Trading & Options · Profile from Trading and Options Research Companion
Chesapeake Capital
The Richmond, Virginia commodity trading advisor that Jerry Parker, one of Richard Dennis's original Turtles, founded in February 1988 to run Turtle-style breakout trend following for clients — the clearest test of whether the rules taught in 1983–84 could become a durable business. The answer in the record is "yes, with long interruptions." Chesapeake's flagship had only two losing years in its first 22 (Opalesque, May 2010, reported) and grew to over $1.7bn in June 2007 (same source); it then lost in 2011 and had its worst year in 2012 (−17.81% reported), saw assets fall, cut fees and moved from private accounts toward retail wrappers — a mutual fund (Sep 2012) and an ETF, TFPN, "Trend Following Plus Nothing" (Jul 2023). Its story turns on discipline: Parker's public message for four decades has been that trend following is simple, painful and must not be "improved" into something else — a position Chesapeake itself tested and reversed in 2006–07. The public record is thin (a private firm; prospectus extracts, interviews, fund filings), so this profile has seven moves.
At a glance
- Founded
- Incorporated in Virginia February 1988; registered as a CTA with the CFTC and NFA member from 20 Jun 1988; merged on 19 Aug 1991 into Chesapeake Capital Corporation, an Illinois corporation formed 13 Aug 1991; CPO from 8 May 1991 (The Frontier Fund prospectus, SEC, Nov 2005; IASG registration page; NFA ID 0211201)
- Founder
- R. Jerry Parker, Jr., from Lynchburg, Virginia (TurtleTrader.com); an original Turtle trained by Richard Dennis in 1983–84 (Turtle Traders; 1984 training move); described as having begun his career as an accountant (search summary of an interview — verify)
- Headquarters
- Richmond, Virginia (500 Forest Avenue in the 2005 filing; Opalesque, 2010); one secondary listing gives Tampa, Florida (verify current address)
- Ownership / structure
- Private; 2005 principals: Chesapeake Holding Company, R. Jerry Parker Jr., John M. Hoade, Robert S. Parker Jr., Warren K. Coleman (filing). Current listed principals: Parker, Michael Ivie, Anil Ladde (IASG/NFA listing)
- Leadership (2026)
- Jerry Parker, chairman and CEO; Mike Ivie (research) and Anil Ladde (compliance), each with the firm for over three decades (Top Traders Unplugged, Sep 2023; Blueprint/ETF materials)
- Programmes and products
- Diversified Program (flagship, 1988); Diversified 2XL (double leverage); Diversified Plus (from Apr 1994 per AutumnGold; private fund and SMA "since 1994" per the TFPN launch coverage); a mutual fund (Equinox Chesapeake, later AXS Chesapeake Strategy Fund, EQCHX, Class I from 10 Sep 2012); the Blueprint Chesapeake Multi-Asset Trend ETF (TFPN), sub-advised, from 11 Jul 2023
- Scale (dated, reported)
- >$1.7bn (Jun 2007, peak); ~$1bn (May 2010) (Brian Broadway, CFO, Opalesque); later firm totals not found (verify) — one Morgan Stanley feeder pool fell from ~$30.2m (end-2009) to ~$11.6m (end-2012) (audited, SEC)
- Regulators
- CFTC/NFA (CTA, CPO); the SEC for the '40 Act fund and ETF it sub-advises (17)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Founding by a Turtle (1988); the shift to long-term lookbacks (late 1990s); the 2XL drawdown (2001–02); peak assets and the 2006–07 sizing experiments, reversed; the 2011–12 losses and asset decline; the mutual fund (2012) and 2022; the TFPN ETF (2023)
7 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1988
Founding by a Turtle
Founding or fund launch
1998
Shift to Long Term Lookbacks
Strategy pivot
2001
The Leveraged 2XL Drawdown
Loss, drawdown or blow-up response; leverage, sizing or risk-limit change (a leveraged share class)
2007
Peak Assets and the Sizing Experiments
Leverage, sizing or risk-limit change (tried and reversed)
2012
Mutual Fund and Retail Access
New strategy, product or market (a '40 Act mutual fund); distribution change
2012
Worst Year and Asset Decline
Loss, drawdown or blow-up response (failure); capital raise, fee change or return of outside capital
2023
TFPN ETF Launch
New strategy, product or market (an actively managed ETF)