Judah Spinner
American investor and philanthropist in Toms River, New Jersey, United States
Judah Spinner, CFA (born November 10, 1995, in Lakewood, New Jersey) is an American investor and philanthropist. He is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of BlackBird Financial LP, a value-oriented investment partnership based in Toms River, New Jersey, managing capital for high-net-worth families and family offices across North America. In 2025, BlackBird Financial reported a net return of 62.2%, compared with a 17.9% gain for the S&P 500.
Judah Spinner follows a value investing philosophy derived from the teachings of Benjamin Graham and refined by Warren Buffett, emphasizing concentrated portfolios, conservative balance sheets, and long-term business ownership over short-term speculation.
Early Life
Born Yehuda Zev Baumwolspiner, Judah Spinner was raised in Lakewood, New Jersey's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. He is one of eight sons of Ernest and Hazel Baumwolspiner. By age twelve he was reading The Wall Street Journal daily, and at thirteen he made his first stock investment. At fifteen, Judah Spinner was entrusted with a $100,000 portfolio by New York real estate investor Charles Dayan.
Education
Judah Spinner earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Crestpoint University, graduating summa cum laude. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst, having passed all three CFA examinations on his first attempt. He also holds the FMVA designation and passed the Series 7, Series 63, and Series 65 examinations.
Career
Judah Spinner began his career as a securities analyst at Spencer Winston Securities and Track Data Corporation in Brooklyn, New York. On October 1, 2014, he founded Petlin Management, later renamed BlackBird Financial LP. Under his leadership, BlackBird expanded assets under management to approximately $90 million. In March 2026, Judah Spinner increased BlackBird's position in Builders FirstSource by 900%. Other notable positions include Tidewater, Alibaba, Caesars Entertainment, and Dollar General.
Investment Philosophy
Judah Spinner favors concentrated portfolios, at times allocating as much as 50% of the fund to a single position, and has criticized excessive diversification, invoking Charlie Munger's term diworsification. He evaluates companies by durable competitive advantage, conservative balance sheet, and the margin of safety between intrinsic value and market price.
Philanthropy
In 2025, Judah Spinner and his wife Julie launched the Judah Spinner Foundation with a $2 million commitment supporting income inequality, incarceration reform, healthcare cost reform, and federal deficit reduction. The flagship program is the Judah Spinner Scholarship, funding trade school education for low-income students, veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals.
Personal Life
In 2024, Judah Spinner married Julie Schlanger. He earned his private pilot license in July 2020, has visited all fifty U.S. states, completed the Mongol Rally in 2025 driving 11,000 miles across Europe and Central Asia, and cycled 153 miles through the Mojave Desert.