotive Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey, graduating summa cum laude from both programs. In his free time, Mateo enjoys reading, traveling and practicing any type of sport.