About Us

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Ridgeview founders Michael Robinson and John Watkins spent nearly a decade working together in the private equity industry. Combined they have seen many facets of the asset management industry and after years of observing unnecessary, ill-suited and costly products being pushed at the expense of clients, John and Michael set out to develop a model that treats clients like true partners. The result? An exclusive wealth management model that seeks to minimize, if not eliminate, the conflicts of interest that have become so prevalent in the traditional asset management industry. We treat clients as true partners because our capital is invested the same way.

In 2016, Ridgeview was created to be a partnership of sophisticated, like-minded individuals and institutions who seek superior performance through empirically driven techniques. We care about minimizing costs, taxes and risks in order to unlock the incredible power of compounding over time. Ridgeview utilizes leading and efficient technology platforms and works with clients throughout the world, with offices on both US coasts.

The dedicated Ridgeview team leverages several decades of combined experience. Ridgeview creates compelling investment programs designed specifically for their clients. We invest across a broad spectrum of asset classes, focusing on finding efficient, liquid, and value-oriented investments for core portfolios. Through our broad network of industry contacts, the Ridgeview team also creates access to unique, opportunistic, and uncorrelated direct investment opportunities that augment core client portfolios where appropriate.

Our Management Team

Michael W. Robinson

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CO-FOUNDER

Michael has 27 years of investing experience, including work in the hedge fund, mutual fund and private equity industries. Prior to co-founding Ridgeview, Michael served as vice president at General American Investors, a $1.3 billion public fund. At General American, Michael managed a significant portion of the firm’s investments in public debt and equity securities across a wide range of geographies and industry sectors. Previously he was senior equity analyst at TriSun Asset Management, a long/short public equity hedge fund. At TriSun, Michael led the firm’s efforts in the telecommunications, media and technology space which grew significantly. Prior to TriSun, Michael was a partner at Telegraph Hill Communication Partners, a private equity partnership focused on media, telecommunication and technology investments. Michael started his career at JP Morgan in investment banking focused on the technology sector. He rose to be a Vice President in JP Morgan Capital, JP Morgan’s private equity arm, where he worked with John on worldwide telecommunication, media and technology investments. Michael has been a member of eleven boards of directors.

Michael graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Trinity College with a BA in Economics and a minor in Mathematics.

John W. Watkins

EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, CO-FOUNDER

John brings 35 years of investing experience to Ridgeview. John is a co-founder of Ridgeview Asset Management Partners LLC, where he serves as Executive Chairman. Prior to co-founding Ridgeview, John was a managing general partner at M/C Partners, where he served on the Boards of Directors of numerous companies including Legendary Pictures, Baja Broadband, and Accent Health. He was a managing director at J.P. Morgan Capital, where he ran JPM Communications Partners, focused on private equity investments in the media and communication services worldwide. While at JPM, he served on over 12 Boards of Directors and founded or co-founded five companies, including FrontierVision, Triton Celluar and Triton PCS. Other representative investments include Qualcomm, Anadigics, Prism Radio, TranscoNorth and CompUSA. John’s individual track record has generated an internal rate of return in excess of 30%.*

John has a BA in Economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business from Dartmouth College.

*John’s prior track record is not indicative of future results.

Ann T. Semmer, CFA

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Ann has over 25 years of investing experience in the public and private equity markets. Prior to Ridgeview, Ann had a 20 year career at J.P. Morgan where she was a Managing Director and held various leadership positions including serving as the Chief Investment Officer of the J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s $44 Billion Fiduciary business, Investment Team Leader for the Private Bank’s Mid-Atlantic region, and Investment Officer for J.P. Morgan Capital Corporation. During her time in J.P. Morgan Capital, Ann worked with both John and Michael.

Ann holds a BS in Accounting from Shippensburg University, an MBA from Drexel University, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.