Clemente Capital is a unique firm. Its owner, Lilia Clemente is a Filipino American who at the age of 28 was named director of Investment Research at the Ford Foundation in 1969. She was the first and only woman officer in its history, and she proceeded to take the $3 billion Ford Fund global. Lilia believed, rightly so, that immense benefits would accrue to those investors who had the vision to seek the unique strengths and contributions of people worldwide.

After serving at the Ford Foundation, Lilia founded Clemente Capital in 1976. In 1985 Paine Webber Atlas, which she managed, ranked #1 among all global funds. Leo Clemente joined the team as President and Chief Investment Officer in 1986. He specializes in portfolio management, risk management, quantitative research, and security analysis specializing in minerals and resources. The company launched the First Philippine Fund on the New York Stock Exchange in 1989 and started the first private equity fund in China in 1992. Since then they began over a dozen other funds throughout the world. They are considered pioneers in emerging markets. They are passionate about investor’s social responsibility, women’s rights, children’s education, environmental issues and struggling immigrants throughout the world.

Leo and Lilia’s vision is displayed within Clemente Capital itself. Its people form a mosaic of those wonderful differences. The staff at Clemente Capital is united by a common commitment to a global vision. At the same time, however, that global vision is seen through the eyes of a variety of cultures. Thus, they are able to “go global while thinking local.” They understand a world in which nations will be increasingly linked economically and financially, but at the same time anxious to preserve the differences that are the unique heritage of each land.