Joseph Edelman

Joseph Edelman serves as Chief Executive Officer and founder of Perceptive Advisors LLC, a New York City-based hedge fund that specializes in biotechnology stocks. Debuting in 1999, Perceptive Advisors proved to be a multimillion-dollar success within its first year of operation. Joseph Edelman produced net earnings of 128.57 percent at the close of 1999, which was followed by his pinnacle returns of 154.89 percent in 2000. At the conclusion of 2010, the firm oversaw funds of $380 million and, as of May 2011, Perceptive Advisors maintains assets of more than $400 million. In 1980, Joseph Edelman earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, graduating magna cum laude from the University of California, San Diego. He contemplated a graduate-level degree in Psychopharmacology, which would establish a foundation for a career in psychology and neuroscience like his father, Isidore Edelman, but he concluded that he wanted to embark on his own professional path. Several years later, after exploring the world of finance and investment, Joseph Edelman studied at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University, graduating in 1988 with a Master of Business Administration. Although their educational backgrounds differed, Mr. Edelman believes that much of his scientific critical analysis was inherited from his father. On a personal note, Joseph Edelman likes to sing and play rhythm guitar in a rock ’n’ roll cover band. A community philanthropist, he has supported the Centurion Foundation as well as the Whitney Museum of American Art.