Who We Are

Founded in 2001, Spruce Investment Advisors is a boutique investment advisory firm located
in Stamford, Connecticut.

Our Team

Our team of asset allocation, research, investment and trading professionals brings extensive experience from an esteemed list of investment banks, hedge funds and private equity firms. Our hard-learned and specialized expertise gives us broad insight into the markets, managers, companies and strategies in which we invest.

John C. Bailey Founder & Managing Partner

John C. Bailey

Founder & Managing Partner

Mr. Bailey oversees the firm’s investment process across traditional and alternative asset classes including asset allocation and manager selection. He is also a member of the firm’s Management and Investment Committee. Prior to founding Spruce, Mr. Bailey was CEO of investments for a private family office, and he advised wealthy families and institutional clients at Columbus Circle Trust, then owned by PIMCO. Before that, he was an equity research analyst at Oppenheimer & Company in New York. Mr. Bailey is a Board Member and Chairman of the Investment Committee of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation and is an Advisory Board Member of the Family Office Association. He earned an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business. He has been quoted in numerous media outlets including Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and the Financial Times.

Noreen McGorty Partner

Noreen McGorty

Partner

Ms. McGorty works on the Client Advisory team where she advises clients and their legal, tax and family office advisors, on the management of client portfolios, trusts and bank accounts. She participates in portfolio construction and evaluation and ensures that allocations reflect clients’ investment goals. She also assists in the transfer, set up, distribution, and reporting of client accounts as needed. Ms. McGorty previously held positions in Operations and Compliance and has direct experience with statement reconciliation, trade processing, fund accounting and SEC regulations. Prior to joining Spruce, Ms. McGorty was Director of Operations at Commonfund, an investment firm servicing non-profit organizations, where she oversaw the firm’s client service team. Ms. McGorty received a BBA in Business Management from Iona College.

Scott Ogur, CFA Special Advisor

Scott Ogur, CFA

Special Advisor

Mr. Ogur focuses on corporate advisory, direct and co-investments and private equity for Spruce. He brings over ten years of advisory and transaction experience, including: CIO and CFO of Scimitar Ventures, a UAE-based private equity firm; CFO of Algorithmic Trading Management, where he led deal negotiations for its sale; and Interim CFO at Drybar Holdings, working to close a venture investment in the company. He currently serves on the Board of Metricstream, a Spruce portfolio company. Mr. Ogur received his MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and BS cum laude in Administration (Accounting) from Bucknell University.

Michael Mahaffy Managing Partner

Michael Mahaffy

Managing Partner

Mr. Mahaffy oversees the firm on a day-to-day basis including finance, legal, risk management, personnel, and client service. He is also a member of the Management and Investment Committees and manages his own family office which has invested directly in private equity, real estate and energy opportunities. Previously, Michael was a Managing Director and head of Equity Derivatives and Risk Management Products for UBS Americas covering equity options, ETFs, convertible bonds, portfolio trading, structured products, and futures encompassing over 150 employees and he was on the US Equity Operating committee. He also built and managed an internal hedge fund business within the fixed income proprietary trading division. Prior to UBS, Mr. Mahaffy worked at Salomon Brothers Inc in equity derivatives. Mr. Mahaffy graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BS in Mathematics with Computer Science. He is a Board Member of Vesta Property Services and is a Board Member, Past Chair/Board President, of the Greenwich Leadership Forum.

Robert Bastone Chief Operating Officer & Chief Compliance Officer

Robert Bastone

Chief Operating Officer & Chief Compliance Officer

Mr. Bastone oversees all operations and compliance functions for Spruce, with a particular focus on trading and operational due diligence. He is also a member of the firm’s Management and Investment Committee. He brings more than 20 years of diverse experience in investment management including former roles as Director of Operations at Tiger Management, Director of Trading Operations at Ziff Brothers Investments, Head of Trading Operations at Moon Capital Management and COO at Epeius Asset Management.

Kieran Cavanna Special Advisor, Hedge Funds

Kieran Cavanna

Special Advisor, Hedge Funds

Mr. Cavanna is a Special Advisor focused on global hedge funds and co-investments. He is also CIO and Co-founder of Old Farm Partners, a hedge fund allocation firm focused on smaller and mid-sized hedge funds as well as allocating to co-investment opportunities. Old Farm allocates to long-short equity and global macro-oriented strategies. Mr. Cavanna is based in Manhattan and his firm launched in June 2016 with the backing of a large U.S. university endowment. Prior to launching Old Farm, Mr. Cavanna led the Manager Selection Team at Soros Fund Management, a multi-billion-dollar family office. This group at Soros allocated to external hedge funds as well as actively invested in co-investment opportunities. Prior to Soros, he was a Partner and the Director of Research at Titan Advisors, a $5 billion fund of funds firm based in Connecticut. In total Mr. Cavanna has actively allocated to a variety of hedge funds for the last 15 years. He received his MBA from Vanderbilt University in 2001 and received his BA in English from the University of Richmond in 1994.

Kyle Dwyer, CFP® Vice President

Kyle Dwyer, CFP®

Vice President

Mr. Dwyer works on the Client Advisory team evaluating, constructing, and monitoring client portfolios. Prior to Spruce, he worked at Perella Weinberg Partners where he served as a marketing and investor relations specialist for the firm’s $10 billion alternative investment platform. Mr. Dwyer began his career as a dedicated hedge fund research analyst with a focus on various investment strategies including long-short equity, event driven, credit and relative value. He served in this research capacity at both Union Bancaire Privée and Taylor Investment Advisors. He received a BS in Finance cum laude from Fairfield University and has earned his Certified Financial Planner certification.

Warwick M. Carter, Jr Special Advisor, Trusts & Estates

Warwick M. Carter, Jr

Special Advisor, Trusts & Estates

Warwick Carter is a Special Advisor to Spruce focused on estate planning and fiduciary services for individuals, families and trust companies. Previously, Mr. Carter was National Head of Trusts and Estates at Fiduciary Trust Company International in New York. Prior to that, he was a Senior Trust Officer at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in New York and Washington, D.C. He also practiced law at two major firms in New York. Mr. Carter is also a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). He holds a law degree from The Catholic University of America and an LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University.

A Better Way Forward

The founders of Spruce knew there was a better way to deliver high-quality investment advice and solutions. They felt many advisors lacked objectivity, were too expensive, had a mediocre offer – or worse. They believe objectivity is critical to providing sound financial advice, and that having access to sophisticated and unique investment opportunities is necessary to achieve the results that investors require. It is this belief that led to the founding of Spruce.

Today, our vision is to help you achieve better results through better opportunities. To deliver on this vision, we remain unyielding in our quest for unique, hard to replicate investment strategies. We strive to create a culture of openness, curiosity, intellectual rigor, and creative problem solving. And, we continue to build a team composed of experts in their field who share this vision.