Lincoln S. Ellis is a deeply experienced entrepreneur and investor whose career has spanned startups, bulge bracket investment banks and niche family offices.

Lincoln began his career as a start-up entrepreneur using a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to explore the early effects of the Internet on publishing – specifically in the disciplines of Politics and Economics.  At Columbia University, where the venture was based, he developed a stable of global content contributors and subscribers to one of the world’s first online research tools in the process creating the most profitable business at Columbia University’s Press.

After a number of years consulting in the start-up world of the late 1990’s NYC, he moved into the private wealth management business at Morgan Stanley where he spent the next 8 years developing a $1B + book of business and a team of 4 advising high net worth families.

In a mid-career move, he returned to his former home in Chicago to help the family owned Linn Group launch one of the more successful commodity CTA practices of the mid 2000’s.

Mr. Ellis is currently a Founder and Partner at Astor Janssen Holdings, a diversified consulting, strategy and asset management group he founded in 2009.

Throughout Astor Janssen’s history, Mr. Ellis has been instrumental in developing deep relationships with clients that have led to the creation of various strategic mandates including the creation of some of the very early models for outsourced CIO programs that enabled mid-tier RIAs to accelerate their asset acquisition. Due to the diversity of his background and skill set, Lincoln was able to leverage the skills of due diligence and manger selection into the fields of product creation and risk management. Currently the corporate risk management business has over $1.5Billion in asset under advisement. 

His work also included the launch of a Chicago and New York office for the $2Billion AUM Multi Family Office group Green Square Capital.  And, most recently, he has contributed to the $100MM equity raise for Delos Living, a wellness based real estate services firm.

Lincoln has been a frequent guest since the mid 2000′s on a variety of media and pubic affairs outlets including, BBC World Service, Bloomberg TV & Radio, CNBC, Sky News, BNN (Canada) Roubini Economonitor (founding contributor), PRI’s Market Place, Business Insider and NPR.

Mr. Ellis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Valparaiso University.  Additionally he holds a Masters of Arts from the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research, where he has completed his Phd course work before being recruited up to Columbia University.

Lincoln was a founding member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Young Associates.  At the Lyric Opera of Chicago he served as the head of the Young Professional’s Chapter.  He was also the Board Chair for the Chicago-based Music in The Loft.

He is an accomplished triathlete competing in the multisport world since 1985.  He has completed 5 Ironman distance races and numerous Half-Ironman races earning Ironman All-World Silver status.

He lives in New York City with his wife Elizabeth and his son.

Direct Personal Investment Areas

•  Financial Services (Quantitative & Algorithmic trading ) 

•  Software/Hardware (satellite & radio technology)


•  Real Estate (commercial, hospitality) 

•   Specialty Finance – (Off balance sheet finance vehicles for commercial real-estate & hedge funds)